Appendix 5
Reference Document 5-3
A Closer Look –Appalachia as Both a Climate Refuge and Climate- Stressed Habitat for North Carolina Species
Mountain Habitats and Species of North Carolina The mountain habitats of North Carolina are extremely biodiverse including 12 distinct types: 1) bogs and fens, 2) caves and mines, 3) cove forest, 4) dry coniferous woodlands, 5) early successional, 6) floodplain forests, 7) high elevation rock outcrops, 8) low elevation cliffs, 9) northern hardwoods, 10) oak forest, 11) riverine aquatic communities, and 12) spruce-fir forest (NCWRC 2025) . These different habitat types occur at different elevations and conditions in western North Carolina and support different, unique species in the state. • Mountain bogs are among the rarest natural communities in the Southern Appalachians and in North Carolina and differ from northern bogs of glacial origin in unique ways, like being seepage-fed (NCWRC 2025) . • Floodplain Forests of the Southern Blue Ridge mountains in western North Carolina are highly ecologically rich and diverse (NCWRC 2025) . • Northern Hardwood Forests are found only on high elevation sites with abundant rainfall and a cool climate throughout western North Carolina (NCWRC 2025) . • Spruce-Fir Forests occur on high mountaintops in the state, generally above 4,500 feet in elevation, and are considered Pleistocene relics that have become isolated from boreal forests of the northern United States and Canada (NCWRC 2025) . Examples of endemic species to these mountain habitats North Carolina include species of salamanders like the Hickory Nut Gorge Green Salamander ( Aneides caryaensis ); species of freshwater fish including the Appalachia Darter ( Percina gymnocephala ), Bigmouth Chub ( Nocomis platyrhynchus ), Kanawha Darter ( Etheostoma kanawhae ), Kanawha Minnow ( Phenacobius teretulus ), and New River Shiner ( Miniellus scabriceps ); and many species of crayfish including the Grandfather Mountain Crayfish ( Cambarus eeseeohensis ) and South Mountains Crayfish ( Cambarus franklini ). The mountain habitats of the Appalachians are starting to serve as and are predicted to increase in importance as a critical climate refuge and corridor enabling northwards migration of native species from the southeastern United States under future climate conditions (Lawler et al. 2013; Zhu et al. 2022) . The Appalachians are considered a biodiversity hotspot, and their high species diversity has been linked to the region's varied topography and geologic stability over long evolutionary timescales. In particular, the Southern Appalachian Mountains support large numbers of species, many of which are endemic, because the area was never glaciated and the north–south alignment of the mountains allowed species to seek refuge from northern glaciation activity by dispersing southward (Pickering et al. 2003) . Nonetheless, the Southern
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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