Forest Communities and Patterns

Abstract

The vegetation of the Coweeta Basin is traditionally included in the oak-chestnut association (Braun 1972). However, since chestnut (Castanea dentata) has been lost as a dominant due to the chestnut blight, the area is probably more correctly classified as belonging to the oak-hickory association. The plant communities in the basin are typically diverse for the southern Appalachians and are distributed in a reasonably predictable mosaic over the highly varied topography in relation to moisture gradients (Day and Monk 1974). The composition and structure of many of these communities are apparently still changing and are dynamic. The predominant species composition is a mix of deciduous oaks with a commonly abundant evergreen undergrowth of Rhododendron maximum and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). (Species authority throughout this paper follows Radford et al. (1964).)