Cumberland Plateau/Ridge & Valley Ecoregion: Overview

The Cumberland Plateau/Ridge & Valley Ecoregion is located in northwest Georgia.  Geology plays a clear role here: the ecologist Charles Wharton noted that "nowhere in Georgia is the bedrock of the land more visible, exciting, or easier to relate to landform" than in this ecoregion. Different types of sedimentary rock form  vertical layers, with natural communities changing accordingly.  Erosion- resistant sandstone often caps the ridges.  Here, acidic sandy soils support dry forests with often stunted trees, scenic views into the valleys below, and picturesque, towering rock outcroppings.  In contrast, valley floors are underlain by more easily eroded limestone that weather to calcareous soils.  These nutrient-soils support rich, moist forests with extravagant spring wildflower displays, as well as unique calcareous fens, glades, and prairies with many rare species. Aprons of shale, hosting pine-oak woodlands and forests, often drape the slopes that lay between the ridgetops and valleys.

Vegetation influences from the west and north are recognizable here.  Calcareous glades share many endemic (found nowhere else) species with glades of Kentucky and Tennessee, while Coosa/calcareous prairies host Midwestern species.  A Coastal Plain influence is also felt because the Coosa River valley forms a migration corridor from the Alabama Coastal Plain.  These fascinating influences, along with the varied geology of the region, make the Cumberland Plateau/Ridge & Valley ecoregion unique to the state, with an unusually high diversity of natural communities.

Upland Forest and Woodland Communities
Mesic Forests
​Dry Calcareous Forests
​Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
Pine-Oak Woodlands
Montane Longleaf Woodlands
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Open Upland Communities: Prairies, Glades, Barrens, and Outcrops
Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
​Acidic Glades and Barrens
Calcareous Glades and Barrens (Cedar Glades)
Calcareous Cliffs
​Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
  
Wetland Communities
​Acidic Seepage Wetlands
Bottomlands, Floodplains, and Riparian Zones

Note:  Wet Prairies are covered under Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
 

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