Science & Stewardship

Forest Health and Resiliency

Healthy and well-functioning forests are ones that are structurally and ecologically diverse with complex topography, varying forest age classes, and a range of microclimates. Healthy forests provide better habitat for wildlife, sequester and hold more carbon over the long-term, and are more resilient to pests, disease, and natural disasters. With the vast majority of the A.T. landscape dominated by forest communities, it comes as no surprise that forest health is of particular importance for the Trail. The ATC works with many partners to lead forest health initiatives such as restoration of declining and threatened forest communities, like high elevation spruce fir forest communities of the south.

Ecological Connectivity

From fragile alpine environments, to old growth forests, to grasslands and meadows, the ATC works to protect and maintain a mosaic of high quality habitats across the landscape. Maintaining and restoring a wide variety of habitats where naturally suited across the landscape, helps ensure appropriate resources like food, shelter, and breeding grounds are available to species moving throughout the landscape in both the short-term and long-term. ATC also works to foster new connectivity in areas where development and landscape fragmentation have isolated important habitats from their surroundings.

Native Biodiversity

The A.T. corridor has more than 1,800 occurrences of rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species. By protecting these rare species communities, and native biodiversity in general, the ecosystems in which they occur remain healthier and more resilient to changing environmental conditions and threats.

Invasive Species Management

ATC staff and volunteers work continuously to identify and remove non-native invasive plant and animal species that threaten the health and quality of A.T. resources. Invasive species can generally spread rapidly and can replace complex forest communities with single species monocultures. Invasions such as these often result in reduced quality and availability of food and habitat for wildlife. Invasive species can interfere with essential ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, water filtration, and fire regimes and diminish the ability of ecosystems to sustain economic activities like forestry, fishing, and agriculture. In some cases, non-native species invasions can reduce the aesthetic quality of the A.T. by degrading or even killing large forest sections and significant portions of the viewed landscape

Non-native invasive species can be spread by water, wind, and animals, but seeds can also be transported on the shoes, clothing, and equipment of Trail users. It is important to educate yourself about how recreational activities can contribute to the proliferation of invasive species.