Chapter 4 Habitats
The future climate is expected to include warmer temperatures, longer growing season, likely more hot spells and drought, and more severe storms. The North Carolina Climate Science Report projects it is very likely that temperatures in the state will increase substantially in all seasons. • Annual average temperatures are projected to increase at least 2 to 4°F by 2050 (Kunkel et al.2020) . • By the end of the century (2100), annual average temperatures are projected to increase 5 to 10°F under a higher emissions scenario and increase 2 to 6°F under a lower emissions scenario. • It is very likely that the annual coldest temperature will increase by 7 to 12°F under the higher emissions scenario and increase 0 to 8°F under the lower emissions scenario. • The Mt. Mitchell National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Network site measured 140 inches of precipitation in 2018, setting a new state record for the most precipitation at a single state weather station in a year. It is likely that annual total precipitation for North Carolina will increase and that extreme precipitation frequency and intensity will increase due to increases in atmospheric water vapor content (NCNHP 2024) . 4.4.3.5 Impacts to Wildlife Appendix 3 provides a list of SGCN and other priority species for which there are knowledge gaps and management concerns. Appendix 3-17 (wildlife) and Appendix 3-22 (plants) identify SGCN that depends on or are associated with this habitat type. Spruce−Fir provides critical habitat for numerous plant and animal species found nowhere else in North Carolina. Twenty species or subspecies of invertebrates are endemic to Spruce−Fir forests in the Southern Appalachians. Another nine are highly disjunct within this region, with their next nearest populations located in New England or Canada (some may turn out to be distinct species once genetic studies are done). Still more such species exist within other insect orders and in other invertebrate taxa such as myriapods, Tardigrades, and land snails. For terrestrial animals, this level of endemism/disjunction is unmatched by any other habitat group in the state. Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel, a federal listed endangered subspecies, forages on conifers and fungi found in high-elevation Spruce−Fir and hardwood forests. The moist, boreal conditions support the mycorrhizal fungi that grow in association with the tree roots. Habitat destruction and fragmentation from development, as well as alteration from logging, mineral extraction, pollution, and pest species, have reduced available habitat for the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel. The highest quality habitat for the squirrel is the transition zone between Spruce−Fir forest and the northern hardwood forest, a mix of Red Spruce, Fraser Fir, Yellow Birch, Buckeye, Sugar Maple and even some beech at elevations above 4,000 feet (SHR 2013) .
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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