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Southern Blue Ridge
(Area - 4,129,700 ha)
Description - The Southern Blue Ridge is an area of rugged mountains, long
broad ridges, steep slopes, and deep ravines. It straddles the border between Tennessee
and North Carolina, extending south into northeast South Carolina and northwest Georgia
and north into Virginia. High Peaks spruce-fir forest grades at lower elevations into
northern hardwood forest or hemlock-white pine forest on steep, north-facing slopes and
Appalachian oaks on drier sites. The Appalachian oak type is the most widespread forest
type in the area. Mixed mesophytic hardwood forests, also called cove forests, over on
more mesic sites at low to mid-elevations. Various southern yellow pine mixes occur on dry
ridges, often associated with a fire regime. There are also riparian forest types along
valleys at various elevations, primarily in the lowlands. Disturbance, including fire,
grazing, and storm damage, plays a major role in determining the distribution and
successional status of many of these forest types.
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Conservation recommendations and needs - This remains the most heavily forested physiographic area in the Southeast. The amount of land in agriculture has been reduced in the last century, being replaced by forest. Nevertheless, BBS data indicate bird population declines in the Southern Blue Ridge in excess of those in any other areas in the region. Declines are seen in long-distance migrants, short-distance migrants, and permanent residents. One possible explanation is that BBS routes are situated along roads, and most roads in the Southern Blue Ridge are in valleys, where there has been a great deal of development and habitat loss in recent years. The perceived trends may not reflect population conditions in the bulk of the forested area. This, however, is not necessarily a safe assumption, and there is cause for concern in at least some of the forest types and conditions.
The highest elevation forest types, relics from the last glacial advance, have been declining in size and condition for 10,000 years, and this decline has accelerated in this century due to timber management, wildfires, exotic pests, and air pollution, and conditions may be further aggravated by global warming. Many of the birds in this habitat are long-isolated endemic populations of widespread species that may be genetically distinct from populations elsewhere. PIF treats several of these as independent conservation units, and efforts to halt the decline of conditions in these spruce and fir forests becomes an extremely high, but daunting, priority.
Other high priority birds inhabit early successional conditions, which also have declined in extent in recent years. Indeed, the Appalachian subspecies of Bewick’s Wren may have gone extinct in the past two decades. Prevention of loss of a suitable amount of mid- and high elevation early successional conditions is another priority conservation need.
Although some forest types, such as Appalachian oak, remains widespread, most of the area is in a mid-successional stage of closed canopy with a poorly developed understory and ground cover. Many mature forest birds may be suffering from this deficiency in structure. This will correct itself over time (possibly requiring several centuries), although more active management options exist that would hasten the process. In any case, a much greater extent of old-growth conditions in general is desirable for mature forest birds. This will take time and carefully considered and appropriate levels of management.
The lowest elevation riparian forests are most affected by forest loss and fragmentation in recent years. Management of riparian zones and retention or restoration of fragments of suitable size is another conservation need in the Southern Blue Ridge.
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