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Glades
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Glades are very dry, open areas characterized by thin soils and exposed bedrock. The vegetation of glades typically consists of grasses and other herbaceous plants that tolerate dry conditions. The thin, poor soils, along with fires that would burn through glades, historically limited the presence of trees in these areas. Arkansas possesses a number of different glade types, all differentiated from one another based upon the type of rock (sandstone, limestone, dolomite, shale) that underlies the area.
Today, glade habitats are no longer as common as they once were. The glades of Arkansas have been subjected to mining, overgrazing, and have been destroyed outright through development. Fire suppression has also lead to the degradation of large areas of glade habitat. Without fire, glades can be invaded by some woody plants, most notably eastern redcedar. As eastern redcedar moves in, the area of useable habitat for glade-associated species is reduced, or in some cases even eliminated. Loss of glade habitat has probably played an important role in the decline of some species, some of which are now considered threatened or endangered, including the federally threatened Missouri bladderpod (found only in Arkansas and Missouri).
