LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

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Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway
A Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” that explores the great diversity of forests in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
Forests and fires: The longleaf pine savanna
This Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” examines the role of fire in maintaining the longleaf pine savanna as well as other rare plant communities found in Camp Lejune, North Carolina.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
Jocassee Gorges: Temperate rain forests of the Blue Ridge
A Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” that explores the geology and botanical diversity of the Jocassee Gorges region of North Carolina's mountains.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
Rich cove forest
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 5
In keeping with their name, the rich cove forests of the Blue Ridge are rich in species, tree production, and scenic beauty. Cove forests are dominated by large trees of many species. The example shown in Figure 4, at about 3100 feet, happens to be dominated...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Forests and fires
In Forests and fires: The longleaf pine savanna, page 1
Americans of different eras have viewed forest fires very differently. Most modern Americans view them as natural disasters. They base this opinion on widely publicized devastating fires that have swept through the brushland areas near Los Angeles and Yellowstone...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Diverse species
In Jocassee Gorges: Temperate rain forests of the Blue Ridge, page 10
The forests of the high slopes are mixed mesophytic forests found on creek and river slopes. Those found below 2,500 feet in open areas are characterized by a greater richness of species than is found in any other vegetation type in the region. This richness...
By Dirk Frankenberg and Stephanie Walters.
Pine forest and salt marsh
In Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes, page 11
Other aspects of salt marsh distribution are also indicators of recent sea level rise. The best example is found where salt marsh plants are extending their range into habitats dominated by plants that cannot tolerate frequent exposure to salt water. This...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Forests on the highland plateaus
In Jocassee Gorges: Temperate rain forests of the Blue Ridge, page 9
The upper slopes of the Blue Ridge support forests similar to those found at lower elevations much further north. Figure 6 shows one of these that are dominated by the Canadian hemlock and many other species, including the beeches and birches that characterize...
By Dirk Frankenberg and Stephanie Walters.
Grassy bald community
In Roan Mountain Highlands, page 5
Figure 3 shows another close-up view of the grassy bald community. The nearby Roan High Knob with its spruce/fir forest is in the background. Taken together, Figures 1–3 are designed to give you a sense of how the major plant communities of the Roan...
By Jennifer Godwin-Wyer and Dirk Frankenberg.
Large sand volume barrier islands: Environmental processes and development risks
This Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” explores the nature and structure of barrier islands with large sand volume, on which built structures are relatively well insulated from hurricane damage.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
Chestnut oak forest
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 3
Most of the hardwood forests throughout the Piedmont and lower elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains are classified by ecologists as part of the large and complex Eastern Deciduous Forest biome. This biome covers roughly the eastern third of the United States...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Transition to northern hardwood forest
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 6
At elevations above the chestnut oak forest — but not necessarily above variants of the rich cove forests — the Blue Ridge supports forests of hardwoods more commonly found in the the northern reaches of the United States and in Canada. In the...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Wetlands of the coastal plains
This Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” explores the various wetlands of North Carolina's coastal plain and the plant communities found there.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
A developing chestnut oak forest
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 4
Figure 2 shows a younger forest at about 2200 feet, with smaller oaks, a relatively open canopy, and the dense shrub and small tree layer (called the understory by ecologists) that develops on the floor of open-canopied forests. Note also the twisting...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
A blackwater river from sea to source: The White Oak River transect
A “virtual field trip” up the White Oak River in southeastern North Carolina, with discussion of how local ecology changes along the way due to decreasing salinity.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
The forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 1
The relationship between elevation and forest types is one of the most striking features of the ecology of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The major determinent of this relationship is climate: Average temperatures in the Blue Ridge decline about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Evidence of rising sea level: Coastal erosion and plant community changes
A Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” that examines the causes and effects of changes in sea level, both short-term (as a result of storms) and long-term (as a result of climate change).
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)
Thicket
Thicket
Format: image/photograph
Mountain balds
In Elevations and forest types along the Blue Ridge Parkway, page 8
Many high-elevation areas of the Blue Ridge have no trees. As a result these areas are called balds. The origin and persistence of mountain balds is poorly understood. Some scientists claim that they form in areas particularly susceptible to fires...
By Dirk Frankenberg.
Roan Mountain Highlands
This Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations “virtual field trip” explores the natural beauty and geological and ecological diversity of the Roan Mountain Highlands that straddle the border between North Carolina and Tennesee.
Format: slideshow (multiple pages)