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Home My WebLink About20040425 Ver 1_Maps_20040203 f'.... ,~ ,~ ( ~~~, ~ - (30)( ~ tv c" ,,(: m i-k ~, BD)( 1.( g ~ f,tt --1 Bo.9\!\G\ ('^"~S :C Ecoregions of North Carolina 350 340 + ~- ~ A/r~ LONG BAY 830 780 820 810 800 790 45 Piedmont _ 45a Southern Inner Piedmont ~!;I,~I 45b Southern Outer Piedmont 45c Carolina Slate Belt 45e Northern Inner Piedmont 45f Northern Outer Piedmont 45g Triassic Basins 45i Kings Mountain 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain _ 63b Chesapeake-Pamlico Lowlands and Tidal Marshes _ 63c Nonriverine Swamps and Peatlands _ 63d Virginian Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes ~ 63e Mid-Atlantic Flatwoods _ 63 g Carolinian Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes ~ 63h Carolina Flatwoods _ 63n Mid-Atlantic Floodplains and Low Terraces Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. Ecoregions are directly applicable to many state agency activities, including the selection of regional stream reference sites, the development of biological criteria and water quality standards, and the establishment of management goals for nonpoint-source pollution. They are also relevant to integrated ecosystem management, an ultimate goal of many federal and state resource management agencies. The approach used to compile this map of North Carolina is based on the premise that ecological regions are hierarchical and can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wtken 1986; Omemik 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I and Level II divide the North American continent into 15 and 52 regions, respectively (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group 1997). At Level Ill, the continental United States contains 104 regions (United States Environmental Protection Agency [U.S. EPA] 2(00). Level IV is a further subdivision of the Level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define the U.S. EPA's ecoregions are given in Omemik (1995), Omemik and others (2000), Griffith and others (1994, 1997), and Gallant and others (1989). The Level III and IV ecoregions were compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 and depict revisions and subdivisions of earlier level III ecoregions that were originally compiled at a smaller scale (U.S. EPA 2000; Omemik 1987). Compilation of this map is part of a collaborative project primarily between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), U.S. EPA Region IV, and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. This project is also associated with an interagency effort to develop a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon and others 2(01). Regional collaborative projects, such as this one in North Carolina where some agreement can be reached among multiple resource management agencies, are a step in the direction of attaining commonality and consistency in ecoregion frameworKs for the entire nation. Comments regarding the Level III and IV Ecoregions of North Carolina map should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USDA-NRCS, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4465, FAX: (541) 754-4716, email: griffith.glenn@epagov, or to James Omemik, USGS, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4458, email: omernik.james@epa.gov. ~ - .. - - r 65 Southeastern Plains ~ 65c Sand Hills _ 651 Atlantic Southern Loam Plains _ 65m Rollipg Coastal Plain _ 65p Southeastern Floodplains and Low Terraces 66 Blue Ridge lJAlll 66c New River Plateau _ 66<1 Southern Crystalline Ridges and Mountains Ir 11 66e Southern Sedimentary Ridges 11118I1 66g Southern Metasedimentary Mountains _ 66i High Mountains c=J 66j Broad Basins _ 66k Amphibolite Mountains _ 661 Eastern Blue Ridge Foothills _ 66m Sauratown Mountains PRINCIPAL AUTHORS: Glenn E. Griffith (NB-CS), James M. Omemik (U~P~), Jeffrey A. Comstock (Indus Corporation), Michael P. Schafale (NCDENR), W. Henry McNab (USFS), David R. Lenat (NCDENR), and Trish F. MacPherson (NCDENR). Level III ecoregion Level IV ecoregion County boundary - - - - - - - State boundary - - - -- COLLABORATORS AND CONTRIBUTORS: James E. Harrison (USEPA), David L. Penrose (NCDENR), Roy L.Vick, Jr. (NRCS), Gerard McMahon (USGS), Robert Peet (UNC), Chip Smith (NRCS) and Tom Loveland (USGS). SCALE 1: 1 500 000 15 10 5 0 k, I I I I I I I 30 20 10 0 30 I 60mi ,~~",-_I '. ~."'~-"I 120 kIn I 60 CITING TIllS MAP: Griffith, G.E., Omemik, J.M., Comstock, JA, Schafale, M.P., McNab, W.H., Lenat, D.R., and MacPherson, T.F., 2002, Ecoregions of North Carolina, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR, (map scale 1:1,500,(00). Albers Equal Area Projection olJ~V PAMLlCO S ./ '. )1"o3g , ft.... >' + 'j' ./ . '" 360 350 ---~-=-- T __ __ c ----- --...--- ':: - - --.:- - - .-:: ATLANTIC OCEAN + + 770 760 Literature Cited: Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective: Montreal, Quebec, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. Gallant, A.L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omemik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA/600/3-89/060, 152 p. Griffith, G.E., Omemik, J.M., Wilton, T.F., and Pierson, S.M., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of Iowa - a framework for water quality assessment and management: The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science, v. 101, no. 1, p. 5-13. Griffith, G.E., Omemik, JM., and Azevedo, SoH., 1997, Ecoregions of Tennessee: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, EPA/6001R-97/022, 51 p. McMahon, G., Gregonis, S.M., Waltman, SoW., Omernik, J.M., Thorson, T.D., Freeouf, JA., Rorick, AH., and Keys, J.E., 2001, Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States: Environmental Management, V. 28, no. 3, p.293-316. Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, no. 1, p. 118-125, scale 1:7,500,000. Omemik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions-a spatial framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p. 49-62. Omemik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, v. 88,no. 2000,p. 77-103. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000, Level ill ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omemik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Map M-l. WIken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19,26 p. --- 340 ~ -~ f'.... ,~ ,~ ( ~~~, ~ - (30)( ~ tv c" ,,(: m i-k ~, BD)( 1.( g ~ f,tt --1 Bo.9\!\G\ ('^"~S :C Ecoregions of North Carolina 350 340 + ~- ~ A/r~ LONG BAY 830 780 820 810 800 790 45 Piedmont _ 45a Southern Inner Piedmont ~!;I,~I 45b Southern Outer Piedmont 45c Carolina Slate Belt 45e Northern Inner Piedmont 45f Northern Outer Piedmont 45g Triassic Basins 45i Kings Mountain 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain _ 63b Chesapeake-Pamlico Lowlands and Tidal Marshes _ 63c Nonriverine Swamps and Peatlands _ 63d Virginian Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes ~ 63e Mid-Atlantic Flatwoods _ 63 g Carolinian Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes ~ 63h Carolina Flatwoods _ 63n Mid-Atlantic Floodplains and Low Terraces Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. Ecoregions are directly applicable to many state agency activities, including the selection of regional stream reference sites, the development of biological criteria and water quality standards, and the establishment of management goals for nonpoint-source pollution. They are also relevant to integrated ecosystem management, an ultimate goal of many federal and state resource management agencies. The approach used to compile this map of North Carolina is based on the premise that ecological regions are hierarchical and can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wtken 1986; Omemik 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I and Level II divide the North American continent into 15 and 52 regions, respectively (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group 1997). At Level Ill, the continental United States contains 104 regions (United States Environmental Protection Agency [U.S. EPA] 2(00). Level IV is a further subdivision of the Level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define the U.S. EPA's ecoregions are given in Omemik (1995), Omemik and others (2000), Griffith and others (1994, 1997), and Gallant and others (1989). The Level III and IV ecoregions were compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 and depict revisions and subdivisions of earlier level III ecoregions that were originally compiled at a smaller scale (U.S. EPA 2000; Omemik 1987). Compilation of this map is part of a collaborative project primarily between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), U.S. EPA Region IV, and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. This project is also associated with an interagency effort to develop a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon and others 2(01). Regional collaborative projects, such as this one in North Carolina where some agreement can be reached among multiple resource management agencies, are a step in the direction of attaining commonality and consistency in ecoregion frameworKs for the entire nation. Comments regarding the Level III and IV Ecoregions of North Carolina map should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USDA-NRCS, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4465, FAX: (541) 754-4716, email: griffith.glenn@epagov, or to James Omemik, USGS, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4458, email: omernik.james@epa.gov. ~ - .. - - r 65 Southeastern Plains ~ 65c Sand Hills _ 651 Atlantic Southern Loam Plains _ 65m Rollipg Coastal Plain _ 65p Southeastern Floodplains and Low Terraces 66 Blue Ridge lJAlll 66c New River Plateau _ 66<1 Southern Crystalline Ridges and Mountains Ir 11 66e Southern Sedimentary Ridges 11118I1 66g Southern Metasedimentary Mountains _ 66i High Mountains c=J 66j Broad Basins _ 66k Amphibolite Mountains _ 661 Eastern Blue Ridge Foothills _ 66m Sauratown Mountains PRINCIPAL AUTHORS: Glenn E. Griffith (NB-CS), James M. Omemik (U~P~), Jeffrey A. Comstock (Indus Corporation), Michael P. Schafale (NCDENR), W. Henry McNab (USFS), David R. Lenat (NCDENR), and Trish F. MacPherson (NCDENR). Level III ecoregion Level IV ecoregion County boundary - - - - - - - State boundary - - - -- COLLABORATORS AND CONTRIBUTORS: James E. Harrison (USEPA), David L. Penrose (NCDENR), Roy L.Vick, Jr. (NRCS), Gerard McMahon (USGS), Robert Peet (UNC), Chip Smith (NRCS) and Tom Loveland (USGS). SCALE 1: 1 500 000 15 10 5 0 k, I I I I I I I 30 20 10 0 30 I 60mi ,~~",-_I '. ~."'~-"I 120 kIn I 60 CITING TIllS MAP: Griffith, G.E., Omemik, J.M., Comstock, JA, Schafale, M.P., McNab, W.H., Lenat, D.R., and MacPherson, T.F., 2002, Ecoregions of North Carolina, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR, (map scale 1:1,500,(00). Albers Equal Area Projection olJ~V PAMLlCO S ./ '. )1"o3g , ft.... >' + 'j' ./ . '" 360 350 ---~-=-- T __ __ c ----- --...--- ':: - - --.:- - - .-:: ATLANTIC OCEAN + + 770 760 Literature Cited: Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective: Montreal, Quebec, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. Gallant, A.L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omemik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA/600/3-89/060, 152 p. Griffith, G.E., Omemik, J.M., Wilton, T.F., and Pierson, S.M., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of Iowa - a framework for water quality assessment and management: The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science, v. 101, no. 1, p. 5-13. Griffith, G.E., Omemik, JM., and Azevedo, SoH., 1997, Ecoregions of Tennessee: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, EPA/6001R-97/022, 51 p. McMahon, G., Gregonis, S.M., Waltman, SoW., Omernik, J.M., Thorson, T.D., Freeouf, JA., Rorick, AH., and Keys, J.E., 2001, Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States: Environmental Management, V. 28, no. 3, p.293-316. Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, no. 1, p. 118-125, scale 1:7,500,000. Omemik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions-a spatial framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p. 49-62. Omemik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, v. 88,no. 2000,p. 77-103. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000, Level ill ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omemik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Map M-l. WIken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19,26 p. --- 340 ~ -~