Threats
The forests have been altered by logging and clearance for agriculture, urban and industrial development (including mining) with only small patches of original forest remaining, the largest of which is in the Great Smoky Mountains; nearly all of Shenandoah National Park, for example, is regrown forest but still vital habitat for wildlife. The spruce and fir forests of the highlands have been logged particularly intensively and in many cases have not regenerated leaving areas of Appalachian balds heath. Also, as large predators such as wolves and mountain lions have been removed, the forests are now being overgrazed by deer. Plants and animals are also threatened by introduced species including the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana), Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), Balsam woolly adelgid (A. piceae) and the Discula destructiva that affects dogwoods and is similar to chestnut blight.
Read more about this topic: Appalachian-Blue Ridge Forests
Famous quotes containing the word threats:
“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 3:14.
John the Baptist to Soldiers.
“Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come to us again. All Americans understand the basic lessons of history: that we need to be resolute and able to protect ourselves, to prevent threats and domination by others.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“Among the best traitors Ireland has ever had, Mother Church ranks at the very top, a massive obstacle in the path to equality and freedom. She has been a force for conservatism, not on the basis of preserving Catholic doctrine or preventing the corruption of her children, but simply to ward off threats to her own security and influence.”
—Bernadette Devlin (b. 1947)