A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community that is found in the central Eastern United States. Calcareous glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very shallow and little soil development. Due to the shallow soil and the extreme conditions created by it, trees are often unable to grow in the glades. This creates a habitat that is usually sunny, dry, and hot. Calcareous glade vegetation is more similar to that of a desert habitat than a grassland, being dominated by small spring annuals with occasional geophytic or succulent perennials.
Limestone glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky
"Cedar glade" in the Nashville Basin, Wilson County, Tennessee
The Interior Low Plateaus are a physiographic region in eastern United States. It consists of a diverse landscape that extends from north Alabama across central Tennessee and Kentucky into southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its natural communities are a matrix of temperate forests, woodlands, and prairies.
Oak-hickory woodland in the Hoosier National Forest, Indiana
Wet oak flatwoods in the Pennyroyal Plain, Tennessee
Mesic prairie remnant in the Pennyroyal Plain, Tennessee
Dry oak savanna in the Inner Nashville Basin, Tennessee