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Fourche Mountains

Ecoregion in Ouachita Mountains in OK, AR

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The Fourche Mountains are the archetypal Ouachita Mountains. Ecoregion 36d is composed of long, east-west trending, forested ridges composed of sandstone. Intervening valleys are cut into shale. Ridges are longer, habitat continuity is greater, the lithologic mosaic is different, and the topographic orientation is more consistent than in other parts of the Ouachita Mountains (36). Differences in moisture and temperature between north- and south-facing slopes significantly influence native plant communities; they are products of the prevailing topographic trend. Forests on steep, north-facing slopes are more mesic than on southern aspects; grassy woodlands are found on steepest, south-facing slopes. Pastureland and hayland are restricted to a few broad valleys. Logging is not nearly as intensive as in the commercial pine plantations of the less rugged Athens Plateau (36a). Nutrient, mineral, and biochemical water quality parameter concentrations are low in the surface waters of Ecoregion 36d but turbidity can be higher than in other mountainous parts of the Ouachitas.

— EPA

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