Mid-Atlantic Piedmont
(Area -
6,649,100 ha)
Description
- The eastern border of the Piedmont is the fall line, where resistant
volcanic rock gives way to the sands and clays of the Coastal Plain. To
the west, the Piedmont ends with the edge of the higher and more rugged
Blue Ridge and Ridge and Valley regions of the Appalachian Mountains The
Mid-Atlantic Piedmont is arbitrarily separated from the Southern Piedmont
at the North Carolina-Virginia line, and extends north through Virginia,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania before terminating in northern New Jersey. The
rolling topography of the Piedmont formerly supported an extensive
hardwood forest, with an oak-hickory type predominant in southern portions
and Appalachian oak to the north. Large areas in the Virginia portion were
dominated by Loblolly-shortleaf pine or pine-oak forests. Today, roughly
45% of the physiographic area is forested, and about an equal portion is
in agricultural production. The remainder is experiencing rapid
urbanization, especially in the vicinity of Washington D.C. and
Philadelphia.
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Conservation recommendations and needs - Managing human population growth while maintaining functional natural ecosystems is the greatest conservation challenge facing land managers in this region. The future of wildlife habitat depends on protection of patches of conservation significance and the manner in which inevitable continuing growth alters the environment. Forest habitat remains relatively abundant, but is very heavily fragmented. Identification and maintenance of those blocks large enough to support the full array of breeding birds should be a priority. Although no grassland bird species ranked highly in the PIF prioritization system, agricultural pasturelands throughout the piedmont support the largest (and apparently stable) population of Grasshopper Sparrows in the Northeast, as well as other state-listed grassland species. These areas formerly supported Henslow’s Sparrow. Protecting and enhancing grassland habitat is therefore also a priority, at least at the state level. Specific conservation recommendations for this physiographic area include:
• identify and protect forest blocks that support significant populations of Cerulean and Kentucky Warbler; or Wood Thrush;
• protect or restore natural barrens that support Prairie Warbler, Whip-poor-will, and other shrub-nesting species; monitor populations of priority species in other disturbed areas;
• identify, and either acquire, manage or restore grassland habitats > 50 ha with potential to support Henslow’s Sparrow, or that support significant populations of Grasshopper Sparrow.
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