Serpentine soil
Asbestos is linked to an array of human health conditions such as mesothelioma from long-time exposure of breathing in the dust particles.
There are outcroppings of serpentine soils in the Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, Newfoundland, the island of Cyprus, the Alps, Cuba, and New Caledonia.
Ecologically, serpentine soils have three main traits: poor plant productivity, high rates of endemism, and vegetation types that are distinct from neighboring areas.
[6] Serpentine plant communities range from moist bogs and fens to rocky barrens and must be able to tolerate the harsh environmental conditions of such poor soil.
They will exhibit a "stunted" growth habit, with dull waxy, gray-green leaves (seen in Eriogonum libertini), which allow for water retention and sunlight reflection respectively.
Areas of serpentine soil are also home to diverse plants, many of which are rare or endangered species such as Acanthomintha duttonii, Pentachaeta bellidiflora, and Phlox hirsuta.
[8] In California, shrubs such as leather oak (Quercus durata) and coast whiteleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida ssp.
[4] In order to overcome the chemical and physical challenges presented by serpentine soils, plants have developed tolerances to drought, heavy metals, and limited nutrients.
[7] For example, Noccaea fendleri (aka Fendler's penny grass) is a hyper-accumulator of nickel and Sedum laxum expresses succulence.
[12] Serpentine barrens are a unique ecoregion found in parts of the United States in small but widely distributed areas of the Appalachian Mountains and the Coast Ranges of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Serpentine barrens, as at Grass Valley, California, often consist of grassland or savannas in areas where the climate would normally lead to the growth of forests.
[17] In Chester County, Pennsylvania, the Nottingham Park, aka Serpentine Barrens, was recommended by UMCES as deserving of National Natural Landmark designation, on numerous grounds.
They included supporting a number of rare and endemic species, an intact population of pitch pine, and also the site having historic significance.
[14] Since 1979, the Nature Conservancy has worked with the local community to protect and preserve several tracts in the State-Line Serpentine Barrens which are home to this fragile habitat.
The U.S. National Vegetation Classification for this community is "Southern Blue Ridge Ultramafic Outcrop Barren" and believed to be unique to the Buck Creek area.
In 1995, the United States Forest Service began active conservation management of the site, primarily with prescribed controlled burns, which, along with some manual cover removal, has been successful in regenerating populations of previously sparse species.
