4.4 Terrestrial Communities
According to the most recent Southeast GAP analysis, montane oak forest communities comprise over 272 thousand acres (about 110 thousand hectares) of land cover in North Carolina (SEGAP 2007; NatureServe 2007) . Tis represents less than 1% of the state’s land cover.
4.4.12.3 Problems Affecting Habitats It is unclear if changes in fre regime will be benefcial or harmful to oak forests. Fire sup- pression has allowed non-fre-tolerant species, including tree species, to increase in mon- tane oak forests. Many oak forests have seen a lack of oak regeneration that is likely related to lack of fre. If a warmer climate brought an increase in fre, it might ofset some of the alterations caused by suppression of fre. Severe fres during droughts would cause exten- sive canopy mortality and be destructive to oak forests, especially if occurring with the increased fuel loads resulting from recent fre suppression. Prolonged or severe drought stress has been associated with oak decline and with canopy mortality. Chestnut blight caused dramatic compositional shift by almost extirpating the American Chestnut. Some more southern or low-elevation species may migrate into these communities. Impacts from higher temperatures, drought, fre, and wind damage will likely lead to other community types, or diferent suites of species, more suited to the change in climate due to competitive interactions of species in the seed bank during succession. Unfortunately, this may lead to a greater need for nonnative invasive species control after stand replacing disturbances, natural or man-made. Homogeneity of stand age has resulted in decreasing habitat for bird species that rely on diverse understory development (lack of understory development). Increased wind damage, fre damage, and drought mortality will result in more canopy gaps and a younger average tree age, but may beneft some herbaceous species. Drought may allow pine forests to expand at the expense of oak forests, it will also allow oak forests to expand to higher elevations and into more mesic sites now occupied by cove forests. Te overall extent of oak forests may increase moderately. Tese communities should be able to move to higher elevations, while they are unlikely to lose much acreage at lower elevations. Princess Tree and Tree-of-heaven are threats. Gypsy Moths and exotic tree diseases (sudden oak death, chestnut blight) are potential future threats. Fire Ants may be able to invade these communities and cause signifcant impacts if temperatures become warm enough.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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