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Copy This chapter is an edited version An Overview of the Physical of a manuscript by the same title Environment, Flora, and written by Edward W. Chester. Vegetation of Tennessee In addition to editing, some 2 material has been deleted from and some added to the original Instructormanuscript by the editors of this publication. Portions of the original manuscript were condensed from Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee, compiled and edited by the Tennessee Flora Committee. Copyright © 2015 by The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. Used by permission granted to Edward W. Chester. See author’s notes for additional Tennessee information. of University Copy AUTHOR'S NOTES A more complete discussion of the topics in this chapter can be found in Chapter 1, “The Physical Environment of Tennessee” (written by Edward W. Chester) and Chapter 3, ”An Overview of the Vegetation of Tennessee” (coauthored by Hal R. DeSelm and William H. Martin) in the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee referenced at the beginning of this chapter. The contents of the two chapters are based on almost 200 combined years of study by the three authors and the nearly 100 references they cite. The authors are: Instructor Edward W. Chester, Professor Emeritus of Biology and Botany, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tenn. Hal R. DeSelm (deceased), Professor Emeritus of Botany and the Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Dr. DeSelm died on July 12, 2011. William H. Martin, Professor Emeritus of Biology and Director of the Division of Natural Areas, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond. He served as Commissioner of Kentucky's Department for Natural Resources from 1992 to 1998. Tennessee of University 2 - 2 An Overview of the Physical Environment, Flora, and Vegetation of Tennessee CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2-5 Overview of Tennessee Flora ...............................................................................................................2-5 Characteristics of the Tennessee Flora ...................................................................................2-6 Vegetation of Tennessee ............................................................................................................2-6 Copy TENNESSEE CLIMATE 2-7 Temperatures and Length of Growing Season ..................................................................................2-7 Precipitation ..............................................................................................................................................2-8 Storms .......................................................................................................................................................2-8 Microclimates ...........................................................................................................................................2-8 GRAND DIVISIONS OF TENNESSEE 2-9 Grand Division 1: West Tennessee ....................................................................................................2-13 West Tennessee Phyisographic Province: The Coastal PlainInstructor ...........................................2-13 Mississippi River Valley Section .....................................................................................2-13 East Gulf Coastal Plain Section ......................................................................................2-14 Mississippi River Bluffs Subsection ......................................................................2-14 West Tennessee Plain Subsection ........................................................................2-15 West Tennessee Uplands Subsection ..................................................................2-15 The Lower Tennessee River Valley ................................................................................2-16 Grand Division 2: Middle Tennessee .................................................................................................2-17 Middle Tennessee Phyisographic Province: The Interior Low Plateau ..........................2-17 Highland Rim Section.......................................................................................................2-17 Western Highland Rim Subsection.......................................................................2-17 PennyroyalTennessee Plain Subsection .................................................................................. 2-18 Eastern Highland Rim Subsection ........................................................................2-19 Centralof Basin Section .......................................................................................................2-19 Outer Basin Subsection ..........................................................................................2-19 Inner Basin Subsection ............................................................................................2-20 Grand Division 3: East Tennessee ......................................................................................................2-22 East Tennessee Physiographic Province 1: The Appalachian Plateaus ..........................2-22 Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains Subsection ...............................2-22 East Tennessee Phyisographic Province 2: The Valley and Ridge ...................................2-23 East Tennessee Phyisographic Province 3: The Blue Ridge (Unaka Mountains) .........2-24 UniversitySUMMARY 2-29 An Overview of the Physical Environment, Flora, and Vegetation of Tennessee 2 - 3 Copy Instructor Tennessee of University The Unaka Mountains An Overview of the Physical Environment, Flora, and Vegetation of Tennessee 2 - 4 of Tennessee INTRODUCTION Tennessee is named for the former Cherokee town of Tanase (or Tanasi) in present-day Monroe County and for the river of the same name. Tennessee has 95 counties and borders 8 other states, which ties Missouri for the highest number. Extending from the Mississippi River on the west to the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east, the state is 440 miles long and 120 miles wide. Copy The total area is 26,443,500 acres, or about 42,146 square miles, making it the nation’s thirty-sixth largest state. Of that area, 926 square miles are covered by water. The lowest elevation of 178 feet above mean sea level (AMSL) is near Memphis (Shelby County), while Clingman’s Dome in Sevier County (at 6,643 feet AMSL) is the highest. The major rivers are the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland. This chapter describesInstructor the vegetation and plant communities of Tennessee and explores how they are related to the geography and physical environment of the state. It includes an overview of vegetation, climate, rivers, soils, topography, and even some history to help better understand how plant life is connected to so many other elements of the state’s natural environment. This information will provide a good foundation for grasping the information on soil, water, and plant management in later Tennesseechapters. Overview of Tennessee Flora A flora is defined as a compilation of known of plants in a specific area. The Tennessee flora has been studied for more than 300 years. Even with this long investment, our understanding of all the species and their distribution and relationships within the state is still incomplete. Even in areas where botanical field work has been extensive, some species have been overlooked or not yet described, and some regions remain to be thoroughly explored. In addition, the state’s flora is ever changing, with new native and nonnative elements moving University into the state along many migratory pathways. The potential impact of climatic changes is still unknown. An Overview of the Physical Environment, Flora, and Vegetation of Tennessee 2 - 5 Human impacts (known as anthropogenic for listing, and more than 500 additional factors) have influenced the state’s flora and taxa are listed at the state level as elements of will continue to do so, in some cases leading conservation concern. The official state list was to habitat destruction and extirpation (the developed by the Natural Heritage Program disappearance of a species from an area). In of the Tennessee Department of Environment other cases, new habitats and migratory routes and Conservation (TDEC) with advice from a are opened. committee of botanists. The official state list also Important human factors include alterations identifies federally listed species. of rivers and streams, urban sprawl, pollution, Ten species are known to occur only within farming, mining, timbering, collection of Tennessee and are therefore termed endemic. plants for medicinal and nursery sales, and the Most of our endemics are found in the Central Copy introduction of nonnative organisms that attack Basin, the Cumberland Plateau, or in the Unaka or displace native populations. Such exotic Mountains, areas that will be defined later in pests may be plant pathogens (such as chestnut this chapter. Thirty-three previously known blight and Dutch elm disease), insects (such as species have not been documented for at least the hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash 20 years and are listed as extirpated. This is a borer), other invasive animals (such as wild constantly changing list, as taxa are added and boar), and numerous invasive plant species (such field work verifies the presence of taxa previously as Chinese privet and Amur honeysuckle). As a listed as extirpated. result of these and other factors not listed or not Naturalized and watch list taxa, state known, the