The Cove Forest

Cove forests are unique ecosystems found exclusively in North America, in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States. They are a special type of forest known as mixed deciduous, meaning that forest's trees lose their leaves in fall. Cove forests are restricted to mountain "coves," which are bowl-shaped valleys with very rich, fertile, damp soil. Many cove forests have streams wandering through part of the forest. The cove forests of the South exhibit the greatest plant and tree diversity of any forests in the United States.

The cove forests of South Carolina are restricted to the northwest portion of the state, extending from the north of Westminster to north of Greenville, Jones Gap State Park, Table Rock State Park, Oconee State Park, and Caesars Head State Park all contain cove forest communities. For more information, view the credits or find out how to plan a trip to a cove forest.

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Black-Bellied Salamander | The Cove Forest
Black-Bellied Salamander | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Desmognathus quadramaculatus) This is the largest of the lungless salamanders in the cove forests. They are usually found in streams that have a rocky bottom and usually rest on wet rocks near these...
Deer Mouse | The Cove Forest
Deer Mouse | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(peromyscus maniculatus) This rodent is the most important prey item for the avian and mammalian predators that frequent the cove forest. This specis is the most widespread of North American rodents...
Eastern Box Turtle | The Cove Forest
Eastern Box Turtle | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Terrapene carolina) This turtle is very common and is highly terrestrial. The males have red eyes and the bottom of the shell (plastron) is scoped out; while the females have brown/yellow eyes and a...
Eastern Pipistrelle Bat | The Cove Forest
Eastern Pipistrelle Bat | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The pipistrelle is the smallest bat in the southern US. This is one of the most common bats in the cove forest. This bat is a very early evening feeder and tends to feed at treetop levels.
Jordan's Salamander | The Cove Forest
Jordan's Salamander | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Plenthodon jordani) This lungless salamander is extremely abundant in cove forests at higher altitudes. Large quantities of sticky mucus are secreted by the tail for protection against avian...
Masked Shrew | The Cove Forest
Masked Shrew | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(sorex cinereus) This insectivore is related to the common moles. It is one of the smallest mammals found in the United States weighing between 2-5 g. It is constantly active with a very high...
Ocoee Salamander | The Cove Forest
Ocoee Salamander | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Desmognathus ocoee) The ocoee salamander is lungless and lives in streams in wet areas adjacent to streams. It has a highly variable dorsal color patterning; usually a series of connected paired...
Rat Snake | The Cove Forest
Rat Snake | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Elaphe obsoleta) The rat snake is one of the most diurnal of snakes found in the cove forest. This snake is a very adept climber and is frequently found climbing trees and nesting in tree cavities...
Red Salamader | The Cove Forest
Red Salamader | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Pseudotrition ruber) The red is one of the most beautiful salamanders in the cove forest. Colors range from purplish brown to deep orange-red. It is lungless and terrestrial. Eggs are laid in water...
Red-Backed Vole | The Cove Forest
Red-Backed Vole | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(clethrionomys gapper) This rodent is a relative of the muskrat and lemming. This vole is found only in cove forests at higher altitudes in the mountains of South Carolina. It is semifossorial using...
Short-Tailed Shrew | The Cove Forest
Short-Tailed Shrew | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

This shrew is very common and is one of the largest of the various shrew species weighing 11- 30 g. Food consists mainly of invertebrates such as earthworms, snails, and insects. However, these shrews...
Spotted Salamander | The Cove Forest
Spotted Salamander | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Ambystoma maculatum) The spotted salamander is one of the most colorful of the ambystomid salamanders. The shiny black back of the animal has a series of large yellow/yellow orange spots. These...
Two-Lined Salamander | The Cove Forest
Two-Lined Salamander | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Eurycea bislineata) The two-lined is one of the smallest salamanders in the cove forest. This species is found under logs and rocks in the moist soil conditions, usually near water. Breeding occurs...
Wood Frog | The Cove Forest
Wood Frog | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Rana sylvatica) This medium sized frog is primarily a northern species with its most southerly distribution associated with the cove forests of the mountain of SC. It is ieasily identifiied by its...
Close-Up of Wood Nettle Stem | The Cove Forest
Close-Up of Wood Nettle Stem | The Cove Forest
Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 9 10 11 12

Hairs, spines and thorns occur on leaves and/or stems of certain plants. These mechanical defenses may provide some protection from larger herbivores, such as deer, as well as small insects, such as...
Dying Hemlock | The Cove Forest
Dying Hemlock | The Cove Forest
Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) is an aphid-sized insect that feeds on sap of the Canada hemlock, a widespread tree of eastern North American forests. The HWA causes Canada hemlock trees to drop their...
Fruit-Consuming Birds | The Cove Forest
Fruit-Consuming Birds | The Cove Forest
Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Animals that feed on fruit are frugivores. The most common frugivores are birds. Birds readily remove large numbers of ripe fruits from plants, and intact seeds generally pass through a bird's...
The Canopy | The Cove Forest
The Canopy | The Cove Forest
Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mature trees in a cove forest are so large and so closely bunched together that the canopy is like a huge tent that shuts out the sunlight. Most photosynthesis (food production) of the forest occurs...
Close-Up of Oak Leaves | The Cove Forest
Close-Up of Oak Leaves | The Cove Forest
Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The most effective defense against herbivores are chemicals. Leaves, stems and roots often various chemicals that deter herbivores. For example, oaks have bitter-tasting chemicals called tannins that...
European Wild Boar | The Cove Forest
European Wild Boar | The Cove Forest
Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Wild boar eat, trample, uproot, and kill large numbers of plants. They also compete with native animals for acorns, nuts and berries. Because the availability of fruits can vary dramatically from year...
The Understory | The Cove Forest
The Understory | The Cove Forest
Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The understory typically includes smaller individuals of canopy species such as beach and yellow buckeye. Also present are genetically smaller trees that never reach the canopy, such as flowering...
White Baneberry or Doll's Eyes Fruit | The Cove Forest
White Baneberry or Doll's Eyes Fruit | The Cove Forest
Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fruits eaten by animals are not necessarily edible for humans. Since fruits of some plants are poisonous (for humans), you should never eat fruits of wild plants unless you are absolutely certain they...
Japanese Stilt Grass | The Cove Forest
Japanese Stilt Grass | The Cove Forest
Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Seeds of this plant were apparently introduced from Asia into Tennessee in the early 1900s via packing material. The plant escaped and has now spread into forests throughout the eastern United States...