I am choosing to explore biodiversity in the Southern Appalachian Mountains chiefly because they are close to my heart. Though this blog will be encompassing ecology in the region it will undoubtedly feature some personal aspects. It’s foggy valleys, rugged peaks, and protective coves have in their own way influenced my personal growth. The same topography is equally nurturing to many species, with a long stable geologic history that has provided plants and animals ideal conditions to evolve. High elevations in western North Carolina (WNC) may feature alpine spruces that resemble those 1000 miles north in Canada. A relative to the Arctic Char and left behind from the last ice age, native Brook Trout still populate the high elevation creeks. Likewise, lower elevations can feature species that thrive in humid subtropical climates.
My home is 2 miles away from the 3rd oldest river in the world, the French Broad. For an estimated 300 million years, it has meandered north and eroded a gentle valley through the ancient mountains, sourced from thousands of cold creeks and springs. It has witnessed the mass extinctions of the Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous Periods. It now flows in the same fashion, as it observes the latest threats to biodiversity during the human caused Anthropocene. The Southern Appalachian region is unique in many ways. In the category of temperate deciduous forests, it hosts the highest levels of biodiversity found in the world (WWF). In Smoky Mountains National Park, the largest upland protected habitat in the US east of the Mississippi, 10,000 species have been documented. Scientists believe that an additional 90,000 may still await identification (USparks.com).
Though the region is teeming with life, it faces severe threats. Habitat fragmentation, land use change, urban/ suburban development, and other human caused threats make this region a worthy candidate to conservation. However, roughly 37 percent of the land is publicly managed or protected (SAMAB); the framework for further conservation is in place. Culturally, the people of Western NC both urban and rural take pride in their natural spaces. There are many active conservation organizations working to preserve and protect species and habitats, which I will cover in later posts. The regions’ urban centers are rapidly growing, and as time goes on we must focus on facilitating responsible stewardship of the land. This blog will feature methods of public engagement, natural exploration, citizen science, and a lot of general information on the region. My intention is that it will serve as an informational source to the reader, as well as expand my own understanding of biodiversity in the region.
Richard
Figure 1: Priority index for conservation within the continental US (Jenkins et al, 2015)
Jenkins, Clinton N., Kyle S. Van Houtan, Stuart L. Pimm, and Joseph O. Sexton. “US Protected Lands Mismatch Biodiversity Priorities.”Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112, no. 16 (April 21, 2015): 5081–86. doi:10.1073/pnas.1418034112.