[PDF] Classification Of The Natural Communities Of North Carolina eBook

Author : Michael P Schafale
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,57 MB
Release : 2024-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781469683898

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The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program's Classification of the Natural Communities, now in its fourth edition, is intended as a reference book describing the state's biodiversity at the community and ecosystem levels. It describes natural patterns of organisms that typically co-occur together in a particular kind of environment. The classification draws on years of use and data collection by North Carolina's Natural Heritage Program, the extensive vegetation plot data of the Carolina Vegetation Survey, and the National Vegetation Classification. The classification units are intended for detailed conservation planning at the natural community level, for representing the diversity of ecological function, for characterizing the habitats of species, and for contributing to the conservation of the myriad species that are too poorly known to track individually. The 343 community subtypes are grouped into types and are nested within 30 broader ecological themes that have been recognized in North Carolina for decades, retaining continuity with previous editions. Material to aid in identification of the communities includes concept statements, dichotomous keys, and descriptions of the distinctions from closely related communities. Extensive descriptions of each community and each theme include sections on physical settings, soils, hydrology, vegetation, range, abundance, and ecological dynamics, using scientific nomenclature and terminology. Crosswalks to the National Vegetation Classification and to NatureServe's ecological systems and listings of rare plant and animal species associated with each community provide additional functionality. While technical in style--mostly providing scientific names instead of common names--this book can offer the educated layperson and scientist alike an expanded appreciation of the diversity of natural settings in North Carolina. It is expected to remain a primary reference for years to come. An electronic (pdf) version of this book is available for download from the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program at https: //www.ncnhp.org.

Author : David Blevins
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 32,38 MB
Release : 2011-04-04
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0807877794

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Celebrating the beauty, diversity, and significance of the state's natural landscapes, Wild North Carolina provides an engaging, beautifully illustrated introduction to North Carolina's interconnected webs of plant and animal life. From dunes and marshes to high mountain crags, through forests, swamps, savannas, ponds, pocosins, and flatrocks, David Blevins and Michael Schafale reveal in words and photographs natural patterns of the landscape that will help readers see familiar places in a new way and new places with a sense of familiarity. Wild North Carolina introduces the full range of the state's diverse natural communities, each brought to life with compelling accounts of their significance and meaning, arresting photographs featuring broad vistas and close-ups, and details on where to go to experience them first hand. Blevins and Schafale provide nature enthusiasts of all levels with the insights they need to value the state's natural diversity, highlighting the reasons plants and animals are found where they are, as well as the challenges of conserving these special places.

Author : Leslie Edwards
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
Page : 697 pages
File Size : 35,66 MB
Release : 2013-02-01
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0820330213

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The Natural Communities of Georgia presents a comprehensive overview of the state’s natural landscapes, providing an ecological context to enhance understanding of this region’s natural history. Georgia boasts an impressive range of natural communities, assemblages of interacting species that have either been minimally impacted by modern human activities or have successfully recovered from them. This guide makes the case that identifying these distinctive communities and the factors that determine their distribution are central to understanding Georgia’s ecological diversity and the steps necessary for its conservation. Within Georgia’s five major ecoregions the editors identify and describe a total of sixty-six natural communities, such as the expansive salt marshes of the barrier islands in the Maritime ecoregion, the fire-driven longleaf pine woodlands of the Coastal Plain, the beautiful granite outcrops of the Piedmont, the rare prairies of the Ridge and Valley, and the diverse coves of the Blue Ridge. With contributions from scientists who have managed, researched, and written about Georgia landscapes for decades, the guide features more than four hundred color photographs that reveal the stunning natural beauty and diversity of the state. The book also explores conservation issues, including rare or declining species, current and future threats to specific areas, and research needs, and provides land management strategies for preserving, restoring, and maintaining biotic communities. The Natural Communities of Georgia is an essential reference for ecologists and other scientists, as well as a rich resource for Georgians interested in the region’s natural heritage.

Author : Dirk Frankenberg
Publisher : UNC Press Books
Page : 427 pages
File Size : 32,75 MB
Release : 2015-12-01
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1469625725

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North Carolina boasts a natural environment of exceptional richness and diversity. From the mountains to the coast, the state is home to an extraordinary variety of publicly accessible sites that showcase aspects of its ecology, geology, biology, and natural history. This book leads the reader on thirty-eight field trips to some of the most interesting and instructive of these natural landscapes. Written by leading naturalists from across the state, this collection of "eco-tours" includes excursions to each of its four major regions: the coast, the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the mountains. Each trip traces a thirty- to seventy-mile driving route that connects preserved areas, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, nature trails, and other sites of interest. All entries provide a map of the route, describe what can be seen and learned along the way, and discuss especially noteworthy features. An essential resource for anyone who treasures North Carolina's natural heritage, this book will inspire and inform travelers throughout the Tar Heel state.

Author :
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 45,87 MB
Release : 2004
Category :
ISBN :

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Barrier islands include some of the most endangered and fragmented ecosystems on the Atlantic coast, providing critical habitat for many species, including some that are threatened and endangered. As the vast majority of these islands have been developed for human usage study and protection of the few remaining undeveloped and undisturbed islands is critical. This study was undertaken in order to characterize the vascular plant communities on Bird Island, an uninhabited, undeveloped barrier island on the border of North and South Carolina, with the objectives of a thorough survey of flora, vegetation, and environment, classification of plant communities, and multivariate analysis of vegetation and environmental data. A floristic inventory of the island and its associated marshes was conducted during the growing season (May-November) of 2002 and 2003. One hundred four 100m2 plots were inventoried for vegetation and environment using protocols developed by the Carolina Vegetation Survey. Plant communities were identified according to the National Vegetation Classification, the Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina, and the Carolina Vegetation Survey. Interpretation of vegetation patterns was based on multivariate analysis of vegetation and environmental data. Ninety-one vascular plant species in 35 families, including 4 exotic species, were distributed across 12 communities. Communities on Bird Island appear to be distinctive when compared to those described for other barrier islands in the region. Additionally, the vegetation survey on Bird Island revealed suitable habitat for the federally listed Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus); an important dune-building annual of the North American Atlantic coast. Surveys of the late 1980s and early 1990s documented small populations of Seabeach amaranth on Bird Island, but our work found no indication of a population in either 2002 or 2003. Seabeach amaranth's existence range-wide is threatened b.