Preliminary ecological land classification of the Chauga Ridges Region of South Carolina

An ecological method of integrated multifactor land classification was applied in the Chauga Ridges, a subregion of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province, in northwest South Carolina. Phase I sampling involved measuring 61 reference plots in undisturbed late-successional upland hardwood stands. Four distinct site units (xeric, intermediate, submesic, and mesic) were identified using ordination, cluster analysis, discriminant function analysis, and canonical correspondence analysis. Using cross-validation of a discriminant function, a combination of five environmental features (landform index, terrain shape index, root mat thickness, slope gradient, and slope position) identified site units with an accuracy rate of 82%. A predictive GIS model which used spatial variables only (landform index, terrain shape index, topographic-related moisture index, distance-to-bottom, and slope gradient) was also developed and identified site units with the same success rate of 82%.