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<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 years 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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