Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee, USA Photograph by John Morrison   Eastern North America: Eastern United States Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   Almost 61,500 square miles (159,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of Washington Vulnerable

· Salamander Heaven
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Salamander Heaven

If you were a Plethodontid salamander (a type of salamander that breathes through its skin), chances are you would be living in the Appalachian -- Blue Ridge Forests ecoregion. Thirty-four species of these lungless amphibians are found here, giving this ecoregion more salamander diversity than any place else on Earth.

Special Features

Unlike many ecoregions, the Appalachian mountain range has remained geologically stable since the Paleozoic Era--more than 245 million years ago. Over this vast amount of time, erosion has worn the once high, jagged mountain peaks down to a series of ridges and valleys. Seeping water, meanwhile, has created an extensive network of caves in some regions. More recently, when glaciers covered the land, this area became a refuge for many species. After the last glaciers retreated about 10,000 years ago, some plant communities that are normally found only at more northern latitudes, such as cranberry bogs, remained in the cool mountains.

	You would have to go all the way to central China to find a temperate broadleaf forest that is richer in plant species than the Appalachians.

Wild Side

Salamanders are just the tip of the biological diversity of this region. More than 158 tree species can be found here, which ranks this ecoregion among the highest in North America for plant diversity. This ecoregion also contains many plants, invertebrates, salamanders, mussels, and fish that are restricted to single watersheds or mountain peaks due to millions of years of isolation. If you look closely, you can find rare and endangered snails, orchids, bats, and other kinds of plants and animals. Many of the species found in these forests have close relatives in the forests of central and southwestern China, including sassafras, witch hazel, dogwoods, hellbender salamanders, some land snails, pheasants, and woodpeckers. These widely seperated areas once were part of the same ancient forests millions of years ago.

Cause for Concern

The Appalachian -- Blue Ridge Forest ecoregion has been altered by agriculture, logging, and, most recently, suburban sprawl. Only a few patches of virgin, or old-growth, forest remain, which means that almost all of the forest existing today has regrown after cutting. Younger forests have few, if any, very large trees and generally are not as biologically diverse as old-growth forests. Another major threat to this ecoregion is air pollution--a by-product of increased urban development and electric power generation, which can cause acid rain. The introduction of exotic diseases and pests, such as gypsy moths, also poses a serious threat to portions of the habitat.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.