Tennessee Naturalist Program Geology and Ecology Founda7on and Context Enhanced Study Guide 10/2018 Tennessee Naturalist Program www.tnnaturalist.org Inspiring the desire to learn and share Tennessee’s nature These study guides are designed to reflect and reinforce the Tennessee Naturalist Program’s course curriculum outline, developed and approved by the TNP Board of Directors, for use by TNP instructors to plan and organize classroom discussion and fieldwork components and by students as a meaningful resource to review and enhance class instruc7on. This guide was compiled specifically for the Tennessee Naturalist Program and reviewed by experts in these disciplines. It contains copyrighted work from other authors and publishers, used here by permission. No part of this document may be reproduced or shared without consent of the Tennessee Naturalist Program and appropriate copyright holders. !2 Geology and Ecology Founda/on & Context Objecves Set the founda7on and context for future classes through an examina7on of Tennessee’s geology, geography, and climate and an explora7on of general ecological concepts governing biological communi7es and ecosystems in the state. Time 4 hours -- 2 in class, 2 in field Suggested Materials ( * recommended but not required, ** TNP flash drive) • The Geologic History of Tennessee, Robert A. Miller, Bulle7n 74 (Tennessee Division of Geology) ** • Tennessee Climate and Soils (pdf from Soils of Tennessee, Springer and Elder) ** • Tennessee Soil Map 1980 ** • Terrestrial Ecological Systems of Tennessee, July 2013, NatureServe ** • Tennessee Ecoregions Map and Ecoregions Characteris7cs ** • Geology and Ecology Enhanced Study Guide, TNP ** • Samples of common rocks/minerals (classroom) Expected Outcomes Students will gain a basic understanding of 1. geologic history of Tennessee 2. physiographic provinces in Tennessee 3. rocks, fossils, and soils in Tennessee 4. climate and weather pa^erns in Tennessee 5. general ecological concepts including biological systems hierarchy, pa^erns and processes; biogeochemical cycles (water, elements, nutrient); energy flow (food web) 6. community structure and dynamics, species interac7ons, succession, biodiversity 7. environmental challenges !3 Geology and Ecology Curriculum Outline I. Geology, Geography, Soils A. Geologic history of Tennessee 1. events 7meline 2. primary events and current geographic results per grand division 3. animals and plants B. Physiographic provinces within grand divisions 1. province descrip7ons C. Shaping processes 1. geologic forces: deposi7on, sedimenta7on, weathering, erosion, volcanism, plate tectonics, metamorphism, faul7ng, folding 2. water 3. eleva7on 4. topography D. Karst topography -- caves, underground streams, and sinkholes E. Rocks 1. three primary classifica7ons -- igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic 2. common rock and mineral types – dolomite, limestone, chert, shale, sandstone, siltstone, quartzite, greywacke, phyllite, granite, etc. F. Fossils G. Soils 1. forma7on and components 2. physical/chemical proper7es and structure 3. profile 4. role of soil as an ecosystem -- living habitat 5. distribu7on of soil types II. Climate and Weather A. Define and dis7nguish B. Weather pa^erns and yearly processes 1. basic measurements 2. clouds C. Climate sta7s7cs in Tennessee 1. data to 1980, data 1981-2010 2. microclimates – pa^erns and determinants D. Phenology !4 III. Ecology A. Define 1. role of evolu7on B. Ecological systems 1. hierarchy -- individual, popula7on, community, ecosystem, landscape, biome, biosphere 2. pa^erns and processes in each C. Biogeochemical cycles 1. water 2. elements -- carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus 3. nutrients D. Community 1. species dynamics -- species richness, abundance, dominants, keystone species 2. community structure -- boundaries and size 3. energy flow -- food web, trophic levels, producers/consumers/decomposers 4. species interac7on -- compe77on, niche, resource par77oning, preda7on, and symbiosis (parasi7sm, mutualism, commensalism) E. Succession and disturbance F. Ecosystems 1. aqua7c environments 2. terrestrial environments a. generalized forest types in Tennessee b. specialized communi7es in Tennessee G. Biodiversity 1. define 2. diversity in Tennessee H. Environmental challenges (land management and stewardship) 1. pollu7on 2. development -- habitat loss, fragmenta7on 3. nonna7ve invasive species 4. rare and endangered species 5. resource extrac7on -- mining, logging, poaching, water services 6. climate change IV. Resources A. Publica7ons B. Organiza7ons C. Internet V. Review Ques7ons !5 Geology and Ecology Enhanced Study Guide I. Geology, Geography, Soils Geologic History of Tennessee Events Timeline Paleozoic Era • Seas -- Precambrian and early Cambrian (570 million years ago) • Nashville Dome Uplik -- late Ordovician Period (450 million years ago) • West Tennessee Uplik -- mid Pennsylvanian Period (300 million years ago) • Allegheny Orogeny -- early to mid Permian Period (280 million years ago) Mesozoic Era • Mississippi Embayment -- late Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago) Cenozoic Era • Glacial loess Deposi7on -- late Quaternary Period (12,000 years ago) Relief Map Rela/ng Geology to Physiographic Provinces H The Geologic History of Tennessee, Robert A. Miller, Bulle7n 74, page 10, Fig. 7 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conserva7on, Division of Geology !6 Primary Events and Current Geographic Results per Grand Division During the Precambrian and much of the early Paleozoic Era, Tennessee lay on the ocean floor, covered by advancing and receding sea waters. layers of sediment that would form limestone, dolomite, chert, shale, siltstone, sandstone, and claystone were deposited on a base of igneous and metamorphic rock. At 7mes, the seas were quite shallow, containing an evolving and increasingly vibrant fauna. As land began to emerge, flora developed. The Appalachian Foldbelt characterizes East Tennessee and reflects a mountain building episode, called the Allegheny Orogeny, resul7ng from the con7nental collision between North America and Africa that created the supercon7nent Pangaea during the Permian Period. The most obvious product is the Southern Appalachians, also called the Blue Ridge Mountains, par7cularly in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Mountains are some7mes referred to as the Unaka Mountains. The Blue Ridge Province has undergone periods of uplik as erosional forces have worn down the mountains. Cambrian and Precambrian rock layers are exposed in the Blue Ridge, and the extreme pressure that built the mountains, shiked some of these older layers of rock on top of younger layers. The younger limestones erode out from under the older rock layers producing “windows,” like Cades Cove in the Smokies, and other karst forma7ons such as caves and underground streams. In Tennessee’s Valley and Ridge Province, the rock layers experienced extensive folding (like a bunched rug) and faul7ng from the Allegheny Orogeny. These folds and fractures led to differing rates of weathering as more resistant rock layers eroded slower than soker rocks, producing a series of ridges and valleys. Rocks da7ng from Cambrian to Mississippian, a 250- million-year age span, can be found in this province. The Cumberland Plateau is characterized by a cap of tough, resistant Pennsylvanian sandstone, forming an essen7ally level tableland despite eroded gorges. The abrupt eastern escarpment is a likely result from the Allegheny Orogeny and the highly dissected western escarpment is a product of erosion. Sequatchie Valley developed along a far-western fault line associated with mountain building. However, major geologic events to the east and west have had rela7vely li^le affect here. The shiking mosaic of shallow seas and emerging vegeta7on during the Pennsylvanian Period, lek dead plant material that would compress into coal deposits on the plateau. Middle Tennessee’s geography is a result of the Nashville Dome, a deforma7on or warping of sedimentary rock layers due to periodic uplik pressure from below a^ributed to a series of orogenic events beginning in the Ordovician Period with the Taconian Orogeny. This pressure, centered near present-day Murfreesboro, raised the land and cracked the bedrock surface. These cracks allowed erosion to work more efficiently on the soker limestones beneath, ul7mately producing a rela7vely flat and low depression called the Central Basin or Nashville Basin. The basin’s erosion spreads into the Highland Rim which encircles the basin. A chert layer of silica in limestone of the Mississippian Period’s Fort Payne Forma7on has slowed the erosion’s progression. The Western Highland Rim is larger, hillier, and more dissected, whereas the Eastern Highland Rim’s surface is fla^er, forming more of a plain. Fingers of erosion climb the !7 Cumberland Plateau’s steep western slope, producing a highly dissected escarpment where caves are quite prominent. A depression within a failed rik zone, centered along what is now the Mississippi River, dropped much of West Tennessee in the late Cretaceous and early Ter7ary Periods, allowing the sea to return during the Mississippi Embayment. Fresh sand and gravel deposits covered eroded stone from earlier Paleozoic sediments. late glacial advances in North America (Wisconsin glacial maximum es7mated at 25,000 - 20,000 years ago) ground rocks into a fine dust. Post- glacial floods and westerly wind pa^erns spread this glacial dust, called loess, across much of West Tennessee,