A Preliminary Survey of the Vascular Flora of Upper Tygarts Creek, Carter County, Kentucky
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A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF UPPER TYGARTS CREEK, CARTER COUNTY I KENTUCKY . A Thesis Presented To The Faculty of the School of Sciences and Mathematics· Morehead State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the D_egree Master of Science in Biology by William Michael Huffaker July 1975 AP P-Kvgi,~~f HB01p ABSTRACT A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF UPPER TYGARTS CREEK, CARTER COUNTY, KENTUCKY A preliminary survey of the vascular flora of a proposed nature area in Tygarts Gorge was initiated in March, 1974 and completed in June, 1975, This sqrvey was conducted within the boundaries ascribed to the nature area by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1971, The survey produced one new state record, a form of the walking fern Carrrptosorus rhizophyZZus forma boyaei Wilson, A comparison with surveyed literature revealed 232 species not previously reported from Carter County, A total of 100 families, 313 genera, and 536 species and varieties were collected, Soma notable species found in addition to the state record, were the Canadian yew (Taxus aanadensis Marsh,), the mountain lover (Paahystima aanbyi Gray), the mountain maple (Aaer spiaatum Lam,), the yellow birch (BetuZa Zutea Michx. , f,), the small green wood orchid [Habenaria cZa»eZZata (Michx,) Spreng,], the yellow fringed orchid [Rabenaria aiZiaris (L,) R. Br,], and the toadshade (TriZUwn sessile L.). Of these species, only Taxus aanadensis Marsh., Paahystima aanbyi Gray, and Aa~P spiaatum Lam., have been previously -reported, A checklist of species was compiled and presented, Accepted by the faculty of the School of Sciences and Mathematics, Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science degree, f.kwJ/.~ Director of Thesis Master's Committee: 7-)3-75 Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish.to thank Mr. Howard L. Setser, Dr. Jerry F. Howell, Jr,, Mr, Woodrow W, Barber, and Dr. Madison E, Pryor for serving on my graduate committee and for help in preparing this thesis, I am especially grateful tp Mr, Setser for serving as Committee Chairman and for his patient suggestions and attention and to Dr, Howell for his help in obtaining some of the financial assistance necessary to carry on the fiel~ work. Mr. Thomas McCoy's help was invaluable; he verified Camptosorus rhizophyZZus forma boyaei Wilson as a new state record and annotated several specimens, I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr. Leslie E. n.eade-who accompanied me on several field trips and aided in Cyperaceae and J~ncaceae identification, and to Mr, John Tierney, Carter Caves State Park Naturalist, who gave freely of his knowledge of the Tygarts Creek area and showed great interest in·my survey of the area, I also wish to thank the Huntington (West Virginia) District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers for their cooperation, and for the loan of a number of aerial photographs and maps of the area. Morehead State University allowed me·the use of their facilities and granted the assistantship that helped make this research possible. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Kathryn, for her patience and cooperation during the course of this study. TABLE OF CONTENTS • PAGE LIST OF FIGURES V INTRODUCTION 1 LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 MATERIALS AND METHODS 10 RESULTS 14 Species Collected (checklist) 14 Summary of Results 32 Typical Species by Habitat 33 DISCUSSION Disjunct Species 36 Other Notable Species 38 Habitat Changes 39 SUMMARY 40 IV LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Vicinity Map . 2 . 11 2. Topographical Map of the Area 3. Primary Collecting Locales 12 \. V INTRODUCTION Description of the Study Area - Geography, History, Vegetation The Kehoe Nature Area is proposed as a reserve for continuing biological.research by the United ·states Army Corps of Engineers. The proposed 3725 _acre nature area is located on Tygarts Creek in Carter County, Kentucky, and is a textbook example of the cliff section of eastern Kentucky. The area has some botanical species unique to Kentucky, and some found only in one or two similar areas in the state (United States Army Corps of Engineers, 1972). The survey area is located between 83° 4' 30" and 83° 9' 30" west latitude and 38° 17' 30 11 and 38° 22' 30 11 north longitude. It occupies portions of the Tygarts Valley, Olive Hill, and Grahn Quadrangles, with the greater, portion being in the upper northwest corner of the Grahn Quadrangle (see Figure 1). Local relief is at a maximum in the area. Elevation ranges from a low of about 200 m. (675 feet) to a high of over 335 m. (1100 feet) above sea level. Sheer cliffs line the riparian areas, while narrow level flood plains are found on the inside curved portions and along -· some of the straight stretches of the stream. Other level areas are restricted to narrow ridge tops and cultivated or oldfields.· Much of the land is sloping, limiting area farming primarily to grazing on presently cleared ground.·. Ridges are capped with Carter Caves Sandstone overlying Newman Limestone, while cliffs and outcrops are commonplace. Lotic water is the dominating geological force in the area and the process is in the maturity stage with respect to meandering creeks and erosionary pattern. The drainage system produces numerous wet-weather 2 - ...... ... ,._ LEGEND --- INTERSTATE: HIGHWAY U. S. HIGHWAY STATE HICHWAY RAILROAD --20 STREAM MILES ,..,,._ AUTHORIZED !NATURE AREA! ,o• .,.,IL"'"c,; .... --- Ill Figure 1. Vi.cinity Map 3 waterfalls over the cliffs, and there are areas where lotic action has cut into cliff strata producing many small undesignated streams. The vegetation belongs to the temperate deciduous forest biome; the trees represented are typical of the mixed mesophytic type. Approximately 65% of the area is tree-covered, with the remainder being in some stage of cultivation or old-field succession, Several plant associations are well represented in the area; some of which, such as the hemlock, rhododendron, and mixed mesophytic associations, represent climax communities, while others such as Che pine, cedar, and old-field associations represent successional communities. Description of the Study Area - Geology and Soils Northcentral Carter County is located in the northwestern portion of the eastern Kentucky coalfield, Higher elevations in the area are capped by a cliff-forming sandstone which produces the rugged topography. This .sandstone, a unique feature of the area, was previously referred to as the Lee Sandstone, but was renamed Carter Caves Sandstone by Englund and Windolph in 1971. The formation was named after Carter Caves State Resort Park (including the Cascade Caves region and Box Canyon) where the sandstone, underlain by cavernous limestone, is well exposed on the fringes of box canyons, This sandstone was previously dated from the Pennsylvanian Period, but based on a survey of the marine invertebrate fauna in overlying strata, it was redesignated Late-Mississippian (Sheppard and Dobrovolny, 1963). The Carter Caves Sandstone formation varies in width from two eight miles and extends north-northeast from western Elliott County across Carter County and into Greenup County for approximately thirty miles (Englund and Windolph, 1971). This particular sandstone is ( 4 composed of 96% quartz and contains. ·minor amounts of clay, limonite, carbonate cement, and occasional heavy mineral grains (McGrain, 1956), Underlying the sandstone cliffs, and on the valley floors, are 100-150 feet thick layers of limestones and shales collectively referred to as Newman Limestone. This formation contains the limestone precursors of the extensive cave systems found in the area, T~garts Creek, the principal geological force, in the gorge, is an entrenched meandering stream that flows under cliffs over 150 feet high. Carter Caves State Resort Park borders the area and Cascade Caves, a portion of the State Park, is situated within the area. The Mississippia~ and Pennsylvanian outcrops tqtal about 800 feet in thickness and are divided _into five formations - Borden, Newman, Carter Caves, Lee, and Breathitt (Englund and Windolph, 1971). Found within the Borden Formation are calcareous siltstones and minor amounts ~f shales,' This formation underlies the study area with thick portions exposed at the northeastern end of the study area, The Newman Formation, composed of a lower limestone unit and an upper shale unit, contains chert nodules, oolites, and fine- ~o medium-grained quartz sand·, The Lee Formation is made up of sandstones, shales, and siltstones with discon tinous beds of mixed coal and clay, while the Breathitt Formation,~also composed of shales, sandstone, and siltstone, occupies hilltop areas (Englund and Windolph, 1971), These formations contain the area's soil parent material, The exposure of the·se formations presents a wide variety of chemical and· physical properties which influence the soils and biotic environments. Locally, the area contains numerous caves, rock houses, and other expressive geological features, such as several exposed interfaces_ of sandstones atop limestones,_ Plants typically found only in soils influenced by one or the other. of these two different rock.types are found growing together on the exposed contact microhabitats, Braun (1950) used Wilde's scheme of forest soil provinces and vegetational correlations in describing the area. The gray-brown podzolic soils of the area are "melanized" and are considered characteristic of central deciduous forests, Melanized soils are the mull, humus darkened soils of rich m~xed mesophytic forests. Geographically, they occupy a posiJ:ion between the podzols and podzolized soils. to the north of the region and the typically lateritic soils of the south, Leaching in these soils is limited to only the most soluble compounds, and melanized soils of this type are considered among the most productive forest soils on the continent (Braun, 1950). Individual soils within each of the collecting sites must be considered, if their.vegetational influence is· to be understood.