4.4 Terrestrial Communities
• Acquire additional acreage of spruce–fr habitat through purchase, conservation ease- ment, or other perpetual management agreements (particularly in the Plott Balsams and Black/Craggy Mountains).
4.4.3 Northern Hardwood Forests 4.4.3.1 Ecosystem Description
Northern hardwood forests are found on high mountain slopes with a cool climate and high levels of rainfall in western North Carolina and are concentrated in many of the same high-elevation areas as spruce–fr forests. Te name refers to the resemblance of these forests to those in the northeastern United States, which have similar canopies, but the presence of southern Appalachian endemic species makes the community types in North Carolina diferent from those in the north. High-elevation climate, slope, aspect, and past disturbance are critical ecological determinants of the distribution of northern hardwood forests today. In general, they are widespread throughout the region owing to their lower elevation range. Northern hardwood forests are dominated by combinations of moist-site hardwoods such as Yellow Birch, beech, Yellow Buckeye, and Sugar Maple. Te herb layer is often lush, and may range from low to fairly high diversity. Tese forests are subject to periodic widespread disturbances, such as ice storms or severe winds, which provide canopy openings, but probably seldom or never remove the whole canopy at once. Tree recognized variants of this community type are determined primarily by topography and soil chemistry: boulderfeld forest, beech-gap, and typic subtypes. • In the boulderfeld forest, Ice Age freeze–thaw processes have left the ground com- pletely covered with large boulders with very little soil. Tese areas are dominated by Yellow Birch with a distinctive undergrowth of gooseberries and moss on the rocks. • Te beech gap subtype occurs in high-elevation gaps and peaks, where beech trees stunted by the wind predominate. In the most extreme cases, the tree canopy may be reduced to shrub size. Te trees may be quite old, although small, as growth and repro- duction are relatively slow. • Te typic subtype varies in composition and diversity. Some have a lawn-like ground cover of just a few species of sedges and grasses, while others have a lush and diverse herb layer. While the northern hardwood habitat can be defned in general terms, ecologically, it should be considered in association with spruce–fr forest for the purposes of maintaining ecological relationships and sustainability. Often components of spruce–fr habitats are
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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