Habitats

New Habitats Website

lepidopteran — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:48:45 +0000

New Habitats Website lepidopteran Tue, 04/21/2026 - 15:48

We would like to take the occasion of the 56th anniversary of Earth Day to announce the opening of the Habitats of North Carolina Website. The mission of the NCBP is to compile information about biodiversity in all of its forms and make it as widely available to the North Carolina public as we can. Biodiversity is more than just long lists of species: it includes all of their myriad interactions, both with one another and with the non-living parts of their environment. This website focuses on a key aspect of species’ ecology, their habitat. These are the places in which a species has evolved its relationships to the world and which are as much of a characteristic feature of their existence as their morphology, physiology, and behavior. In fact, all of those aspects have been strongly shaped by the interactions of the species with its habitat. Our new website highlights these connections but without losing sight of the species themselves. We hope to accomplish the same detailed appreciation for the high diversity of habitats we have here in North Carolina as we have accomplished for individual species through our taxonomic websites.

News Link

https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/habitat/index.php

NC Longleaf Summit

lepidopteran — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 05:34:09 +0000

NC Longleaf Summit lepidopteran Sat, 11/29/2025 - 00:34

Wed, Dec 3 2025, 9:30am - 3:30pm

NCBP member David George will present an update on the survey currently being conducted at the Sandhills Game Lands.

Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park

lepidopteran — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:19:17 +0000

Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park lepidopteran Sun, 01/12/2025 - 23:19

The 2021-2 survey conducted by the NCBP of the New Hope Creek corridor in Durham County included the Hollow Rock Nature Park but focused primarily on the floodplain habitats along the creek itself. An upland area located east of Pickett Road was noted, however, for the maturity of its stand and its somewhat unusual composition, with a large number of Shortleaf Pines and Post Oaks intermixed with Northern Shagbark Hickories and Florida Maples. In 2024, Steve Hall and Carol Tingley conducted a more detailed habitat analysis of this site in a project funded by the Durham Open Space Program. Although focused on the vegetation – surveyed over 61 randomly selected, 5m radius circular quadrats -- this project was conducted more as a habitat survey. Instead of recording structural features, including cover and dominance in the various strata, this survey evaluated species within a set of spatially overlapping habitats and based on the viability of their occurrences within the study area, qualities that could be applied to any taxon. The odd mixture of xerophytic and mesophytic species, and acidophilic and basophilic species was confirmed, with a number of species expected for the individual habitat types as found to be missing from the site. The ecosystem overall, however, appears to closely match the Mixed Moisture Hardpan Forest recently described by Mike Schafale in his 2012 revision of the Natural Communities of North Carolina. This site may, in fact, represent one of the largest and best developed examples of this type in the state.

/sites/default/files/publications/Hollow%20Rock%20Report%2C%202024-11-27.pdf

Steve Hall, Carol Tingley

2024

Hall, S., Tingley, C. 2024. Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park. Report to the Durham County Open Space Program. North Carolina Biodiversity Project.

Vascular plants

Carolina Beach Moth Survey

David George — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 06:18:09 +0000

Carolina Beach Moth Survey David George Sun, 03/05/2023 - 01:18

Inventory of the wildlife habitats, movement corridors, and rare animal population of Durham County, North Carolina

lepidopteran — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 07:19:16 +0000

Inventory of the wildlife habitats, movement corridors, and rare animal population of Durham County, North Carolina lepidopteran Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:19

This report identifies twenty-six sites in Durham County that provide habitat for a high diversity of animal species, support populations of rare animals, or serve as critical corridors for animal movements. Twenty-four of the sites - comprising over 25,000 acres - are publicly or institutionally owned and are managed as natural areas, forest lands, or wildlife habitat. These include one state park, three city parks, two dedicated State Nature Preserves, nine registered Natural Heritage Areas, and two extensive areas of state gamelands.

https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll9/id/331535

Stephen Hall

1995

Hall, S. (1995). Inventory of the wildlife habitats, movement corridors, and rare animal population of Durham County, North Carolina. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

An Inventory of the Significant Natural Areas of Robeson County, North Carolina

lepidopteran — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 06:03:49 +0000

An Inventory of the Significant Natural Areas of Robeson County, North Carolina lepidopteran Sun, 02/12/2023 - 01:03

Abstract: This inventory of the natural areas, natural communities, and rare species of Robeson County was funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund. This inventory identifies the most significant natural areas in the county, describes their features, and documents the natural communities and rare species of plants and animals associated with them. Habitat conditions, natural processes, and threats are also described. The inventory is intended to provide guidance for land use decisions by conservation and land management organizations, local governments, and interested citizens. Field work was carried out by Harry E. LeGrand, Jr., of the NorthCarolina Natural Heritage Program, during 2007 and 2008. The inventory identifies 48 areas (46 terrestrial and two aquatic) of significance at the national, state, regional, and county level, as determined by criteria established by the North CarolinaNatural Heritage Program. Six natural areas are of National significance. Four of these are clay-based Carolina bays, whereas the other two Nationally significant sites are fairly extensive pine flatwoods of the “Lumbee savanna” variant. A total of 14 additional sites are State significant, 18are Regionally significant, and 10 are significant at the county level.

https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll22/id/151242

Harry LeGrand

2009

LeGrand, H. E. (2009). An Inventory of the Significant Natural Areas of Robeson County, North Carolina. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

A Natural Heritage Inventory of the Roanoke River Floodplain, North Carolina

lepidopteran — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 05:30:11 +0000

A Natural Heritage Inventory of the Roanoke River Floodplain, North Carolina lepidopteran Sun, 02/12/2023 - 00:30

This inventory, funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, focused particularly on the rich alluvial habitats located in the upper part of the floodplain. In addition to updating previous North Carolina Natural Heritage Program inventories conducted in this area, this survey also covered species that have been poorly represented in past inventories, especially animals (mainly insects) associated with brownwater habitats. A landscape-focused component was also included. This component complements our traditional approach centered on individual sites and Natural Heritage Elements, focusing more on the interconnections between sites and how well species are able to move freely about large areas in the entire floodplain of the Lower Roanoke.

https://apnep.nc.gov/media/286/open

Harry LeGrand, Stephen Hall

2014

LeGrand, H. E., & Hall, S. P. (2014). A Natural Heritage Inventory of the Roanoke River Floodplain, North Carolina. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

NC Natural Community Classification

lepidopteran — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 08:34:54 +0000

NC Natural Community Classification lepidopteran Thu, 02/02/2023 - 03:34

Developed by Michael P. Schafale and the NC National Heritage Program, this document is a guide to the system used by the NHP to classify the wide variety of natural habitats found in North Carolina, including descriptions of these habitats and their plant communities.

Resource Link

https://www.ncnhp.org/media/2/open