The Vascular Flora of the Lula Lake Land Trust on Lookout Mountain In
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THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE LULA LAKE LAND TRUST ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN IN WALKER COUNTY, GEORGIA AND A BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN ELEMENT ON THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU By R. Austin Prater III Joey Shaw Thomas P. Wilson Associate Professor of Biological Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Environmental Sciences (Chair) (Committee Member) Dwayne Estes Associate Professor of Biology, Austin Peay State University (Committee Member) THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE LULA LAKE LAND TRUST ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN IN WALKER COUNTY, GEORGIA AND A BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN ELEMENT ON THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU By R. Austin Prater III A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Science: Environmental Science The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee May 2015 ii Copyright © 2015 R. Austin Prater III All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT The vascular flora of the Lula Lake Land Trust (LLLT) atop Lookout Mountain in Walker County, Georgia was surveyed from 2012 to 2014. A total of 60 collecting trips were made with 672 species and lesser taxa documented. Twenty-eight rare species of conservation concern were documented including the federally endangered Spiraea virginiana and four species previously unknown from the state (Calamovilfa arcuata , Chelone lyonii, Populus grandidentata, and Solidago arenicola ). This inventory along with the vascular flora of Little River (Cherokee/Dekalb counties, AL) were added to the legacy database of the lab of Joey Shaw (UTC) and used to generate a species-area curve representing the full extent of the Cumberland Plateau. The proportion of Coastal Plain endemic species present in the Cumberland Plateau was compared to the surrounding physiographic provinces using the legacy database. This comparison indicated a significantly higher proportion of Coastal Plain endemics in the Cumberland Plateau than surrounding physiographic provinces. iv AKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research presented here would not have been possible if not for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and their generous offer of a graduate assistantship that allowed me to study as a full time student. The Lula Lake Land Trust graciously opened their gates to me and provided a spectacularly beautiful landscape in which to conduct a flora while their land managers Noel Durant and Pat Kelly provided valuable information on the locations of interesting habitats and plants. A chance conversation with Paola Craddock about floristic research a year prior to this study led me to seek out the tutelage of Joey Shaw. He has been immensely helpful in his instuructions on the ins and outs of floristic research and has warmly accepted me into his extensive family of botanists. Dwayne Estes has provided much needed advice pertaining to this research as well as a detailed list of revisions of this document that were most helpful. Dr. Wilson was kind enough to give of his time to serve on my committee as well as providing questions about this research that allowed me to see things from different perspectives. I would like to greatly thank Dr. Hope Klug who provided helpful guidance pertaining to the statistical analysis of this research. Max Medley was generous enough to share his botanical expertise of the study site and his knowledge of rare plants of the area. Several people have volunteered their assistance in the survey work presented here including Jared Dickerson, Jesse Harris and Zach Irick. Sunny Fleming helped with much of my early research particularly creating maps. Abigail and Tom Bowen volunteered their time to assist in the further development of the ecological systems maps of the study site. I would like to thank v my family which has been incredibly supportive and excited about the research that I’ve conducted. And finally, my wife Janelle, without whom I would not have pursued this reseach and who has supported me throughout this process, I am incredibly grateful. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ iv AKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER Ι. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 Relevance of Floristic Studies to Broader Science .................................................... 2 The Vascular Flora of the Cumberland Plateau ......................................................... 6 Coastal Plain influence on the Cumberland Plateau Flora ........................................ 8 Study Site ................................................................................................................. 11 Geography ........................................................................................................... 11 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................ 15 Climate ................................................................................................................. 17 Conservation History and Land Use .................................................................... 17 ΙΙ . METHODS ................................................................................................................ 19 Specimen Collection ................................................................................................ 19 Statistical Comparison of the Lula Lake Land Trust to Cumberland Plateau Floras ............................................................................................................ 20 Phytogeographic Analysis ........................................................................................ 20 ΙΙΙ . RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 23 Floristic Summary .................................................................................................... 23 Comparison to Other Floras ..................................................................................... 23 Species of Conservation Concern ............................................................................ 32 Introduced Species................................................................................................... 35 LLLT Ecological Systems ........................................................................................... 37 Overview.............................................................................................................. 37 vii Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland ...................................... 38 South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest .......................................................... 40 Southern Appalachian Low-Elevation Pine Forest .............................................. 42 Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens ........................................................ 43 Cumberland Riverscour ....................................................................................... 45 South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian .............................................. 47 Cumberland Acidic Cliff and Rockhouse and Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff and Talus .......................................................................... 48 Appalachian Forested Acidic Seep ...................................................................... 50 Cumberland Wet-mesic Meadow and Savannah ................................................ 51 Anthropogenically Disturbed Sites ...................................................................... 52 Notable Exceptions .................................................................................................. 54 Coastal Plain influence on the Cumberland Plateau ............................................... 55 IV. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................... 60 Survey Conclusions .................................................................................................. 60 Biogeographical Conclusions ................................................................................... 63 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................ 71 APPENDIX A. INTRODUCED SPECIES AT LLLT .................................................................................. 78 B. ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AT LLLT ................................................................................. 83 C. NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS LIST FOR LLLT ........................................................................ 87 D. COASTAL PLAIN SPECIES PRESENCE ON THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU .................... 90 E. LLLT PLANT LIST ........................................................................................................ 93 VITA ................................................................................................................................. 105 viii LIST OF TABLES 1 Area and species