Chapter 4 Habitats
production is likely to be the most important indirect effect of climate change on this group. Table 4.4.20-1 summarizes the comparison of climate change with other existing threats.
Table 4.4.20-1 Climate change compared to other threats to sparsely settled mixed habitats. Threat Rank Order Comments
Development activities such as residential subdivisions, road construction, and retail development have displaced and will continue to displace wildlife and place them in closer contact with humans. Reduction and fragmentation of large areas of open space will continue to accompany the expansion of the human population; climate change is likely to exacerbate these ongoing impacts. Construction of highways and access roads, increases in traffic, and other effects associated with infrastructural or industrial development needed to support new forms of energy extraction will create impacts.
Development
1
1 Direct persecution remains the largest limiting factor on abundance and range of species in this habitat. 2 The most important direct impact of climate change is likely to be the loss of a large number of coastal refuges due to sea level rise. 2 Plans to use grasses like switchgrass and Miscanthus as biofuels may result in these marginal areas being put into short rotation production as the demand for alternative fuels increases. There is evidence that some species, such as Black Bears, are negatively impacted by wind turbine farms due to loss of mast-producing forests (Loder 2008) .
Persecution
Climate Change
Land Use Changes
4.4.20.5 Impacts to Wildlife Predatory species utilizing this habitat play an important ecological role in all the ecosystems they occupy by regulating the abundance of species lower down in the food chain, particularly herbivorous mammals. Many of these high-level predators are generalists that have declined in both abundance and range due to conflicts with humans, with the majority now considered to be of conservation concern. Although all of the species included within this guild are highly adaptable and make use of a wide range of habitat types, the majority are considered rare or threatened in North Carolina. These include the Red Wolf, Least Weasel, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, and Pigmy Rattlesnake. Others, like the Black Bear and White-tailed Deer, are currently expanding their range across the state and are currently not considered to be of conservation concern. The status of the Longtailed Weasel is unknown and based on harvest trends, may be declining. Bobcats are common and their populations appear to be stable.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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