02816oam 2200385Ia 450 991069586260332120231011151840.0(CKB)5470000002373164(OCoLC)70151845(EXLCZ)99547000000237316420060621d2005 ua 0engurcn|||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierEcological zones in the southern Appalachians first approximation /Steve A. Simon [et al.]Asheville, NC :U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station,[2005]iii, 41 pages digital, PDF fileResearch paper SRS"December 2005"--T.p. verso.Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-29)."Forest environments of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and their characteristic plant communities are among the most varied in the Eastern United States. Considerable data are available on the distribution of plant communities relative to temperature and moisture regimes, but not much information on fertility as an environmental influence has been published; nor has anyone presented a map of the major, broad-scale ecosystems of the region, which could be used for planning and management of biological resources on forestlands. Our objectives were to identify predominant ecological units, develop a grouping of geologic formations related to site fertility, and model and map ecological zones of the Southern Appalachians. We synthesized 11 ecological units from an earlier analysis and classification of vegetation, which used an extensive database of over 2,000 permanent, 0.10-ha, intensively sampled plots. Eight lithologic groups were identified by rock mineral composition that upon weathering would result in soils of low or high availability of base cations. The presence or absence of ecological zones (large areas of similar environmental conditions consisting of temperature, moisture, and fertility, which are manifested by characteristic vegetative communities) were modeled as multivariate logistic functions of climatic, topographic, and geologic variables. Accuracy of ecozone models ranged from 69- to 95-percent correct classification of sample plots; accuracy of most models was > 80 percent "--P. [1].Research paper SRS;41Ecological zonesAppalachian Region, SouthernEcological zonesSimon Steven A1417959United States.Forest Service.Southern Research Station.OREOREGPOBOOK9910695862603321Ecological zones in the southern Appalachians3527880UNINA