The most prominent cause of habitat fragmentation is intensification of human land use. Negative effects of large-scale forest fragmentation have been documented in most vertebrate classes. The inherent problem in directly documenting effects lies in our ignorance of historical community structure. Information from this study provides baseline data on vertebrates within threatened habitat. This privately-owned block of uninterrupted forest has never been systematically surveyed by biologists. Changes in ownership have placed the integrity of this interior forest habitat in doubt. This research may provide the foundation for long-term studies of the effects of fragmentation within forests of the Southern Appalachians. A total of 50 visits were made between April 1998 and July 2000. Documentation of 109 species of vertebrates was established, representing 4 reptile species, 19 amphibian species, 72 bird species, and 12 mammal species. Although no procedure for documenting fishes was implemented, 2 species from this class were identified.

An examination of previously unaccessioned and overlooked specimens has added 16 species to the vascular flora of the 3800 ha Rocky Fork Tract in northeastern Tennessee. One species was deleted because of a prior misidentification for a net gain of 15 species and a total of 764 species. One species, Solidago lancifolia (Torr. ex A. Gray) Chapm., is listed as Endangered in Tennessee. All additions except two, represent county records. ©2018 Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

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A flora of the 3800 ha Rocky Fork Tract in northeast Tennessee produced 749 species of which 19 were on the Tennessee Rare Plant List and 34 were on the Cherokee National Forest Species Viability List with 87 county records from Greene County and 217 from Unicoi County. Rare species were particularly numerous in the Cyperaceae and Orchidaceae. The tract serves as a refuge for several regionally uncommon species by supporting either large populations or metapopulations of these species. Exotic species comprised 15% of the flora and were most common in the Fabaceae and Poaceae. The most unique habitat was a heath bald dominated by Rhododendron catawbiense with abundant Xerophyllum asphodeloides in the herbaceous layer. While species richness was relatively high compared to regional sites of comparable area, diversity was limited by the absence of high elevation spruce-fir communities and the paucity of wetlands.