Marc,
Much, much less. The rainiest spots in the southern Apps are right at the edge
of the definition for a temperate rainforest. Growing up down there, I never
heard them called that and was surprised to found out how rainy they are in
upper coves and on the summits. Mount Washington, NH is also another place in
the East with high annual precipitation. The summit of Mount Washington
averages 98 inches a year. I think that's a pretty long term average.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marcboston" <[email protected]>
To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:39:45 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Horse Cove, NC
112" of rain! That place must look like the amazon. I have never been to the
Smokies. How do they compare to the temperate rainforest of the Pacific
Northwest in terms of rainfall? On Jan 15, 10:43 am, [email protected] wrote:
> Jess, > > I have long been curious about what the Balsam Mountains have to
offer. Thanks for taking on the challenge of decoding these marvelous mountains
that stand in the Shadows of the Blacks and Smokies, but are pretty much their
equals. I saw a rainfall distribution that was established out of the
University of Oregon, I think. It listed an area of the Balsams at 112 inches,
if my memory serves me correctly. That was the highest eastern rainfall plot I
had seen. Do you know the one I refer to? > > Bob > > > > ----- Original
Message ----- > From: "Jess Riddle" > To: [email protected] > Sent:
Friday, January 15, 2010 10:33:04 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject:
[ENTS] Horse Cove, NC > > Ents, On Saturday, at the suggestion of Josh Kelly
and Will Blozan, we followed the Davidson River west from Brevard, NC to
explore Horse Cove and East Horse Cove. Ascending to just under 6000’
elevation, the surrounding watershed drains the steep southeastern flank of the
Balsam Mountains, and features several granitic domes, the best known of which
is Looking Glass Rock (http://tinyurl.com/yct2wqw). John Rock, one of the
smaller granitic domes, shelters Horse Cove from the west, and the steep upper
slopes of Chestnut Knob provide shade from the south/southeast. While Horse
Cove is a broad cove draining to the north with several small, steep, sub-coves
coming off Chestnut Knob, the adjacent East Horse Cove is a northeast flowing
ravine. East Horse Cove generally appears more acidic with patchy rhododendron
along the stream, although near the top of the stream spicebush dominates the
understory. Tuliptrees line the stream, but on the east facing slopes they
quickly give way to a mix of hickories and oaks. Tuliptree also forms nearly
pure stands where side coves enter into Horse Cove, and on those sites
spicebush again dominates the understory. Gentler sections of Horse Cove
support a more diverse overstory that, in addition to tuliptree, includes a mix
of oaks, pignut hickory, and beech. Throughout the cove silverbell occurs as an
understory species, and a few sugar maples, locally uncommon, grow in the
midstory. The overstory is generally mature, probably a little less than 100
years old, except for a section of the middle of the cove that was clear cut
perhaps a decade ago. Species Cbh Height Ash, White 7’8” 136.6’ Beech 6’2.5”
130.6’ Basswood, White 5’10” 142.3’ Hickory, Mockernut 7’11” 132.9’ Hickory,
Mockernut 7’4” 133.1’ Hickory, Pignut NA 143.4’ Hickory, Pignut 6’6” 152.1’
Magnolia, Cucumber NA 128.7’ Oak, Black 9’2” 125.5’ Oak, Chestnut 5’0” 128.0’
Oak, Northern Red 9’0” 129.2’ Oak, Southern Red 7’10” 119.7’ Pine, White 9’7”
149.9’ Tuliptree 6’4.5” 150.4’ Tuliptree NA 150.9’ Tuliptree 6’10” 157.5’
Tuliptree NA 159.5’ Rucker Index 139.0’ The mockernut hickories may be state
height records, and the great height and abundance of the hickories relative to
other species resembles tall tree sites along the Blue Ridge Escarpment in SC,
including Wadakoe Mountain and Tamassee Knob. However, basswood does not reach
140 along the escarpment, and all of the tall ash on the escarpment are var.
biltmoreana not var. americana as in Horse Cove. The southern red oak is also
exceptional for the mountains, and not surprisingly, grows on a slope outside
the coves and just above the Davidson River. We did not attempt to find the
tallest tuliptree and only explored about half of the cove, so more searching
will almost certainly raise the Rucker Index above 140’. Jess and Mike > --
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