4.4 Terrestrial Communities
produce viable populations of forest-interior birds, like Scarlet Tanager. Large core areas will be important for reptiles like Eastern Box Turtle and Timber Rattlesnake, which sufer high mortality when crossing roads.
4.4.12 Montane Oak Forests 4.4.12.1 Ecosystem Description
Montane oak forests are found primarily in the Mountain ecoregion and once included a large component of American Chestnut, before the blight in the early part of the century eliminated it as a canopy species. Te driest sites are dominated by Chestnut Oak and/ or Scarlet Oak, often with an understory of Sourwood, Black Gum, and Red Maple. Today, chestnut persists only as short-lived sprouts from old root systems. Most of the four natu- ral community types recognized within this ecosystem group are broad types with many variants that could be recognized: Chestnut Oak forests, montane oak–hickory forests, high-elevation Red Oak forests, and montane White Oak forests: • Chestnut oak forests occur in the driest sites in low to intermediate elevation steep slopes and sharp ridges. Chestnut Oak or Scarlet Oak are the dominant trees, and an understory of acid-loving plants is usually present. • Montane oak–hickory forests are dominated by a mixture of oaks, of which White Oak is a prominent part. Hickories are usually a minority component, but are sometimes absent. Te understory is generally more diverse than in the other oak forests. • High-elevation Red Oak forests occur at medium to high elevations. In the southern part of the state, where spruce–fr forests are absent and northern hardwoods rare, they may dominate the highest ridges and summits. Farther north, they occur below these communities, often in broad zones along mountain slopes. Te canopy is usually nearly pure Northern Red Oak. Te lower layers of vegetation vary greatly, but share many spe- cies with northern hardwood forests.
• Montane White Oak forests occur at fairly high elevations. Tey are dominated by White Oak with few other trees.
Te 2005 WAP describes this habitat type as Southern Blue Ridge oak forest (including mixed hardwoods and pine) (see Chapter 5) (NCWRC 2005) .
4.4.12.2 Location of Habitat Montane oak forests occur in the Mountain ecoregion on exposed sites such as ridge crests and south- to west-facing slopes, typically from about 3,000 to 4,500 feet elevation.
449
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online