NOBLE, SARAH MARIE* and DAVID K. SMITH. University of Tennessee, Department of Botany, 437 Hesler, Knoxville, TN 37920. - Floristic and ecological studies of bryophytes in a Southern Appalachian gorge.
The Southern Appalachian Mountains contain many protected gorges,
which support a very diverse bryoflora, including many endemic, rare
and disjunct species. A small, pristine and protected tributary of the
Little Tennessee River, Falls Branch Falls was chosen as the focus of
this bryophyte flora and study. Falls Branch Falls is located in the
Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee at an elevation of 1131m (3710
ft.). Inventory methods consist of ecological niche observation and
field collections. The tributary landscape was sampled along
ecological gradients and subunits from which specimens of bryophyte
associations were collected. Each sample was treated by laboratory
identification of all associated taxa and each taxon was scored for
dominant, co-dominant, consociated, or incidental occurrence. The
inventory and descriptive ecology of the bryophyte flora of this small
area will add to our knowledge of flora within the Southern
Appalachian Mountains, and stand as the beginning survey of bryophytes
for Cherokee National Forest. A number of phytogeographic elements
have been discovered in Falls Branch Falls: Endemics, notably
Megaceros aenigmaticus; and a number of Tennessee-North
Carolina state-listed rare; and disjunct bryophyte species. To date
125 bryophyte taxa have been identified. Collections and
identification are planned to continue through December 2001.
Key words: bryophyte, diversity, ecology, endemic, floristic, Southern Appalachian