4.4 Terrestrial Communities
outer Coastal Plain. Movement corridors that allow inland migration away from inundating areas along the sounds and seacoast are critical. Increased temperatures are likely to have only a minimal efect on this group overall, although a northward shift in range can be expected for the Least Weasel, a primarily boreal species, perhaps leading to its extirpation from the Mountains of North Carolina. 4.4.18.4 Climate Change Compared to Other Threats Climate change will contribute to the loss of the large blocks of habitat or fragmentation that creates barriers between blocks that are critical for the survival of species in this group. Development of habitat has become the limiting factor for priority species utilizing this habitat. Across the state more generally, increased exploitation of wild or semi-wild lands for energy production is likely to be the most important indirect efect of climate change on this group. Table 4.42 summarizes the comparison of climate change with other existing threats.
4.4.18.5 Impacts to Wildlife Predatory species utilizing this habitat play an important ecological role in all the ecosys- tems they occupy by regulating the abundance of species lower down in the food chain,
T ABLE 4.42 Comparison of climate change with other threats to sparsely settled mixed habitats
Rank Order
Threat
Comments
Development
1 Development activities such as residential subdivisions, road construction, and retail development have displaced and will continue to displace wildlife and place them in closer contact with humans. Reduction and fragmentation of large areas of open space will continue to accompany the expansion of the human population; climate change is likely to exacerbate these ongoing impacts. Construction of highways and access roads, increases in trafc, and other efects associated with infrastructural or industrial development needed to support new forms of energy extraction will create impacts. 1 Direct persecution remains the largest limiting factor on abundance and range of species in this habitat. 2 Te most important direct impact of climate change is likely to be the loss of a large number of coastal refuges due to sea level rise. 2 Plans to use grasses like Switchgrass and Miscanthus as biofuels may result in these marginal areas being put into short rotation production as the demand for alternative fuels increases. Tere is evidence that some species, such as Black Bears, are negatively impacted by wind turbine farms due to loss of mast-producing forests (Loder 2008) .
Persecution
Climate Change
Land Use Changes
491
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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