Chapter 4 Habitats
Table 4.4.14-1 Climate change compared to other threats to dry longleaf pine communities. Threat Rank Order Comments
Industrial timber operations will be likely candidates for conversion to biomass production. It will be important to consider competing resource needs as alternative energy production increases the demand for biofuel products (DeWan et al. 2010) .
Biofuel Production
3
3 Fire Ants are a threat to many terrestrial animals, especially amphibians. There are numerous native and exotic pests that can impact coniferous trees in this habitat (e.g., Southern Pine Beetles, Red-headed Pine Sawflies, Tip Moths, Pine Webworms, Schweinitzii root and bud disease, red heart of pine disease, etc.). Early detection and control of invasive exotic species (such as Cogongrass) will reduce the ecological damage caused by invasives and the cost of controlling them. Preventative measures such as forbidding sale and transport of invasive species will help reduce the risks and cost. 4 Climate change will likely exacerbate some of these problems.
Invasive Species
Climate Change
4.4.13.5 Impacts to Wildlife Appendix 3 provides a list of SGCN and other priority species for which there are knowledge gaps and management concerns. Appendices 3-17 (wildlife) and 3-22 (plants) identify SGCN that depend on or are associated with this habitat type. Habitat loss and lack of fire affect bird species that rely on a grass-dominant understory and open pine ecosystems (Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman’s Sparrow, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Henslow’s Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite). Old growth characteristics (canopy gaps, red-heart fungus, cavities, snags, hollow trees) are lacking throughout, except where Red- cockaded Woodpeckers are managed, impacting both primary (e.g., woodpeckers) and secondary (e.g., rodents, bats, and other birds) cavity users. High grading of stands, lack of gap management, and overstocked stands are leading to a lack of structural diversity for many species. Roads cause particularly high mortality to reptiles and amphibians. Microhabitat features such as large woody debris have been lost, impacting reptiles and small mammals (Loeb 1999). Localized and non-lethal infestations can be beneficial for wildlife by creating snags, a food source, and habitat diversity. Extensive lethal outbreaks of native and exotic pests can dramatically shift the composition of the tree community, with implications for conifer-specialists like the Brown-headed Nuthatch. Wildfires in drought are more likely to be too intense or too extensive and may harm some species. In small, isolated sites, an increase in wildfires may have catastrophic impacts on insects and other animals that depend on a metapopulation strategy for coping with
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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