Date of Award

1995

Degree Name

Biological Sciences

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Dan K. Evans

Second Advisor

Thomas K. Pauley

Third Advisor

Thomas E. Weaks

Abstract

In 1978, the United States Congress designated 83.5 km/53 mi. of the New River in southern West Virginia as New River Gorge National River. The vascular flora of selected sites in NRGNR was surveyed from September 1992 through October 1994. A total of 904 taxa of vascular plants was recorded, 79.2% of which are native to West Virginia. Currently, 1337 vascular plant taxa have been documented from the New River Gorge as a result of this work as well as the work of Grafton and McGraw and Phillips. A comparison of species with the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program's rare species list showed that 27 taxa reported in this study have some special designation of rarity in West Virginia. Of the 27 rare taxa reported here, 13 are new records for the New River Gorge. Fifty new populations of these rare taxa were mapped. Eleven natural plant communities were described according to the dominant species as well as certain recurring physical features. The New River is established as a corridor for plant and animal migration from south to north across the Appalachian Mountains. Regional distributions of Sida hermaphrodita and Halesia carolina support this theory. The flora of New River Gorge was compared to the flora of other river gorges in the central Appalachian Mountains to determine floristic origin and affinities. New River Gorge appears to be, floristically, the most diverse river gorge in the central and southern Appalachians.

Subject(s)

Botany -- West Virginia -- New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

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