Agenda - 06-23-2004-8b - Laserfiche WebLink

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38 (Chimap_--._._1_>ila mapu_lata ,rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera nubescens), cingfoil Potentilla Canadensis ,crane-fly orchid (Tipulari_____? .discol-°r), Golden Alexander (Ziziatrifoliafe), false foxglove (Aureolaria vir mica and Christmas fem (Polystichum acrosticoides) Filling the shrub and sub-canopy layers were a healthy mix of emergent tree species including oaks 'n nercus species), hickories Carve species), black gum (Nyssa sylvatic~ and sweet gum (1=~ dambaz chvracrflu~ Following the forest classification scheme Classification of the Natural Comunities of North Cazol>na. Thud Ayaroximation by Schafale and Weakley) this site is best described as a Piedmont Upland Varant of the Dry Oak Hickory Forest. Of note is the following assessment of this community t}'pe from the cited reference: "Dry Oak-Hickory Forests were once one of the predominant community types m the Piedmont...., Most of this azea is now in agriculture, urban development, or is occupied by successional pine stands after Past agnculture.. What was not cleared was subject to long-term selective cutting and to livestock foraging, The Piedmont Upland Variant of'this type is still relatively common compazed to most natural commumty types, but examples of significant size and good quality aze extremely rare. Most protected areas in the Piedmont center azound dissected lands neaz rivers or creeks. Dry, Oak Hickory Forests are of relatively limited extent in such azeas, and hence few aze in protection." The North Cazolina Natural Heritage Program Razik~ng for Orange County assigns the Dry Oak-Hickory Forest type a State Rank of S4 ("Apparently secure in North Carolina, with many. occurrences' and a Global Ranking of G5 ("Demonstrably secure globally, although it may be quite raze in parts of its range, especially at the periphery"). Animal life observed within this forest community during site visits included sighting of Brown Creeper, calls of red-bellied woodpeckers, presence of squirrel nests, scats of possum, raccoon and red fox, and the feather remains of possibly red-tailed hawk. Upland Depression Swamp Forrest ust a few feet elevation change The Oak-Hickory forest makes a fairly abrupt transition within j down to the Upland Depression Swamp Forest at the 670-foot elevation level in the northeastern portion of the site, The presence of Cazolina shagbark hickory (Carve carolinae-septentrionalis) indicates the probability of basic or circurnneutral soils in contrast to the prevalent acidic soils characteristic of the Piedmont. The proximity of the 6.1 - 7.2 pH Orange silt loam soil underlying the lowland forest immediately to the west suggests that portions of'this soil type may extend into the more acidic Herndon silt loam soil described for the northeastern portion of the site. A preluninary on-site pH calibration of the soil in this area did in fact produce a reading of pH 6, which is in the circumneutral range. The presence of both the Cazolina shagbazk hickory and the vernal pools suggest the conditions created by basic mafic rock contributing to the formation of montrnorillonite clays which inhibit drainage resulting in such lingering pools.. Other characteristic canopy tree species of'this forest type that aze present on the site include: shagbark hickory Ca a ovate ,willow oak (Ouercus nhellos), black gum ssa s lvatica , „ian,har stvrnerflua),ash (Fraxinus species), red maple (Acer mbrum), tulip sweet gum R~^"~ poplar ~;.;nrlanrlrnn t,~lioifera) wrth post oak (Ouercus stellate) on the outer mazgins and ironwood (Ca_*rainus vir~imana) as an understory component. The closed forest canopy encompassing the vernal Pool and the slow meander draining them is approximately 2.18 acres. The specimen trees are dramatic in an open forest setting and striking with a composition predominantly of two species of shagbazk hickory, the uncommon Cazolina shagbazk (Carya cazolinae-sententrionalis and the common shagbazk (C a ovate numbering approximately thirty individual specimens, about equal in number, with average diameters of 10 - 20 inches. Centered in the pool azeas are three dominant willow oaks (Quercus phellos) with 26-inch, 29- inch and 30-inch diameters respectively and sizable white oaks (Ouercus alba) in 22 - 27-inch