The Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Eastern United States. The ecoregion includes the central and southern Appalachian Mountains including the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and covers an area of about 61,500 square miles (159,000 km2) in northeast Alabama and Georgia, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and central Pennsylvania, and small extensions into West Virginia, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.
They are one of the world's richest temperate deciduous forests in terms of biodiversity, there are an unusually high number of species of both flora and fauna, as well as a high number of endemic species. The reasons for this are the long-term geologic stability of the region, its long ridges and valleys which serve both as barrier and corridors, and their general north-south alignment which allowed habitats to shift southward during ice ages. The mountains also contain a large variety of diverse landscapes, microclimates and soils all constituting microhabitats allowing many refugia areas and relict species to survive and thrive.
Read more about Appalachian-Blue Ridge Forests: Climate, Flora, Fauna, Threats, Areas of Intact Habitat
Famous quotes containing the words ridge and/or forests:
“The light passes
from ridge to ridge,
from flower to flower.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)