Abstract
With this chapter we begin a more detailed exploration of the origin and maintenance of grasslands in the South. As reviewed in chapter 2, prolonged periods of drier climate or increased seasonality can convert forest to grassland. This process has occurred periodically in the past. Positive feedback loops involving megaherbivores and fire further contribute to grassland formation and can maintain grassland after climatic conditions favorable for its development have ended. The long sequence of grassland-adapted vertebrates in the fossil record, patterns of disjunction in plant and animal taxa between the semiarid West and the Southeast, and positive responses to fire in the flora and fauna provide evidence of this history.
The most satisfactory system of geographical classification of the vegetation of temperate Eastern North America is one based on geology.
Roland Harper (1906a)
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References
Grasslands and communities (general): Gleason 1926, Whittaker 1962, Quarterman et al. 1993, Anderson et al. 1999
Blackland prairies (including Black Belt and Jackson prairies): Gosse 1859, Mohr 1901, Rostlund 1957, Rankin and Davis 1971, Foti et al. 2003, Peacock and Schauwecker 2003, Schauwecker and MacDonald 2003, Zollner et al. 2003, Barone 2005, Barone and Hill 2007, Hill and Seltzer 2007, Echols and Zomlefer 2010, Jim Allison’s website: http://jimbotany.com/castaneasupplement_pt1.htm
Other calcareous grasslands and limestone glades: Lockett 1869 (1969), Gattinger 1901, Braun 1928a and 1928b, Braun 1950, Anderson 1982, Baskin and Baskin 1986, Bridges and Orzell 1986, Boettcher and Kalisz 1991, Quarterman et al. 1993, Baskin and Baskin 1999, Baskin et al. 1999, Ludwig 1999, Baskin and Baskin 2003, MacRoberts et al. 2003, Baskin and Baskin 2004, Lawless et al. 2006, Baskin et al. 2007
Sandstone, igneous, and metamorphic glades and barrens: Harper 1906a and 1906b, McVaugh 1943, Quarterman et al. 1993, Griffin et al. 1995, Griffin and Snow 1998, Reid and Spooner 1998, Shure 1999, Pringle and Witsell 2005
Shale barrens: Steele 1911, Platt 1951, Braunschweig et al. 1999, Pringle and Whitsell 2005, Witsell 2007
Serpentine barrens: Marye 1955, Kruckeberg 1984, Mansberg and Wentworth 1984, Tyndall 1992, Tyndall and Hull 1999, Kauffman et al. 2004, Harrison and Viers 2007, Briles et al. 2011, Juras 2011
Saline prairies or barrens: MacRoberts et al. 2009, Reid et al. 2010
Piedmont prairies: Schafale and Weakley 1990, Barden 1997, Juras 1997, Davis et al. 2002, Tompkins et al. 2010, Blevins and Schafale 2011
Pine savannas, sandhills, montane longleaf: May and Warne 1999, Platt 1999, Stowe et al. 2002, Varner et al. 2003, Peet 2006, Sorrie 2011
Marl prairies, pine rocklands, sea-level rise, hurricanes, tornados: Cabeza de Vaca (1542) 1993, Egler 1952, Ross et al. 2000, Earley 2004, Ross et al. 2009, Maschinski et al. 2011, Noss 2011, Saha et al. 2011, Willard and Bernhardt 2011, Zhang et al. 2011, Strauss et al. 2012, http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/top-tornado-states_2012-03-06
Beetles: White 1983
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Noss, R.F. (2013). Physical Factors: Rock, Soil, Landform, Water, and Wind. In: Forgotten Grasslands of the South. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-225-9_4
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