Appalachian – Blue Ridge forests (USA)

 

 

This ecoregion encompasses the Blue Ridge and Ridge-and-Valley provinces of the central and southern Appalachians. It extends from central Pennsylvania into Georgia and northeastern Alabama. Climate differs across the ecoregion according to elevation and latitude. Until the early 1900s, mixed forests at lower and mid-elevations elevations (250-1,350 m) were dominated by American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), which was nearly exterminated by the introduced fungal blight. Presently, these forests are composed of oaks (Quercus rubra, Q. prunus, and Q. velutina), hickories (Carya spp.), Red Maple (Acer rubra), and pines (Pinus spp.). Additional tree species include tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), magnolias, sassafras, coffee-tree, persimmons, etc. Spruce-fir forests (Picea rubens, Abies fraseri, and A. balsamea) replace mixed forests above 1,350 m. The diverse geomorphology, hydrology, climate, and soils permitted evolution of species-rich faunal assemblages. Salamander diversity in the Appalachians is the highest in the world (72 species, mostly endemic lungless salamanders of the Plethodontidae); other diverse groups with high endemism are crayfish, mollusks, and fishes. The breeding bird community is dominated by Neotropical migrants.

Much of the forest has been logged, and many areas, especially in the valleys, were altered through agriculture and development. Unlogged forest remains mainly in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Allegheny Front Range, and the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The secondary forests have fewer large trees, low structural complexity, and lower faunal and floral diversity. The Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests are further threatened by coal extraction, toxic runoff, acid precipitation, and the introduction of exotic pests and diseases, e.g., hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), and Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar).

 

		D60885 Deciduous forest Blue Knob State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38916 Deciduous forest Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D61011 Deciduous forest Canoe Creek State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D60774 Deciduous forest Blue Knob State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38859 Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38919 Deciduous forest Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D61005 Deciduous forest Canoe Creek State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38862 Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38908 Deciduous forest Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D61124 Deciduous forest Canoe Creek State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved

 

		D38931 Deciduous forest Mark Trail Wilderness Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D60921 Deciduous forest Canoe Creek State Park Pennsylvania, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D39009 Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
		D38938 Seepage in deciduous forest Mark Trail Wilderness Chattahoochee National Forest Union County, Georgia, USA Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved

 

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