This semester we collected plants from the Marian Harnach Nature Trail at Ruffner Mountain. Ruffner is located in North Jefferson County (33.56N, -86.71E). The pictures below show Ruffner Mountain from Google Earth, and it shows a trail map of Ruffner Mountain. The Marian Harnach Trail is 0.6 miles long and is located right near the Visitor Center. When we first arrived at the site, there was debris consisting of fallen trees. The picture below shows an adequate representation of what our site looked like early on. Ruffner is located in the Alabama Valley and Ridge Province. Limestone is very prevalent at Ruffner. This limestone creates calcium-rich soil (http://trekbirmingham.com/topics/geology/). Our trail's plant habitat is a mesic forest, which requires moisture for the plants to flourish. The most dominant trees at our site were Oaks, Hickory trees, and Tulip-Poplar trees. The herbaceous plants most prevalent were poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, and Virginia Creeper.
Picture of Ruffner Mountain in February 2014
Photo by: Hannah Spivey
Debris seen at Ruffner.
Photo by: Shay Gibson
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Ruffner Mountain as seen from Google Earth. |
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| Ruffner Mountain Trail Map. Photo from http://birminghamtrackclub.com/ruffner-mountain-nature-preserve.php |
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