The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program and the North Carolina Association of Environmental Professionals (NCAEP) will hold a Rare Plant and Natural Community Identification workshop April 20, 2012.  The field trip/workshop will be led by Michael Schafale, Laura Gadd, James Padgett (NHP) and Sean Bloom (Catawba Land Conservancy), and will highlight some of the natural communities and rare plants associated with the western Piedmont region of Lincoln and Gaston Counties.   This field trip is designed for environmental professionals, botanists, and students who are responsible for conducting environmental surveys.  The registration fee is $85.

Background Information:

The western Piedmont is one of the most heavily populated regions of the state.  This one-day trip will highlight natural communities and several rare plant species frequently encountered in this region. We will visit several sites owned or under conservation easement by the Catawba Land Conservancy.  We will examine and discuss the typical upland and floodplain communities of the Piedmont, from Dry Oak--Hickory Forest to Piedmont Alluvial Forest.  As time permits, we will visit some of the less common community types, including Piedmont Monadnock Forest, Basic Mesic Forest, and possibly Upland Depression Swamp Forest or Xeric Hardpan Forest.  Though there are few rare plant species in this part of the state, we will see the federally listed dwarf-flowered heartleaf (Hexastylis naniflora), hopefully in bloom.  This region is also North Carolina’s center for big-leaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla), and we will see populations of this rare species. 

Please bring your copy of Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina (Third Approximation) by Schafale and Weakley. If you do not have a copy, one can be purchased from the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program for $15 at the workshop or you can download and print relevant portions for free at http://www.ncnhp.org/Images/Other%20Publications/class.pdf. We will discuss the newly released Fourth Approximation (Schafale 2012) and compare with the Third Approximation. 

Please bring a lunch as we will not stop at a restaurant. The registration fee does not include meals.

Workshop attendees will be transported by van between field trip sites. Please meet the vans at the Comfort Inn in Lincolnton. Vans will depart promptly at 8 AM.

Comfort Inn
1550 East Main Street
Lincolnton, NC 28092

Please register soon. Registration closes on April 13th.