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6
<br /> VEGETATION
<br /> Some of the vegetation or plant communities are described separately in the discussion of
<br /> "Natural Areas". These include beaver ponds, bottomland hardwood forest, and beech bluffs.
<br /> General descriptions of the remaining plant communities were included in the Preliminary
<br /> Evaluation of Ecological and Archaeological Resources at the University Station Site and are
<br /> provided below. These include upland hardwood forest, upland pine forest, early pine succession
<br /> fields, old farm fields, and old farm pastures.
<br /> Upland Hardwood Upland hardwood forest were found on upland areas, hillsides, and south-
<br /> facing slopes. In most of these forests, the canopy and sub-canopy are
<br /> well developed. The canopy consists primarily of white oak, red maple,
<br /> loblolly pine, southern red oak, and sweet gum, along with some shortleaf
<br /> pine and Virginia pine. The subcanopy is dominated by dogwood,
<br /> sourwood, tulip poplar, and sweet gum, while the herbaceous layer
<br /> consists of ground cover such as muscadine grape, japanese honeysuckle,
<br /> poison ivy, running cedar, and Virginia creeper. The presence of loblolly
<br /> pine in a forest predominantly made up of hardwoods indicates that the
<br /> area has been disturbed in the past, probably from logging. In some areas,
<br /> old stumps are also evidence of logging.
<br /> There are 455.7 acres of upland hardwood within the project boundaries.
<br /> Upland Pine This community consists of variously-aged stands of pine. Within most
<br /> stands, the trees are typically of a uniform age, indicating that many of
<br /> these areas were harvested and managed for timber production. Some
<br /> recently cut-over stands consist of a dense scrub-shrub layer of pines 10-
<br /> 15 yeah old, possibly a clear-cut area. Other areas have a sparse canopy
<br /> of pines with a dense understory of pines and hardwoods. The latter areas
<br /> were probably selectively harvested for timber, leaving some pines to re-
<br /> seed the area.
<br /> The dominant trees in this community are loblolly pine, sweet gum,
<br /> Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, tulip poplar, and red oak. The subcanopy
<br /> contains sweet gum loblolly, dogwood, red maple, and red cedar. Herbs
<br /> and ground-cover contains mainly trumpet creeper,japanese honeysuckle,
<br /> and hickories. Some of the rarer herbs are rattlesnake plantain and
<br /> orchids. In many areas, the overstory shaded out much of the light,
<br /> resulting in a sparse herbaceous layer.
<br /> There are 101.7 acres of upland pine within the project boundaries.
<br /> Early Pine The community is primarily limited to the area within the power line right-
<br /> Succession of-way. This area was most recently cleared of trees about five years ago,
<br /> judging by the size of the current growth. It is dominated by a dense,
<br /> uniform stand of loblolly pine, interspersed with sweet gum, sumac,
<br /> goldenrod, blackberry, and various grasses.
<br /> There are 10.4 acres of land in this community within the project
<br /> boundaries.
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