Wildlife Management

Wildlife Management

Taxonomy Machine Name
sector_wildlife_management
Taxonomy Alias
wildlife_management
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Forest health is not greatly challenged by pests and pathogens, but could become more problematic if the system becomes very drought-stressed.

Submitted by sdhandler on

Shale bedrock restricts the number of species that could compete with this community type, although invasive trees and shrubs are an increasing problem. Some invasive species can become very competitive in this forest community, including some nonnative grasses, spotted knapweed, Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese bush clover, and ailanthus. These invasive species may become more problematic if they can outcompete native species.

Most dominant species are projected to increase or remain stable, including eastern redcedar, eastern redbud, hackberry, northern red oak, pignut hickory, pitch pine, scrub oak, Virginia pine, and white oak.

Submitted by sdhandler on

Many of the species in this ecosystem are projected to do well under a range future climate scenarios. Sugar maple is projected to decline in a substantially warmer and drier climate, and would be the most likely to disappear from this community type due to moisture deficit. This community is characterized by fewer than a dozen species, which vary based on the presence of shale or limestone bedrock.

This community is adapted to extreme weather and natural disturbance, and already occupies some of the driest and hottest habitat in the region; all of these reasons suggest that it can adapt to various climate-related stressors.

Submitted by sdhandler on

This community is adapted to extreme weather and natural disturbance, and already occupies some of the driest and hottest habitat in the region. This community is geographically constrained due to these extreme site conditions, which may benefit this community by reducing the encroachment of novel species. However, although this community is generally tolerant of short periods of severe drought, longer or more extreme drought can delay germination or kill seedlings and even long-established trees.

Extreme precipitation events may increase the rate of erosion or disintegration of the shale parent material.

Submitted by sdhandler on

This forest community thrives in the hottest, driest, and most exposed slopes underlain by shale and limestone. Because the bedrock sheds water easily, increases in extreme precipitation events may increase erosion or result in the disintegration of shale or limestone downslope.

Warmer, drier summers are likely to increase the risk of drought and fire in these locations, which would help maintain the open conditions favoring this community type.

Submitted by sdhandler on

The presence of fire, either natural or managed, is an important disturbance process that maintains open conditions in the barrens, glades, and woodlands. This community type can change very quickly in the absence of fire, which may allow eastern red cedarredcedar, red maple, and nonnative buckthorn to establish or increase. Both drought and fire can benefit this community, keeping an open state where it is currently present, and even potentially gaining new habitat where adjacent oak-pine forest declines.