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| General Description |
This habitat is the montane equivalent of the General Rosaceous Thickets habitat. Both consist of species in a single family of plants, the Rosaceae, along with their stenophagous and oligophagous symbionts. The main difference between the two habitats is that the Montane Rosaceous Thickets includes species that are much more common in the Northeast, or in some case, in the region west of the Appalachians. Most are adapted to cooler and wetter conditions than prevail across most of North Carolina. At least a few are highly disjunct from their main distribution way to the north and may represent Pleistocene relicts in our area.
As in the more general habitat, the plant members of this habitat include a large number of shrubby species that occupy upland successional habitats, forest edges, and in some cases thickets growing under a forest canopy. The tree members of this habitat follow this same pattern, most frequently found growing around rock outcrops, shrub balds, or forest edges. Fire Cherry in particular appears to be a disturbance-follower, quickly colonizing recently burned or logged-over sites. Some of these species may have originally benefited from the clearing of forests that began with Native American burning and farming practices and accelerated with the arrival of European settlers. Conversely, these species may now be declining due to the abandonment of cultivated lands and pastures and due to the suppression of the natural fire regime.
The habitats of a few species -- particularly the Hawthorns -- need more investigation and if they have requirements for special soil or moisture conditions, they may be placed in different habitats.
For the animal members of this habitat, the presence of Rosaceous species is a key requirement, but not just the ones listed for this habitat but others as well, such as Black Cherry. As in the case of the plants, these species are restricted to the mountains, presumably for climatic reasons, and several also are quite disjunct from the main portions of their range located to the north.
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| Abiotic Factors |
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| Biotic Structure |
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| Co-evolved Species Groups |
Phagic and Competitory Symbioses:
Rosaceae species // Acleris nivisellana-Ancylis nubeculana-Bucculatrix pomifoliella-Catocala blandula-Pseudexentera mali
Crataegus species // Catocala dulciola-Catocala miranda
Prunus species // Caloptilia serotinella
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| Determining Species |
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| Estimated Risk to the Determining Species |
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| Estimated Risk to the Co-evolved Species Groups |
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| Estimated Security of the Habitat |
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| Index of Habitat Imperilment |
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| Identified Risks |
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| Observed Trends |
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| Distribution Map | |
| Distribution |
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| Major Conservation Reserves |
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| Priority Areas for Surveys and Conservation Protection |
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| Stewardship and Management Recommendations |
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| References |
Rankin, W.T. and Herbert, N., 2014. Restoration in the southern Appalachians: a dialogue among scientists, planners, and land managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-189. Asheville, NC: USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 48p.
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| Updated on |
2022-01-01 00:39:00 |
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