Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
53 <br /> Meadowmont Farms Biological Inventory Report Orange County, N.C. <br /> Dry-Mesic and Dry Oak-Hickory Forests (Piedmont Subtype) <br /> These two community types are comprised entirely of closed-canopy hardwood forests. <br /> Due to varying soil types and textures, as well as slope aspects, these communities possess <br /> mesic and dry adapted floras. Areas possessing compact, fine soil textures (i.e., heavy <br /> clays) and north to east-facing slopes yield mesic floras. Species indicative of these areas <br /> include, but are not limited to, the following: <br /> • Liriodendron tulipifera var. tulipifera (yellow poplar) <br /> • Acer rubrum var. rubrum (red maple) <br /> • Acer floridanum (southern sugar maple) <br /> • Quercus rubra (northern red oak) <br /> • Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum) <br /> Areas possessing coarser, loamier soils and south to west-facing slopes yield drier floras. <br /> Species indicative of these areas include, but are not limited to, the following: <br /> • Quercus alba (white oak) <br /> • Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine) <br /> • Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak) <br /> • Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) <br /> • Vaccinium arboreum (farkleberry) <br /> Unlike the maintained/disturbed community type, these two community types do not <br /> possess a high percentage of"edge"habitats or transitions, and sunlight availability to the <br /> forest floor is limited. As a result, these communities generally do not possess a good <br /> juxtaposition of structural cover, or a diverse groundcover stratum. Herbs and grasses are <br /> mostly limited to canopy gaps or outside edge transitions. While these community types <br /> are generally less diverse and possess poorer quality cover for wildlife, they do support a <br /> handful of wildlife species which are adapted to persisting in forest-interior habitats. <br /> Animal species that show increased use of these community types include, but are not <br /> limited to, the following: <br /> • Picidae (woodpeckers [e.g., downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied <br /> woodpecker,yellow-bellied sapsucker,pileated woodpecker,and northern flicker]) <br /> • Sittidae (nuthatches [e.g., white-breasted nuthatch and brown-headed nuthatch]) <br /> • Baeolophus bicolor(tufted titmouse) <br /> • Poecile carolinensis (Carolina chickadee) <br /> • Sciurus carolinensis (gray squirrel) <br /> • Strix varia (barred owl) <br /> • Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) <br /> • Meleagris gallopavo (wild turkey) <br /> • Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum) <br /> • Procyon lotor(racoon) <br /> • Canis latrans (coyote) <br /> 3 January 2023 <br />