Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.6 Mafic Glades and Barrens 4.4.6.1 Ecosystem Description
Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (Schafale 2024) includes this natural community as Piedmont and Mountain Glades and Barrens Theme. They occupy a wide variety of sites that have in common that they limit tree cover without being predominantly bare rock. There are numerous subtypes of glades and barrens in the Mountain and Piedmont ecoregions.
• Acidic Shale Slope Woodland • Calcareous Shale Slope Woodland • Diabase Glade • Granitic Dome Basic Woodland • High Elevation Acidic Glade
• Low Elevation Acidic Glade (Grass, Biltmore Sedge subtypes) • Low Elevation Basic Glade (Montane, Brushy Mountains subtypes) • Montane Red Cedar-Hardwood Woodland • Piedmont Acidic Glade • Piedmont Basic Glade (Typic, Falls Dam Slope subtypes)
• Ultramafic Outcrop Barren (Pitch Pine, White Oak, Virginia Pine, Piedmont subtypes) • Xeric Hardpan Forest (Basic Hardpan, Northern Prairie Barren, Southern Prairie Barren, Acidic Hardpan, Basic Rocky subtypes) • Xeric Piedmont Slope Woodland Glades are communities where bedrock is near the surface, so that shallow soil limits tree cover. Those located in the Mountain ecoregion are adapted to a cooler, moister climate and may be more drought tolerant than locations in the Piedmont ecoregion. However, mountain locations may be more susceptible to alteration than Piedmont glades because of residential development. Diabase glades occur in the Piedmont over outcrops of diabase and potentially over other mafic rocks. As with other glade communities, the soil and vegetation are patchy and range from nearly bare rock to patches deep enough to support trees. The vegetation includes many species shared with other high pH soil communities and some species found on granitic flatrocks. High elevation mafic glade communities are an extremely rare community type, with only three examples known globally. A single known location in North Carolina occurs on a flat exposure of amphibolite in Ashe County. Lichens, including a species found nowhere else ( Cladonia psoromica ), dominate much of the area. Herbs on thin soil mats and in crevices include both lowland species and northern disjunct species. Woody species occur in deeper soils and crevices.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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