ENV 259

11/03/2012

Lecture 5

Unglaciated Appalachian PlateauHill country

Most Forested in OhioPioneers clearcut for

fuel (iron industry)

Unglaciated Appalachian PlateauHill country

Mining for bituminous coal (strip mining)

Much is reforested – covers 70 % of the region

Rock Layers Middle to late Paleozoic acidic sandstones Shale Coal Limestone, seldom

Knobs predominate along Ohio River & along Appalachian escarpment (lower, rounder hills)

¾ of Hill country streams were once a part of the ancient Teays River system

Dover & Steubenville Rivers actually flowed north

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Geology

Unglaciated…yes, Unaffected…no. Profound glacial impact

Redirected river systems (reversed) Filled valleys with water Formation of the continental drainage divide Impacted plant/animal populations by

genetically & physically isolating them Unusual drainage patterns & constituents

Alkaline waters Glacial outwash (sand or gravel carried by

glaciers)

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Glacial impact

Variety of microclimates present due to topographic variation Frost pockets in valleys – frequently the coldest

temperatures in the area But presence of a stream can make them

warmer Wind, humidity, evaporation impacted by

direction of slope Sun exposure, surface temperature – southern

face Microclimate (along with varied soil and land

surface types) have encouraged biological diversity in the Hill country

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Climate & Weather

Upland Mixed Oak Forests

Mixed Mesophytic Forests

Lowland Forests

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Plant/ Animal Communities

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Upland Mixed Oak Forests

Widespread in unglaciated Appalachian plateau

Canopy tree communities White Oak is dominant species Oak-Hickory communities Loose, open tree canopy

Flower communities Wood rush, fire pink, dittany Beggar’s ticks, thorny greenbriar

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Upland Mixed Oak Forests

Understory tree communities Sassafras

Provide food for promethea silk moth larvae serviceberry

Provide early summer berries consumed by birds, & nesting site

Dogwood Chestnut oaks

Mixed pines interspersed Virginia Pine Yellow Pine, White Pine Both native & Reforested pines

Small Mammals Gray squirrels – remember me Flying squirrels (rarely seen) Hairy-tailed moles Short-tailed shrew Fox shrew Pygmy shrew (rare) – smallest mammal in

Western Hemisphere Eastern wood rat

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Upland Mixed Oak Forests

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Upland Mixed Oak Forests

Larger Mammals Raccoons Opossums Skunks Woodchucks Weasels Bats Cottontail rabbits Gray foxes – remember me

Other Animals Turkey vultures Swifts (fence lizards) Large-headed skink

Snakes Puff adders

(Hognose) Poisonous

copperhead Timber rattlesnake

Mesophytes: plants growing in area with average water supply

Trees (20-25 spp primarily) White & red oak, tuliptree, sugar maple, beech,

wild black cherry, white ash, blackgum, red maple, shagbark hirckory, bitternute, white basswood, black walnut, cucumber tree (north), yellow buckeye (south)

Less common: hemlockMainly moderate climateMoist, well-drained, moderately acidic

soils

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Mixed Mesophytic Forests

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Mixed Mesophytic Forests

High tree and plant diversity

1000’s of types of plants, mosses, fungi, lichens

Undercanopy trees Hornbeam (musclewood

or ironwood) Dogwood Redbud pawpaw

Wildflowers Hepaticas Anemones Mayapple Phlox Indian-pipe flower Sullivantia

Non-native flowering plants Bigleaf magnolia Umbrella magnolia Sourwood Flame azalea Great rohododendron

Fauna Deer, gray squirrels, raccoons, skunk, weasels,

bats Black rat snakes, box turtles, wild turkey,

ruffed grouse, great horned owls Zebra swallowtail butterfly (eats pawpaw

leaves) Salamanders (vernal pools) Red-tailed hawk, screech & barred owls,

pileated & downy woodpeckers, chickadees, tufted titmouse (permanent residents)

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Mixed Mesophytic Forests

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Lowland Forests & Streams

Trees (must survive on floodplains) Black willow, non-native white willow, sycamore River birch (south & in acid-mine drainage streams) Cottonwood, silver maple, box elder (limey soils)

Origin of “Buckeye state” nickname Michaux, 1818 botanist 1st called Ohio’s 2nd buckeye tree

species (after the yellow buckeye) the Ohio buckeye W.H.Harrison used buckeye wood to create walking sticks

for his presidential campaign Species differ:

yellow buckeye= smooth seeds Ohio buckeye= prickly, bumpy seeds

Common animals Mink, muskrats, beaver, rarely river otters

(note water)Birds (waterfowl)

Kingfisher, phoebes, wood ducksAquatic species

Northern water snake, painted turtle, snapping turtle, brown soft-shell turtle, hellbender (salamander)

Muskellunge, fresh-water mussels (important

historic food source)

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Lowland Forests & Streams

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Mining

Coal & clay mining Why damaging?

Bound with sulfur…causes environmental damage when released during mining

Acid mine drainage – “Yellow Boy”

If abated, waterways may recover (didn’t begin until post-WWII)

Many are not abated due to costs

Small scale strip-mining (pre-WWI) gave way to larger scale mining efforts over time

Rome Beauty 1817 Named 1848

Gallia Beauty From a Rome Beauty seedling Named 1865

Unglaciated Appalachian Plateau Apple Country?

Glaciated Plateau (Allegheny plateau)

Geology

Glacial till weathered into rich agricultural soil

Bedrock (visible in roadcuts) Limestone, shale, sandstone,

conglomerate & coal, Pennsylvanian period e.g. Sharon Sandstone

Shale & Sandstone, Mississipian e.g. Berea Sandstone

Oldest rocks, Devonian e.g. Chagrin Shale

Glaciated Plateau (Allegheny plateau)

Geology

Human utility of materials Quarried bedrock for building

material Clay & shale are also taken for

brick, tile, pottery Lesser presence of coal & gas Rock salt mining

Glaciers impact landscape

Influence on soil – brought in till material, broke down bedrock

Influence on topography – leveled the larger hills, dug deep valleys

Influence on water – created Lake Erie basin, river valleys during retreat

Glaciated PlateauGlaciers & Landscape

Historic meeting point between N. Allegheny & Central Appalachian forests (noted during last 200 yrs) White oak, like Appalachians N. Hemlock forests similar to Allegheny woods in NY and

PA Most forests are secondary, regrown Deep glacial till deposits support widespread

beech-maple forest growth Maple syrup production (Geauga county) Blueberries, clubmoss, pink ladyslipper like the

acidic soils

Glaciated PlateauPlants

Wildflowers Painted trillium (very rare) Purple trillium Spring

Spring beauties, anemones, Dutchman’s breeches, purple cresses

Mayapples Wild phlox

“Signal” Tree Bur Oak N. of Akron off of Peck Road Native Americans used it to designate crossing

(portage) of Cuyahoga-Tuscarawas divide

Glaciated PlateauPlants

Settlers saw vast forests populated with Wolf, elk, bear, mountain lion (mainly predatory)

Today, remaining forests populated with Cottontail , red fox, raccoon, fox squirrel, skunk,

deer, woodchucks, weasel, muskrats (hearty, non-predatory to human species) – “edge species”

Birds, both resident and migratory Robin, wood thrush, warblers, ruffed grouse, red tailed and

coopers hawks, owls, bald eagles, tree swallows, veery…live on forest edges. Why?

Reptiles & amphibians Red-bellied snake, Mountain dusky salamanders

Greater variety of landscape = greater diversity

Glaciated PlateauFauna (Animals)

Till PlainsGeology

Sedimentary bedrock (Ordovician through Devonian) (500 to 350 million years old) Mainly limestone Smaller areas of shale

(youngest rocks present here)

Fossil-rich (particularly Ordovician rocks) Marine invertebrates

Till PlainsGeology

Cincinnati Arch was created during Late Ordovician formation of Appalachian mtns (gentle slopes, exposing bedrock, particularly in highest areas of arch)

Most bedrock covered by thick glacial till

Massive erosion (by the Teays River) eroded away large portions of bedrock

Wisconsinan was most recent (peaked 20,000 years ago), traveling southward across the region

Advanced & retreated several times, leaving layers of impact (morains)

Created rolling hillsCampbell Hill, Ohio’s highest point, an end

moraineKames & Eskers are extensive in some

areasBoulder belts – large glacial erratics big as

quarries

Till PlainsGlaciation

Miamian soils Loam/Clay loam till (south) Clay rich till (Blount soils) (north)

Both are high-lime & found in Wisconsinan till

Low-lime tills resulting in Alexandrian soils to east

Soils here are formed primarily by parent material & time

Extremely fertile

Till PlainsSoils

Settlers saw woodlands, forests & wet prairies

Today 95% of land is farm or urban Agriculture mainly seen today

Corn, soybeans, wheat 1st growth vegetation almost non-existent Cedar Bog still remains…white cedar wetland

Till PlainsVegetation

Intense farming has led to less diversity

Ag resulted in destruction of valuable habitat

Fish Mad River – cold water Brook trout Big Darby – Scioto Madtom

Amphibians Striped chorus frog, small-mouth & tiger salamanders,

cave salamander Reptiles

Eastern garter snake, Butler’s garter snake blue racer, northern copperbelly, eastern massasauga, painted turtle

Till PlainsFauna

Intense farming has led to less diversity

Birds (attracted to open fields & plains with forest nearby) Kestrels, eastern meadowlark, horned lark, savannah

sparrow, song sparrow, woodcock Region is also a large migratory path for multitudes of

birds

Edge species – Ringneck replaced the Grouse

Till PlainsFauna

Intense farming has led to less diversity

Small Mammals Fox Squirrel replaced the Grey Red Fox replaced the Grey Forest species vs “woodlot” species Neither species existed in Ohio prior to clearing

Till PlainsFauna

2 Weeks left1 More lecturePresentations last class – must be here to

presentField trip next week – Canalway Center

Presentations:A few slides10 minutes topsTell us what your paper was about and a

few interesting findings

Final Class Time