Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.20 Sparsely Settled Mixed Habitats 4.4.20.1 Ecosystem Description
This community type represents large tracts of open land that have not been developed and may have only periodic encroachment from human activities. It may contain a mixture of community types, where vegetation may be natural or a mixture of planted and natural species. Their lack of habitat specificity makes it difficult to assign these communities to any one ecosystem group, all of which represent distinguishable habitat categories. These landscapes often serve as movement corridors for wide-ranging animal species, particularly carnivores near the top of the food web. These species often use a wide variety of habitat types in their pursuit of food, mates, and other resources. 4.4.20.2 Location of Habitat Sparsely settled mixed habitats occur statewide but are more characteristic of the lower Coastal Plain and the Mountains, particularly in areas that have relatively low human populations. Within the lower Coastal Plain, the largest blocks are on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula and in the Mountains within national forests. 4.4.20.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Development and inundation can be expected to reduce availability of large blocks of undisturbed or unfragmented habitat. This trend will continue so long as the human population continues to grow, and new ways are found to exploit even the most marginal of lands for human uses. Sea level rise is likely to affect large areas of the easternmost (outer) Coastal Plain where many important wildlife refuges are located. Inundation of wildlife refuges will result in dispersal inland to Piedmont areas. Movement inland can be expected, but there are far fewer potential refuge areas in the inner Coastal Plain and Piedmont to support viable populations of large predators or venomous snakes than there currently are in portions of the 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 effect 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. 4.4.20.4 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. More generally statewide, increased exploitation of wild or semi-wild lands for energy
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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