Glades
Glades are found in the Interior Plateaus, Appalachian Plateaus, and Ridge and Valley Provinces where they are associated with flat to gently sloping exposures of sedimentary bedrock, including limestone, sandstone, and dolomite. In many glades, bedrock is exposed and soil is absent from the exposures. In some types a thin mantle of soil only 1-2 centimeters deep covers the bedrock. In others, the bedrock mass is broken at the surface into flat fragments (flagstones) and gravel residuum along with thin clay soils. Deeper soils are found in areas around the glade. Glades are hydroxeric, meaning that they are generally wet to saturated (hydric) or even have small pools and ponds during the winter and spring but become very dry (xeric) or even desert-like during summer and fall. Two major groups of glades occur in Tennessee, calcareous glades (limestone, dolomite) and acidic glades (mostly sandstone).