| Southeastern mixed forests | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Nearctic |
| Biome | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest |
| Bird species | 212 [1] |
| Mammal species | 66 [1] |
| Geography | |
| Area | 347,800 km2 (134,300 sq mi) |
| Country | United States |
| States | |
| Climate type | Humid subtropical |
| Conservation | |
| Habitat loss | 26.905% [1] |
| Protected | 3.73% [1] |
The Southeastern mixed forests are an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, in the lower portion of the Eastern United States.
This ecoregion covers the Piedmont region of the eastern United States, stretching in a broad arc from extreme southwest New Jersey southwest to Mississippi. It is distinguished from neighboring ecoregions by elevation and vegetation. At lower elevations to the east are the Middle Atlantic coastal forests on the Atlantic coastal plain. Similarly, the Southeastern conifer forests occupy the Gulf coastal plain to the south. Higher, and to the north and west, are the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests and the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests of the Appalachian Mountains. [2] Small stands of these forests extend into north Florida.
This ecoregion lies within the Cfa Köppen climate zones, and the Cf and Do Trewartha climate zones, placing it in the humid subtropical climate category, with hot, humid summers, and mild to cool winters. The coldest month mean temperature at or above freezing, and significant precipitation in all seasons.
Both oaks ( Quercus spp.) and hickories ( Carya spp.) are abundant in this ecoregion. [3] [4] [5] Additionally, some 3,635 species of native herbaceous and shrub species have been recorded here. [2]
American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ) was formerly an important tree in this ecoregion, but its population was destroyed by the chestnut blight in the early 20th century. It still persists as an understory tree, but is often killed by the blight before it matures. [6]
The most common oaks ( Quercus spp.) of this ecoregion are white oak ( Quercus alba ), northern red oak ( Quercus rubra ), black oak ( Quercus velutina ), and scarlet oak ( Quercus coccinea ). Black and scarlet grow in open forests. Black oak grows in nearly single-species stands on dry, exposed sites. Scarlet oak grows in various habitats. Chestnut oak ( Quercus prinus ) is found on ridgetops. [6]
The hickories ( Carya spp.) of this ecoregion are identifiable by their pinnately compound leaves. They include pignut ( Carya glabra ) and mockernut hickory ( Carya tomentosa ), both of which grow on a variety of sites from dry ridges to mesic habitats. [6]
Understory trees include sassafras ( Sassafras albidum ), hophornbeam ( Ostrya virginiana ), and green hawthorn ( Crataegus viridis ). Flowering dogwood ( Cornus florida ) blooms in early spring. [6]
Shrubs include highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum ), lowbush blueberry ( Vaccinium angustifolium ), mapleleaf viburnum ( Viburnum acerifolium ), huckleberry ( Gaylussacia baccata ), mountain laurel ( Kalmia latifolia ). [6]
Common pine ( Pinus spp.) species are shortleaf pine ( Pinus echinata ) and loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ). The pine forests are regenerated by fire. Without fire, hardwood species grow in below the pines. [2]
Sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ), a shade tolerant tree, grows amid the oaks and hickories in the northern part of this ecoregion. [6]
Small stands of these forests extend into North Florida
Mesic forests occur in fertile, mesic, low-elevation habitats such as deep ravines and sheltered north- or east-facing slopes. Dominant trees include American beech ( Fagus grandifolia ), tulip tree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ), northern red oak, white ash ( Fraxinus americana ), black maple ( Acer nigrum ), sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ), basswood ( Tilia americana ), and bitternut hickory ( Carya cordiformis ). [7]
Understory trees include pawpaw ( Asimina triloba ) and painted buckeye ( Aesculus sylvatica ). [7] Small stands of these forests extend into North Florida.
Mesic mixed hardwood forests grow on mesic uplands, ravines, lower slopes, and well-drained flatwoods. Typical trees are American beech, tulip tree, various oaks and hickories, and several other hardwoods. Understory trees include American hornbeam ( Carpinus caroliniana ), flowering dogwood ( Cornus florida ), and American strawberry-bush ( Euonymus americanus ). [8] Small stands of Mesic mixed hardwood forest extend into North Florida.
Successional forests include eastern juniper ( Juniperus virginiana ) and black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia ). [6]
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.
The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont and coastal plain of seven states, extending from coastal southwestern Maine, southeastern New Hampshire, eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, southward through Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
The Atlantic coastal pine barrens is a now rare temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the Northeast United States distinguished by unique species and topographical features, generally nutrient-poor, often acidic soils and a pine tree distribution once controlled by frequent fires.
The Sierra de la Laguna pine–oak forests are a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion, found in the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.
The Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests are an ecoregion in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, in the Eastern United States. The ecoregion is located in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It covers an area of about 61,500 square miles (159,000 km2) in: northeast Alabama and Georgia, northwest South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and central West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and small extensions into Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.
Carya tomentosa, is a tree in the Juglandaceae or walnut family. The most abundant of the hickories, common in the eastern half of the US, it is long lived, sometimes reaching the age of 500 years. A straight-growing hickory, a high percentage of its wood is used for products where strength, hardness, and flexibility are needed. The wood makes excellent fuel wood, as well. The leaves turn yellow in Autumn.
Carya myristiciformis, the nutmeg hickory, a tree of the Juglandaceae or walnut family, also called swamp hickory or bitter water hickory, is found as small, possibly relict populations across the Southern United States and in northern Mexico on rich moist soils of higher bottom lands and stream banks. Little is known of the growth rate of nutmeg hickory. Logs and lumber are sold mixed with other hickories. The nuts are an oil-rich food for wildlife.
An oak forest is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks. In terms of canopy closure, oak forests contain the most closed canopy, compared to oak savannas and oak woodlands.
The Mississippi lowland forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion in the eastern United States, covering an area of 112,300 km2 (43,400 sq mi).
The Middle Atlantic coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forest mixed with patches of evergreen broadleaved forests along the coast of the southeastern United States.
The Interior Low Plateaus are a physiographic region in eastern United States. It consists of a diverse landscape that extends from north Alabama across central Tennessee and Kentucky into southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its natural communities are a matrix of temperate forests, woodlands, and prairies.
The Appalachian hemlock–northern hardwood forest is a forest system found in the Appalachian Mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and western North Carolina. These forests occur in deep coves, moist flats, and ravines.
The Southern Ridge and Valley / Cumberland dry calcareous forest is a forest system found in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Central Appalachian pine–oak rocky woodland is a forest system found in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia. It occurs on lower-elevation hilltops, outcrops, and rocky slopes in the central Appalachian Mountains, the Allegheny Plateau, and the northern Piedmont.
The northeastern interior dry–mesic oak forest is a forest system found in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. These forests cover large areas at low and middle elevations, typically on flat to gently rolling terrain.
The Southeastern conifer forests are a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the southeastern United States. It is the largest conifer forest ecoregion east of the Mississippi River. It is also the southernmost instance of temperate coniferous forest within the Nearctic realm.
The Southern coastal plain oak dome and hammock is a forest type occurring in small patches in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. These forests consist of thick stands of evergreen oaks on shallow depressions or slight hills. They are distinct from their surrounding habitats, which are often woodlands dominated by longleaf pine.
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the Mediterranean coastal region of northeastern Spain, Southern France, the Balearic Islands and a small portion of Italy.