Plant Community Characteristics Associated with the Endangered Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus, in the Southern Appalachians

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Overstory and understory vegetation and physical parameters were sampled at sites where two endangered subspecies of the northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus are known to occur in the southern Appalachians. The 13 sites were disjunct, occurring at high elevations in mesic communities. Picea rubens was always present in the canopy (19-1173 trees/ha); the northernmost sites had greater densities of P. rubens and Betula lutea, while the southern sites had greater densities of Abies fraseri and Fagus grandifolia. Cluster analysis of overstory importance value data indicated the more southern sites and the more northern sites differed in species composition. In comparison the understory was highly variable among sites, both in species composition and percent cover and was therefore considered to be a poor indicator of suitable habitat for populations of G. sabrinus. Site characteristics indicate that the endangered populations of G. sabrinus may be restricted to patches of suitable habitat which remain at only a limited number of sites at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains.