University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2005 XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES Patrick Joseph Lawless University of Kentucky Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Lawless, Patrick Joseph, "XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES" (2005). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 269. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/269 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Patrick Lawless The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2005 XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES __________________________________ ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ___________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Patrick Joseph Lawless Lexington, Kentucky Co-Directors: Dr. Jerry M. Baskin, Professor of Biology and Dr. Carol C. Baskin, Professor of Biology and of Plant and Soil Science Lexington, Kentucky 2005 Copyright © Patrick Joseph Lawless 2005 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES Xeric limestone prairies (XLPs) are open, nonforested communities dominated by native, C4 perennial grasses. In eastern United States, they occur on shallow, rocky calcareous soils in various physiographic provinces from Missouri and Pennsylvania south to Arkansas and Georgia. Floristic, vegetation, and physical environmental data were collected from 18 XLPs in Kentucky and used in conjunction with data collected in other studies to provide a synthesis for XLP vegetation in eastern United States and a comparison of this vegetation type with limestone cedar glades and deep-soil barrens. XLPs occur on 33 soil series in five orders (Alfisols, Mollisols, Ultisols, Inceptisols, and Vertisols) and on limestone, dolomite, and calcareous shale of Cambrian through Tertiary systems. In Kentucky, XLPs are restricted to the Interior Low Plateaus, where they are most frequent on the Upper Mississippian Salem Limestone in the Knobstone Escarpment and Knobs. Three hundred and thirty-five taxa were recorded in the 18 sites sampled in Kentucky, of which 20 (6.0%) are nonnative and 24 (7.2%) state-listed as rare. The majority of the flora is intraneous C3 hemicryptophytes. Thirteen taxa are endemic to XLPs of eastern United States, but none to those in Kentucky. The native, C4 perennial grass Schizachyrium scoparium was dominant in 10 of 12 community types in Kentucky identified at a scale of 100-m2 and in 21 of 23 studies of XLPs in eastern United States. The C4 annual grass Sporobolus vaginiflorus had high frequency values in the majority of sites in Kentucky, where it often was dominant in the most shallow-soil zones. Variability among XLPs in Kentucky and among the floras of XLPs in different regions is largely attributable to differences in forb species composition. Soil depth is the primary abiotic source of variability in XLP community types in Kentucky and in many other regions of eastern United States. Dendrochronological and aerial photographic studies support the conclusion that the vast majority of XLPs are not primary communities. XLPs on the Cambrian Ketona Dolomite in the Ridge and Valley in Bibb County, Alabama, are perhaps the only sites which represent an edaphic climax KEYWORDS: barrens, floristics, glades, vegetation, xeric limestone prairies ____________________________Patrick Lawless March 25, 2005 ____________________________ XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES By Patrick Joseph Lawless Jerry M. Baskin _____________________________ Co-Director of Dissertation Carol C. Baskin _____________________________ Co-Director of Dissertation Peter M. Mirabito _____________________________ Director of Graduate Studies March 25, 2005 _____________________________ RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor's degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this dissertation for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ DISSERTATION Patrick Joseph Lawless The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2005 XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES __________________________________ DISSERTATION ___________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky By Patrick Joseph Lawless College of Arts and Sciences Co-Director: Dr. Jerry M. Baskin, Professor of Biology Co-Director: Dr. Carol C. Baskin, Professor of Biology and Agronomy Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Patrick Joseph Lawless 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals. First and foremost, I thank my co-major professors, Jerry Baskin and Carol Baskin, for their guidance, encouragement, and friendship throughout my graduate studies. They recognized and fostered my passion for field biology in the formative stages of my graduate studies and inspired me to undertake a lifelong study of the natural world. I thank Scott Gleeson and Tim Phillips for serving on my graduate committee and Jonathan Phillips for representing the UK Graduate School at my dissertation defense. Rick Gardner, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, provided valuable assistance with vegetation sampling at Crooked Creek Barrens and with identification of many plant specimens collected in this study. Joel Gramling and Robert Peet, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, offered technical assistance with data management. Beverly Taulbee oversaw preparation and submission of the many documents required for degree completion. I benefited greatly from the companionship of fellow graduate students Christopher Adams, Tracy Hawkins, and Adriana Sautu. This project would not have been possible without funding from the UK graduate school and Biology Department, including a teaching assistantship, Kentucky Opportunity Fellowship, Ribble Summer Research Fellowship, Presidential Fellowship, and Ribble research funds. My family has been a perpetual source of inspiration and support. I especially appreciate my mother, Jan Lawless, and my late father, Bob Lawless, for emphasizing the value of education and providing ample opportunities for my academic enrichment. Jan Lawless also offered me respite from the rigors of graduate studies by providing care for my daughter, Sage Lawless, during my sojourns in the Sierras, Hawaii, and many whitewater streams in southeastern United States. Sage Lawless brought joy, peace, and hope to each new day. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………... iii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………… vii Chapter 1: General Introduction…………………………………………………………. 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………….......... 1 Justification and purpose of dissertation research…………………………………9 Dissertation conspectus………………………………………………………….. 12 References……………………………………………………………………….. 15 Chapter 2: The floristic ecology of xeric limestone prairies in Kentucky, with a comparison to limestone cedar glades and deep-soil barrens…................ 22 Synopsis…...…………………………………………………………………….. 22 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 23 Site Characteristics………………………………………………………………. 24 Methods…………………………………………………………………………..26 Results…………………………………………………………………………… 27 Discussion……………………………………………………………………….. 29 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………… 32 References……………………………………………………………………….. 34 Chapter 3: Scale-dependent classification of xeric limestone prairies: Annual or perennial grasslands?................................................................................. 48 Synopsis…………………………………………………………………………. 48 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 49 Methods…………………………………………………………………………..50 Results…………………………………………………………………………… 53 Discussion……………………………………………………………………….. 57 References..……………………………………………………………………… 61 Chapter 4: Effects of grain on classification