Central Appalachian Refugia
Central Appalachians
Allegheny woodrat on rocks taken by a trail camera.
Photo: Lauren Lyon.
The Central Appalachian ecoregion, stretching from central Pennsylvania to northern Tennessee, is primarily a high, dissected, rugged plateau composed of sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal. The rugged terrain, cool climate, and infertile soils limit agriculture, resulting in a mostly forested land cover. A mixed mesophytic forest with areas of Appalachian oak and northern hardwood forest covers the high hills and low mountains. Bituminous coal mines are common and have caused the siltation and acidification of streams.
Red Run, Franklin County, within the Beartown Woods Natural Area of Michaux State Forest.
Photo by: Nicholas T
publications
Kivlin, S. N., Harpe, V. R., Turner, J. H., Moore, J. A., Moorhead, L. C., Beals, K. K., ... & Schweitzer, J. A. (2021). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal response to fire and urbanization in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elem Sci Anth, 9(1), 00037.
Le Bouille, D., Fargione, J., & Armsworth, P. R. (2022). Spatiotemporal variation in costs of managing protected areas. Conservation Science and Practice, e12697.
McKenzie, P. F., Iacona, G. D., Larson, E. R., & Armsworth, P. R. (2021). Partitioning tree diversity patterns to prioritize conservation investments. Environmental Conservation, 48(2), 75-83.
Zhu, G., Giam, X., Armsworth, P. R., Cho, S. H., & Papeş, M. (2022). Biodiversity conservation adaptation to climate change: protecting the actors or the stage. Ecological Applications, e2765.
Zhu, G., Papeş, M., Armsworth, P. R., & Giam, X. (2022). Climate change vulnerability of terrestrial vertebrates in a major refuge and dispersal corridor in North America. Diversity and Distributions.
Zhu, G., Papeş, M., Giam, X., Cho, S. H., & Armsworth, P. R. (2021). Are protected areas well-sited to support species in the future in a major climate refuge and corridor in the United States?. Biological Conservation, 255, 108982.