High-Elevation Rock Outcrop Vegetation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Species composition patterns and vegetation-environment relationships were quantified for high-elevation rock outcrops of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, an infrequent and insular habitat in a forested landscape. Outcrops occur over a wide geographic range encompassing extensive variation in both geology and climate. Geographic-scale factors interact with site-scale factors to produce variation in vegetation among outcrops. Similarly, site-scale factors interact with micro-scale factors to produce variation in vegetation within outcrops. To provide a quantitatively-based classification of outcrop vegetation we used a TWINSPAN analysis of 154 100-m2 plots. We recognized nine communities that primarily correspond to different combinations of elevation, bedrock type, geography, and moisture. Within outcrops of a single bedrock type, vegetation composition of 100-m2 plots was consistently correlated with elevation and solar radiation, but relationships to soil nutrients varied with bedrock type. Both site-scale (100 m2) factors (e.g. elevation, slope, aspect, and bedrock type) and plot-scale ( 1-m2) microsite factors (e.g. soil depth, vegetation height, soil nutrients) were strongly correlated with species composition at the 1-m2 level. Environment can be used to predict composition more effectively for 100-m2 plots on a single bedrock type than either across bedrock types or at a 1-m2 scale. Composition-environment relationships resemble those described for outcrop systems from other regions with pronounced topographic relief more than they do those described for the nearby but flatter and lower-elevation outcrops of the Southeastern Piedmont. There is strong spatial autocorrelation in this community, perhaps owing to dispersal limitation. Consequently, a comprehensive conservation strategy must include reservation of both a range of geologic types and a range of geographic locations.