The aims of this research have been the following: (1) to determine the nature of the flora and to make a checklist of vascular plants of the area; (2) to compare the flora of Chilhowee Mountain with the flora of the Cumberlands and of the Smokies; (3) to describe in detail the canopy, sub-canopy, seedlings, and herbs of each forest cover type on the mountain; and (4) to relate the vegetation to the geology and the soils.

No detailed previous study had been made of the Chilhowee Mountain area, which has a geology distinct from that of the Smokes and that of the Ridge and Valley Province. This mountain, with an area of approximately one hundred square miles, lies to the northeast of the Smokies and ranges in elevation from 832 to 3,069 feet. A detailed study of the vegetation and flora was made, and it forms the groundwork for future studies of the relationships of the vegetation and flora of the Ridge and Valley Province to those of the mountains of the Southern Appalachians.

Animals with a long life span like the black bear are good subjects for the study of seasonal and annual physiological changes of individuals. By taking growth measurement at various seasons and between years some conclusions were made about the growth of black bears. Males grew faster, longer, and larger than females. Significant variations between individual bears existed although a general trend of rapid growth during the late summer and fall and a slow weight loss during the winter and spring was noticed. These physiological changes appeared to be related to food availability, nutrition, and breeding behavior.

The bear population was largely adults (68 percent) with cubs and yearlings (14 percent) and subadults (18 percent) making up the remainder of the population. The high average survival rate (78.3 percent) for adults was counterbalanced by a low reproductive rate. The average litter size was 2.1 cubs and only 17.4 percent of the females had cubs.

Adult females and subadult males confined their movements to 720 (1780 acres) and 650 hectares (1606 acres), respectively. One adult male was more mobile and covered an area of 1901 hectares (4695 acres) during 1972 and expanded it to 2242 hectares (5538 acres) the following year.

Panhandler bears concentrated their activities to areas around trail shelters although they also foraged for native foods. These bears were opportunist feeders and readily adapted to feeding on native foods when backpackers were less numerous during the fall and early winter.

Due to the close association of various habitat types created by various topographic positions, bears confined their movements to relatively small areas. There was overlapping of home ranges although area mutually exclusive to other bears of the same kind were noticed. the closes oak forest type was preferred during all seasons and bears would concentrate in areas of an abundant food supply.

Bears were active at all times of a 24-hour period but were most active from 1800 to 2400 hours and least active 1200 to 1800 hours. Movements during a 24-hour period were quite varied but ranged to over 20 kilometers.

Most panhandler bears were males and moving them to various areas inside the Park has been only partially successful due to their homing abilities. Previous homing experience and age are important considerations when moving bears to remote areas of the Park.

Bears entered their dens in early December and emerged sometime after March. Cavities high in over-mature trees appeared to be the favorite type of den.

Data were collected for three test sites within the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park between January 1980 and October 1980. The selected areas were easily accessible and were studied in the field by the author. Landform characteristics were obtained from United States Geological Survey topographic maps of the region. Cover characteristics were obtained from field research and from ancillary data of the National Park Service, the Uplands Research Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry.

Landsat spectral data were analyzed in a two step method. The first step consisted of visual and photo-mechanical enhancement techniques. This included obtaining Landsat image scenes from the Earth Resources Observations System Data Center (EROS). It was hoped that by utilizing numerous photo-processing techniques previously obscurred data could be enhanced, analyzed, and classified.

The second step consisted of applying a supervised computer classification program to a Landsat digital tape of the study area. The supervised classification program analyzes a Landsat scene on the basis of established training sites that correspond to known locations studied in the field. The computer classification proved more adaptable to enhancing and classifying discrete regions than did photo-mechanical techniques.

The study suggests that more research into the feasibility of utilizing Landsat multispectral data in areas of low accessibility or mountainous terrain needs to be developed. It also suggests that numerous factors influence scene spectral levels and that the best means of examining these factors is through computer classifications based on selected test sites.

The physiographic provinces in Tennessee are described. Methods for collecting and preservation are included.

Data were analyzed from 266 sample locations ranging from 759 to 1585 m elevation in the central portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in the vicinity of Mt. LeConte, Greenbrier Pinnacle, and Thomas Ridge.

The 266 sample soils were tentatively classified as: Typic Dystrochrepts, 51%; Lithic Dystrochrepts, 14%; Typic Haplumberpts, 15%; Umbric Dystrochrepts, 10%; Lithic Histosols, 4%; Lithic Umbric Dystrochrepts 3%; Fragmental, 2%; and Lithic Umbrepts, 1%.

Sample linear correlations among the soil, site and vegetation characteristics were computed. The highest number of significant vegetation-soil correlations occurred with clay content of the A and B horizons and with ph_w. Most of the general vegetation characteristics were significantly correlated with microtopographic position.

Canopy sample plots were grouped into forest types based on taxa and importance values with the aid of the agglomerative minimum dispersion clustering procedure. The types were: Spruce-Yellow Birch, Yellow Birch-Hemlock, Hemlock-Buckeye, Basswood, Northern Red Oak, Red Maple-Sweet Birch, Red Maple-Northern Red Oak, Yellow Poplar, Chestnut Oak, Oak-Pine, Table-Mountain Pine-Pitch Pine and Table-Mountain Pine. The discreteness of the plot groups (types) was tested by canonical analysis. Vegetation, site and soil characteristics of the 17 forest types were described.

Relative densities of tree taxa in the canopy, sapling and seedling strata were compared to judge the successional stability of the types. Types which had no evidence of past disturbance appeared to be relatively stable, although periodic reproduction apparently had occurred in some plots. Acer rubrum, Quercus prinus, Q. rubra and Oxydendrum arboreum were the most common tree taxa which had replaced American chestnut.

A "topographic site gradient" was constructed based on combinations of potential solar irradiation classes (based on aspect and slope angle) and microtopographic slope positions. Each position along this gradient was assigned a number, termed the "site gradient index" (SGI), which increased toward mesic sites. The samples of each forest type were plotted on axes of elevation and SGI. A composite diagram was made portraying the pattern of most of the types on the SGI -elevation axes. Observable patterns were noted when Umbrepts, Umbric Dystrochrepts and Lithic Dystrochrepts were plotted on the site diagram. Other characteristics showing patterns on the diagram were: percent clay in the B horizon, total vascular taxa, percent shrub cover, tree sapling density, and canopy basal area.

The combined vegetation-site summary contained in the composite site diagram suggests that the Mt. LeConte area departs significantly in detail (if not in basic outline) from the mosaic chart of Whittaker. This suggests that further local studies are needed in the Park to further verify or redefine its outline and / or details.

The ingestive behaviors were studied using ethological observations and a longitudinal food preference test. Observations were obtained as the subjects procured and consumed food items both naturally occurring and introduced into the enclosure. The observed feeding behaviors were discussed in three categories: foraging, predation, and consumption. The foraging behaviors appeared to be uncomplicated and consisted primarily of apparently random walking and use of the front paws to dig and manipulate objects in the enclosure. Olfactory scanning was integrated with locomotion and use of the paws. Predatory behaviors were infrequently observed but are described.

Detailed descriptions of the consumption of the native food items (acorns, blackberries, and grass) were based on motion picture analysis. Visual orientation toward the food items was particularly evident and is considered an important facit of the ingestive behaviors. The bears were also found to be very clean feeders, consuming very little debris.

The preferences for two sets of food items (native food items and non-native food items) was determined during a one year testing program. The bears were found to exhibit definite scalable preferences among both sets of foods. The preferences were significantly correlated between the subjects and were consistent throughout the one year period. The consistency of preference among seasons indicated that the naturally occurring diet of the black bear is controlled by availability of the foods. In the native food test acorns were the most preferred. In the non-native food test fish was the most preferred food.

The foods most highly preferred were rich either in protein or carbohydrates. The carbohydrate preference, unusual for a member of the order Carnivora, is considered a function of the change to herbivorous dietary patterns in the bear.

The research on visual capacities of the captive bears consisted of two discrimination studies. The bears were tested for their abilities to perform discriminations on the basis of hue and pattern using specially designed methods involving small painted containers. The basic task was a two-choice correction procedure with food reinforcement.

The results of the color vision testing indicate that blue was successfully discriminated from gray, green, red, and yellow. Green was successfully discriminated from gray, blue and red. The acquisition of the discriminations was very rapid. The consistency of the hue discrimination and the rapidity of learning indicated that the subjects were very adept at hue discrimination and, most likely, utilized this ability with frequency.

The form discrimination study was designed to assess one bear's abilities to differentiate and recognize patterns. It was found that the ability to choose the correct stimulus was not affected by size of the stimuli, configurational placement, or the introduction of novel negative stimuli. The reversal of backgrounds produced an initial but very short period of confusion.

The retention of the discrimination was found to be perfect after four and eight month delays. The rate of learning the initial discrimination was also very rapid. It was concluded that the bear was very capable of making visual discriminations on the basis of pattern.

1. To develop a series of vegetational classification systems based on the floristics of community strata, overstory structural functional features, and environmental parameter of a region typical of the temperate Tennessee Valley;

2. To examine the suitability of these classification systems for the complex forests of the Tennessee Valley;

3. To develop numerical tools for evaluating classification suitability;

4. To use these tools to seek out natural discontinuities in vegetational patterns.

To achieve these goals six multivariate cluster analysis programs were examined. Preliminary tests brought out undesirable properties in four of them, however, and these were eliminated from further use. The remaining two programs, MINFO and MDISP, were then employed on a data set from Fentress County, Tennessee; and classification hierarchies were built based on overstory, reproduction, shrubs, overstory plus shrubs, ground cover, all species regardless of stratum, structural - functional characteristics, structural - functional plus quantitative vegetational characteristics, and environmental parameters. Three additional subjective, overstory classification systems were also examined -- a TVA forest-type system, a personally derived system, and a system based on three leading dominant species.

Two numerical tools were developed for examining these classification systems. The first tool, the mean indicator score (MIS), is based on the constancy and fidelity of individual species for a particular cluster type. The MIS sums the indicator values (defined in terms of constancy and fidelity) of the species having the strongest affinities for given clusters. The second too, the mean environmental score (MES), sums the response of particular clusters for given environmental parameters. The MIS, then, examines the suitability of a particular classification in terms of floristic affinity, while the MES evaluates in term of environmental response.

When 23 Fentress County classifications were compared on the MES scale, a definite trend was evident; but the individual MES's were statistically not clearly distinguishable. It was concluded, therefore, that the classifications of that particular data set were not readily differentiable in terms of response to the environment. The MIS scale, on the other hand, was much more conclusive, especially when calculations were based on the top 50 indicator species. MINFO classifications of ground cover, overstory, shrubs, and overstory plus shruurbs scored the highest. It was, therefore, concluded that any of these strata could be used to develop suitable vegetation classifications. Structural-functional systems and environmental classifications proved to be particularly unsuitable.

All of the classification systems were compared in terms of similarity and were found, in general, to be highly dissimilar. None of the classifications converged on any one interpretation of vegetational patterns.

An attempt was made to recognize natural discontinuities in the vegetation by calculating MIS's at each level of cluster hierarchy. Although the MIS did reach a maximum at an optimal hierarchy level, it was found that the maximum MIS is directly dependent on the weights assigned to fidelity and constancy and is only coincidentally related to the data. Any model that is a function of fidelity and constancy must maximize at a level defined by the constraints of the model rather than by an imposition of the data. If natural discontinuities in the data happen to coincide with maximizing scores for the model, this if fortuitous but is no guarantee that the two will always coincide.