4.4 Terrestrial Communities
State Park, and Uwharrie National Forest. Examples of large size and good quality oak-dominated communities are now lacking in the Coastal Plain.
4.4.11.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Many of the problems impacting oak and mixed hardwood/pine forests, including fre sup- pression and even-aged forest management, result in a loss of habitat complexity and asso- ciated wildlife niches (Hunter et al. 2001a) . Most Piedmont forests have been logged or cleared at least once within the past 300 years, and many have been cut multiple times. Te quality of existing tracts ranges widely across the Piedmont and depends primarily upon the age of the canopy trees, management history, and size of the tract (Godfrey 1997) . Some native forest stands are being replaced by even-aged pine plantations, resulting in decreased habitat value for forest species that rely on diverse forest composition and structure, such as Kentucky Warbler and Wood Trush. Pine plantations do, however, provide increased opportunity to provide habitat for Brown-headed Nuthatches and Northern Bobwhite Quails, with proper management. Sudden oak death disease, which was detected at plant nurseries within North Carolina in 2004, could potentially have devastating impacts on oak forests across the state. North Carolina is a major timber producer, with an estimated average 23.2 million cubic meters of wood products produced annually (Huang et al. 2015) . Shorter rotation forestry limits the creation of old-growth forest dynamics, such as creation of canopy gaps, hollow trees, snags, and woody debris. In 2002, less than 1% of both hardwood and pine trees in the Piedmont measured greater than 19 inches diameter at breast height (Brown and Shefeld 2003) , indicating that there are few old, large trees that help provide these old growth conditions. It should be noted, however, that tree diameter does not always correlate with tree age. Older stands will be more likely to be established and maintained on public land than on commercial forestland, though niche markets for larger timber may entice some landown- ers to extend cutting rotations. An increase in hurricanes or other severe storms may increase wind damage in forests. Tese efects are likely to be localized. Small scale wind disturbances can create canopy gaps, downed woody debris, and patches of early successional habitat which can be bene- fcial to both early successional and mature forest species. Large scale wind disturbances will beneft early successional species but will harm mature forest species. Lack of fre is leading to slow changes in composition, including reduced oak regeneration. In spite of benefts from fre, there is a need to control wildfres in drought conditions, to prevent intense fres, and to prevent whole patches of fragmented forest from being burned at the same time. Low intensity fres would be benefcial, but intense wildfres would be
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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