The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Spray Cliffs
Spray cliff communities occur on constantly wet rock faces within the spray or splash zones of waterfalls, or on sheltered cliffs
saturated with permanent seepage. A few examples, scattered over the entire mountain region of the state, are known from qualitative
reports. At this time, very little can be said about the ecological dynamics or floristic composition of these occurrences. Based on
casual observations, mosses and liverworts are usually the dominant plants, with vascular species more sparsely rooted in crevices and
on moss- or humus-covered shelves. Among the most characteristic and widespread vascular plants are brook saxifrage (
Boykinia
aconitifolia), small enchanter's nightshade (
Circaea alpina ssp. alpina), little-leaved alumroot (
Heuchera parviflora var.
parviflora), rock clubmoss (
Huperzia porophila), saxifrages (
Saxifraga caroliniana and
Saxifraga micranthidifolia), mountain meadowrue (
Thalictrum clavatum), and various lithophytic ferns. Very few waterfalls in Virginia are large and constant enough to provide requisite conditions for spray cliff communities. Good examples, therefore, should be high priorities for protection. A full understanding of Virginia's spray cliff vegetation and its relationship to similar vegetation further south in the Appalachians will require comprehensive bryophyte inventories.
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
 |
A lush bryophyte community occurs on travertine rock faces behind the cascades of Falling Spring Falls north of Covington, Alleghany County.
Photo: Dean Walton.
|
REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
Communities in this group have been well documented in North Carolina, but have not been studied in Virginia and no associations have been defined.
