Mountain Habitats

Bogs and Fens

Mountain and Piedmont bogs are among the rarest natural communities in the Southern Appalachians and in North Carolina. Unlike northern bogs of glacial origin, Southern Appalachian bogs form in poorly drained depressions or on gentle slopes, generally in relatively flat valley bottoms which are not subject to flooding. They may vary from being permanently wet to intermittently dry and are generally fed by seepage. They are underlain by wet organic or mucky mineral soils, which are very acidic. 

Caves and mines

The majority of documented caves occur in the Mountain ecoregion, though there are some caves present in all regions of the state, including the Coastal Plain. There are several different types of natural caves; however, the most common types are solution caves, fissure caves, and rock shelter/boulder caves. These types differ primarily in the way they are formed.

Cove Forest

Cove forests are some of the most well-known and recognized community types in the Mountains, occurring on sheltered, moist, low to moderate elevation sites. They are characterized by a dense forest canopy of moisture-loving trees. There are three community types in this ecosystem: rich cove forest, acidic cove forest, and basic mesic forest (montane calcareous subtype). 
 

Dry coniferous woodlands (Loblolly/ slash pine forest)

This habitat type occurs on sites that are dryer than most mountain sites, including ridgetops, spur ridges, and along steep slopes, generally in the low to middle elevations below 3,500 feet on southern or western aspects.  These sites contain shallow, often extremely acidic soils.  Dry coniferous woodlands are variously referred to or include ecological communities such as pine-oak heath (Schafale and Weakley 1990) and southern yellow pine (Hunter et al. 1999, SAMAB 1996).  Typically, lower elevation sites are dominated by Virginia or pitch pine, which is replaced near 3,000 feet with dominance by table mountain pine.  Canopy species may include table mountain pine, pitch pine, Virginia pine, chestnut oak, Carolina hemlock, or white pine.
 

Early successional

By their nature, early succession habitats are ephemeral and will have a limited longevity without repeated disturbance.  The habitat structure changes as succession progresses, and many wildlife and plant species are adapted to different stages within the early succession continuum, from bare earth through pole-stage woodland.  Managing for species dependent upon early succession habitats presents several management challenges, including the need to identify which successional stage is most appropriate for the species or assemblage of interest and the need for repeated management actions to maintain suitable habitat.  
 

Floodplain Forests

Floodplain forests of the Southern Blue Ridge mountains in western North Carolina are ecologically rich and diverse.  Montane floodplain forests are relatively narrow and do not contain well-developed levees, sloughs and ridges.  They are generally restricted to larger streams and rivers with relatively low gradients, since smaller, high gradient streams often do not have representative floodplains, but instead have riparian zones embedded within other habitat types. They are subject to sporadic high-intensity flood events of short duration. The most common ecological communities associated with floodplain forest in the mountain region are montane alluvial forest and piedmont/low mountain alluvial forest.  However, floodplain forests of the mountains often contain small amounts or isolated patches of swamp forest, swamp forest-bog, floodplain pools and semipermanent impoundments (Schafale and Weakley 1990). 
 

High Elevation Rock Outcrops

Rock outcrops are quite variable in terms of both geological and ecological condition due to unique geology, geography, elevation, moisture, and landscape position at each location.  They may contain discreet communities or they may be dispersed among a variety of other community types that are connected through local geology and landscape conditions.  As such, the extent of habitat that each rock outcrop provides is dependent upon the entire set of conditions in and surrounding the surface rock. Those conditions influence its use by plants and animals dependent upon the surface rock and may include significant amounts of adjacent ecological community types. 
 

Low Elevation Cliffs

Rock outcrops are quite variable in terms of both geological and ecological condition due to unique geology, geography, elevation, moisture, and landscape position at each location.  They may contain discreet communities or they may be dispersed among a variety of other community types that are connected through local geology and landscape conditions.  As such, the extent of habitat that each rock outcrop provides is dependent upon the entire set of conditions in and surrounding the surface rock. Those conditions influence its use by plants and animals dependent upon the surface rock and may include significant amounts of adjacent ecological community types. 
 

Northern Hardwoods

Northern hardwood forests are found on high elevation sites (generally above 4,000 feet, but more often above 4,500 feet) with abundant rainfall and a cool climate throughout western North Carolina.  High elevation climate, slope, aspect and past disturbance are critical ecological determinants of the distribution of northern hardwood forests today.  
 

Oak Forest

Oak dominated forest is the most widespread and heterogenous habitat of the mountain region of North Carolina, and throughout the Southern Blue Ridge ecoregion on relatively dry slopes and ridges.  This habitat is a complex mix of numerous ecological community types including:  high elevation red oak, montane white oak, chestnut oak, montane oak-hickory, dry oak-hickory, dry-mesic oak-hickory, basic oak-hickory, pine-oak heath, and mesic mixed hardwood (Schafale and Weakley 1990).  Other classification systems differentiate this habitat into categories such as oak-dominated forests and mixed pine-hardwood forests (Hunter et al. 1999). 
 

Rivervine Aquatic Communities

Riverine aquatic habitat encompasses the vast array of mountain rivers and streams, from headwater seeps and springs through major waterways, including impoundments upon those waterways.  Montane riverine habitats are important for a number of reptiles and amphibians including certain turtles, frogs, and salamanders that utilize aquatic habitats during part or all of their life cycle.  Selected bird species also rely upon aquatic habitats including rivers and streams to provide habitat or a food base, such as various waterfowl, wading birds such as the green heron, and certain songbirds like the Louisiana waterthrush.  These habitats are also important for a variety of mammals that are semi-aquatic and/or that have an aquatic food base, including water shrews, muskrats, beavers, river otters, and bats that may forage for insects over water, such as the gray bat.
 

Spruce Fir Forest

Spruce-fir forests occur on high mountaintops in western North Carolina, generally above 4,500 feet in elevation.  These forests are considered Pleistocene relicts that have become isolated from boreal forests of the northern United States and Canada.  Many of the species of plants and animals found in this community type are more common further north and have either evolved here, isolated from their northern cousins or remain in small areas where elevation provides similar conditions to more northern latitudes.  Spruce-fir forests are often comprised of components of northern hardwood and northern red oak forests mixed with red spruce at elevations from about 4,500 feet to 5,500 feet, with spruce becoming dominant, followed by Fraser fir dominance above 6,000 feet. 

N.C. River Basins

While inland freshwater aquatic systems represent a small percentage of the landscape, they are living systems that are influenced by numerous conditions such as landscape position, slope, width, depth, temperature, velocity, substrate or bed material, chemistry and land cover. The various geology, landscape and climate attributes found in North Carolina contribute to the wide diversity of aquatic habitats found across the state. The table below provides an overview of the type of natural aquatic communities found in North Carolina and the eco-regions where they occur.