Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.11 Piedmont and Mountain Dry Coniferous Woodlands 4.4.11.1 Ecosystem Description
Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (Schafale 2024) defines this natural community as Mountain Dry Coniferous Woodlands Theme. The vast majority of land in the Piedmont and Mountain ecoregions is dominated by hardwood forests. Less common are dry coniferous forests, which occur at middle to lower elevations in several kinds of specialized sites that are drier than most environments. They occur primarily in the Mountains and are found in a few mountain-like sites in the Piedmont. Piedmont Longleaf Pine forests, although dominated by coniferous trees, are included with the more closely related dry Longleaf Pine forests ecosystem group rather than here.
There are several community subtypes associated with this ecosystem.
• Carolina Hemlock Forest (Typic, Pine, Mesic subtypes) • Low Mountain Pine Forest (Shortleaf Pine, Montane Pine subtypes) • Pine-Oak/Heath (Typic, High Elevation, Linville Gorge subtypes) • Southern Mountain Pine-Oak Forest • Southern Mountain Xeric Pine-Oak Woodland • White Pine Forest
The Pine-oak/Heath community occurs on sharp ridge tops and spur ridges, where shallow soils and exposure to drying winds and lightning prevent development of a closed hardwood forest. Extremely acidic soils, created by leaching and by the acidity of plant leaf litter, may also be a factor. The canopy, typically composed of Pitch, Table Mountain, and/or Virginia pines, is generally open with a dense, tall shrub layer dominated by Mountain Laurel or rhododendron occurring beneath the canopy. Herbs are few and sparse, but characteristic acid-loving species often occur in openings among the shrubs. Carolina Hemlock bluffs occur in settings similar to Pine-oak/Heath, but usually more on steep bluff-like side slopes. Carolina Hemlock dominates the canopy with a shrub and herb layer similar to Pine-oak/Heath but possibly more open. White Pine forests are poorly understood communities. While White Pine is a common successional tree in mountain hardwood forests, natural forests most typically occur on the walls of steep gorges. Low Mountain Pine Forests are yellow-pine-dominated forests or woodlands containing both montane flora and low-elevation species and occur below 2,000 to 2,500 feet in elevation. Southern Mountain Pine-Oak Forests are mixed, potentially open forests of low elevation mountain slopes and ridges.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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