Agenda - 11-27-1995 - C-1-b - Laserfiche WebLink

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�J PLANT AND ANIMAL RESOURCES Woodlands Almost 54 percent of Orange County's land area is covered by woodlands, 60 percent of which is comprised of hardwood forest. Although hardwoods are distributed across the county, the concentration of such forests is greater in the central and eastern portions where farming is less prevalent. As shown on the Vegetation Map, pine forests are located primarily in the southeastern section of the county. ORANGE COUNTY WOODLANDS As Percent of As Percent of Type Acrea a All Woodlands All Land Bottomland Hardwood 25,981 19.00/0 10.2% Hardwood 66,227 48.2% 26.0% Mixed Pine/Hardwood 12,991 1 9.4% 5.1% Pine 32,095 23.4% 12.6% Total 137,294 100.0% 53.90/6 Source: LANDSAT Satellite Data, Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study, N.C. Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, 1988. These woodlands provide a diverse environment for plant and animal life, and protect and conserve important resources such as watersheds and soils. Forest vegetation stabilizes and enriches the soil, and slows runoff from precipitation. Closer to urban environments, woodlands buffer the sights and sounds of civilization, absorb air pollutants, and act as moderators of temperature extremes. The microclimate of a forest, created in part by the shade of the trees and the transpiration of water from the leaves, keeps surrounding air at an even temperature. Woodlands adjacent to and interspersed among suburban and urban areas thus act as natural air conditioners. Natural Areas/Wildlife Habitats Between June of 1987 and October of 1988, an inventory of the principal natural areas and wildlife habitats of Orange County was conducted for the Triangle Land Conservancy in coordination with the N.C. Natural Heritage Program. Published in December, 1988, the inventory report identified a total of 64 sites. Each site identified in the report was given a ranking of overall significance, integrity, and threat status by the authors of the inventory, plant ecologist Dawson Sather and zoologist Stephen Hall. For each category, five levels of significance, site integrity, and threat were identified in the inventory as described below. Significance Rating. Significance refers to the presence of an important biological or geomorphic element on the site and the rarity of that element. The levels of significance identified in the inventory were as follows: