Cliff Creek flows past a series of steep, short, north facing
slopes on
the streams way to the Chattooga River, the northernmost section
of the
Georgia-South Carolina state line. Despite the rough topography
along the
creek, the creek's gradient remains low, around 100' per mile,
and broad
ridges and shallow valleys make up most of the surrounding
section of
Rabun County GA. Bedrock exposed in the shows that either
granite or
granitic gneiss, with some prominent pegmatites, underlies at
least part
of that area.
Both private land owners and the Forest Service own large
sections of the
watershed. Since no state parks or trail networks promote
activity in the
area, public interest in the area is largely restricted to the
immediate
vicinity of the one highway through the area and whitewater
rafting on the
Chattooga river. However, the forest service has not forgotten
about the
area. Dirt roads extend throughout the region, except in the
Wild and
Scenic River corridor, and many more clearcuts have occurred in
the past
thirty years there than in most sections of the Chattahoochee
NF. The
gentle topography also allowed easy access for earlier logging
efforts, so
a survey for old growth conducted in the mid 90's included only
a few
small stands from the area. Consequently, a mosaic of second and
third
generation forests occupy the area.
The flats along the creek, probably the most productive forest
in the
area, are structurally and compositionally reminiscent of Pine
Flats in
the smokies, but have not reached the same stature yet. White
pines,
scattered but common, reach far greater heights than the other
species in
flats. Young hemlocks, usually under five feet cbh, form most of
the main
canopy layer; tuliptree, black birch and sourwood frequently
grow amongst
them along with smaller numbers of shortleaf pines, red maple,
and
sweetgum. Patches of dog-hobble and small clumps of rhododendron
grow in
the hemlock shade, but little vegetation impedes travel through
the flats.
Christmas fern grows in the acidic much, but most other
herbaceous plants
in the flats have ceased activity for the year. In Pine Flats,
more
abundant white pine forms a supercanopy rather than a collection
of
emergent trees. Hemlock, while possibly the most numerous
species in pine
flats, generally has not reached the main canopy level yet, so
the second
most prominent group of species at Cliff Creek, forms the main
canopy at
Pine Flats. The understory at the latter site probably includes
more
small trees, but is overall very similar. The herbaceous layer
along
Cataloochee creek may also be somewhat richer. Some rock piles
and
various small, old, man-made paths on the adjacent slopes
suggest farmers
may have occupied the flats along Cliff Creek, but the flats are
fairly
small for farming and no evidence of larger structures is
immediately
evident. The disturbance that cleared pine flats 125 years ago
has not
been determined as far as I know.
While one small section of the slopes along Cliff Creek
resembles the
flats with a white pine-shortleaf pine-hemlock canopy, most of
the slopes
differ markedly from the flats. The steep north facing slopes
also
support white pine and hemlock, but at lower densities than the
flats.
Those conifers grow amongst a mixture of hardwoods that includes
beech and
northern red oak as well as many individuals that appear larger
in
diameter and older than the trees in the flats. A dense
understory of
rosebay rhododendron also gives the north aspect slopes a
different
character. Contrastingly, only a few small patches of dwarf
rhododendron
grow in the understory of the south facing slopes. White oak
occupies the
greatest proportion of the canopy on those slopes, but several
other
hardwoods and small stands of shortleaf pine also inhabit the
slopes.
Cbh Height Species
4'1" 104.2 Birch, Black
NA 127.0' Hemlock, Eastern
NA 135.5' Hemlock, Eastern
3'5" 55.8' Hornbeam, American
5'7" 107.7' Oak, Southern Red
8'3" 139.6' Pine, Eastern White
NA 151.8' Pine, Eastern White
NA 152.6' Pine, Eastern White
7'9" 156.9' Pine, Eastern White
7'11" 157.4' Pine, Eastern White
NA 118.8' Pine, Shortleaf
5'0" 128.8' Pine, Shortleaf
5'3" 134.7' Pine, Shortleaf
3'4" 95.3'+ Sourwood
[ed
note: RI5 = 127.9]
The black birch is the second tallest known of the species in
the state.
While the hemlocks do not approach the state height record, they
are
exceptionally tall for second growth trees. I'm very curious to
see what
heights the white pines have reached on richer or older sites in
the area.
As far as I know, 121.2' was the previous height record for
shortleaf
pine in Georgia, but entire stands at this site may average that
height.
The sourwood is also a new state height record. All of these
trees were
measured in a couple of hours along a section of creek less than
half a
mile long.
Cliff Creek flows through the lower section section of the
Chattooga River
watershed where the river has cut down into an old plateau. I
had
previously assumed that that section of the watershed was too
far away
from the high rainfall center farther up the river and the
gentle
topography would offer two little shelter from storms to allow
trees to
reach great heights. Cliff Creek and a similar site on the other
side of
the Chattooga that likely has slightly taller conifers have
shown the
error of that assumption. The upper part of the Chattooga, in
particular
the lower East Fork, has long been recognized as exceptional
conifer
habitat. However, I am beginning to wonder if the lower
Chattooga has
even better growing conditions. Growth rates for white pine
appear
comparable along both sections of the river, but young hemlocks
may grow
much faster at the lower elevation sites. Also, shortleaf pine
appears
more competitive on good sites in the lower section than on good
sites in
the upper section, so the species can take greater advantage of
the
overall good conditions. Only more data will tell.
Jess Riddle
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