Department of Conservation and Recreation

THE NATURAL COMMUNITIES OF VIRGINIA
CLASSIFICATION OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY GROUPS

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Second Approximation (Version 2.5)
Information current as of February, 2012

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Southern Appalachian Shrub and Grass Balds

Balds constitute a group of globally rare communities restricted to high-elevation (> 1,500 m [5,000 ft]) summits and upper slopes in the southern Blue Ridge, from Virginia south to northern Georgia. Dense, shrub-dominated balds are confined in Virginia to high rocky summits in the Mount Rogers - Whitetop Mountain area of Grayson, Smyth, and Washington Counties, and on a few caprock promontories of the Iron Mountains and Clinch Mountain. Four vegetation types are present: an evergreen shrubland dominated by Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense); a mixed shrubland of Catawba rhododendron, mountain-laurel ((Kalmia latifolia)), black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), and other species; a deciduous shrubland dominated by American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana), minniebush (Menziesia pilosa), and southern mountain-cranberry (Vaccinium erythrocarpum); and a deciduous shrubland dominated by Smooth Blackberry (Rubus canadensis). Very rocky, cold, windswept habitats probably contribute heavily to the creation and maintenance of shrub balds. At least some may have originated after catastrophic logging and fire disturbances almost a century ago, but even in these there is little or no evidence of tree reproduction.

In Virginia, Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds are represented by a single occurrence covering approximately 80 ha (200 ac) near the summit of Whitetop Mountain at the convergence of Grayson, Smyth, and Washington Counties. Vegetation of this site is dominated by mountain oat-grass (Danthonia compressa), sedges (Carex brunnescens ssp. sphaerostachya , Carex debilis var. rudgei, Carex pensylvanica), and forbs such as three-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata) and Blue Ridge St. Johns-wort (Hypericum mitchellianum); several state-rare and globally rare species are present. The ecological dynamics that created and maintain this habitat are debatable, but probably include shallow rocky soils, fires, grazing, and microclimatic impacts such as frequent high-velocity winds and ice storms. Moreover, it is possible that the Whitetop bald represents a relict of true alpine vegetation that was more widely distributed at high elevations in the southern Appalachians during the Pleistocene.

Reference: Fleming and Coulling (2001), Weigl and Knowles (1999).

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Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.

	Southern Appalachian Grassy Bald on the upper south slope of Whitetop (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Gary P. Fleming / © DCR Natural Heritage.
	Trees encroaching on grassy bald around Buzzard Rock, on a southwest-facing spur of Whitetop, Smyth and Washington Counties (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Photo Gary P. Fleming.
	Shrub bald dominated by Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) on Wilburn Ridge, Grayson Highlands State Park. Gary P. Fleming / © DCR Natural Heritage.

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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
The few examples of this group in Virginia have been well-sampled (map) and their classification is relatively robust. Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by NatureServe Explorer.

• Rhododendron catawbiense Shrubland
  Southern Appalachian Catawba Rhododendron Heath Bald
  USNVC: = CEGL003818
  Global/State Ranks: G2/S1
  
  
• Kalmia latifolia - Rhododendron catawbiense - Gaylussacia baccata Shrubland
  Southern Appalachian Mixed Heath Bald
  USNVC: = CEGL003814
  Global/State Ranks: G2G3/S1
  
  
• Menziesia pilosa - Vaccinium (erythrocarpum, simulatum, corymbosum) - Sorbus americana Shrubland
  Southern Appalachian Deciduous Heath Bald
  USNVC: = CEGL004819
  Global/State Ranks: GNR/S1
  
  
• Danthonia compressa - Carex brunnescens ssp. sphaerostachya - Sibbaldiopsis tridentata Herbaceous Vegetation
  Southern Appalachian Grassy Bald
  USNVC: = CEGL004242
  Global/State Ranks: G1/S1

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