Objectives: Survey the range of terrestrial habitats in West Virginia, with emphasis on forests.

Class type: Core curriculum

Time: 3 hours

Optimal season: Any

Materials: None

Expected outcomes:

The student will gain a basic understanding of

1.  the major types of terrestrial habitats in West Virginia

            1.  their gross description and distribution in the state.

            2.  their characteristic flora and fauna.

            3.  the ecological processes that create and maintain them.

 

The Course:

1.   Forests

            a)   Extent and importance in West Virginia

            b)   Layers of vegetation

            c)   Environmental conditions affect forests and vice versa

            d)   Succession

            e)   "Old growth" in West Virginia

            f)   Deciduous forests

• Fall coloration
• Effects of seasonal leaf loss (input of dead organic matter to environment,    increased light on forest floor, etc.)
• Deciduous forest community types

            g)   Evergreen forests

• Red Spruce forest
• Other conifers – Fir, Hemlock, Pines

            h)   Wildlife of the forests

            i )   Major threats to West Virginia forests (including insects, diseases, air

                        pollution, exotic invasive plants)

2.   Shale barrens and cedar glades

            a)   Distribution of shale barrens

            b)   Description of typical shale barrens

            c)   Shale barren flora

            d)   Factors that create and maintain shale barrens

            e)   Cedar glades

3.   Grass balds

            a)   Definition and distribution

            b)   Origin

            c)   Flora of grass balds

4.   Rock surface habitats

            a)   Physical characteristics of cliffs, ledges, talus

            b)   Flora and fauna

            c)   Ice Mountain – algific talus

            d)   River flat rock

5.   Subterranean ecosystems – caves

            a)   Formation and WV distribution of limestone caves

            b)   Cave fauna

            c)   Cave ecology (food chains, etc.)

6.   Human-created habitats

            a)   Cultivated and otherwise recently-disturbed areas

            b)   Pasture and roadside

            c)   Old fields

            d)   Barns, houses, and other structures