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Cranesville Swamp Preserve
Cranesville Swamp Preserve is a preserve situated in Preston County, West Virginia and Garrett County, Maryland. It is one of the few remaining Boreal ecosystem, boreal bogs in the southern United States, unusual in harboring many plants and animals that are normally only seen in more northern climates. History The Nature Conservancy purchased the beginning in 1960. In October 1964, the site was designated as one of the first National Natural Landmarks in the country. Geology Cranesville Swamp is situated in a natural bowl, or "Microclimate, frost pocket," creating a climate that is more consistent with more northerly regions. Ecology Flora Cranesville Swamp's unusual setting allows 19 different plant communities to flourish, with the most dominant species being, among others, sphagnum moss, speckled alder (''Alnus rugosa''), various sedges (''Carex folliculata'', and ''Carex stricta, C. stricta'') and grasses. Bog species include round-leaved sundew (''Drosera rotundifolia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston County
Preston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood, West Virginia, Kingwood. The county was formed from Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County in 1818 and named for Virginia Governor James Patton Preston. Preston County is part of the Morgantown metropolitan area, Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the southernmost county of the Pittsburgh DMA, Pittsburgh media market. It is the home of The Buckwheat Festival, a county fair known for making buckwheat pancakes. History Native Americans lived in (and traveled through) what would one day become Preston County; they crossed-over from the Ohio River watershed, which drains into the Mississippi River, into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. From 1736, European traders and explorers lived in the County, and one boundary stone was laid in 1746—the Fairfax Stone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carex Stricta
''Carex stricta'' is a species of sedge known by the common names upright sedge and tussock sedge. The plant grows in moist marshes, forests and alongside bodies of water.''Carex stricta''. Study of Northern Virginia Ecology. Fairfax County Public Schools. It grows up to tall and wide. When the die, they build on top of or around the living plant, making a "tussock". Widely distributed in and east of the Great Plains, it is one of the most common wetland sedges in eastern North America. Their s are carried by the |
Protected Areas Of Preston County, West Virginia
Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although the mechanisms for providing protection vary widely, the basic meaning of the term remains the same. This is illustrated by an explanation found in a manual on electrical wiring: Some kind of protection is a characteristic of all life, as living things have evolved at least some protective mechanisms to counter damaging environmental phenomena, such as ultraviolet light. Biological membranes such as bark on trees and skin on animals offer protection from various threats, with skin playing a key role in protecting organisms against pathogens and excessive water loss. Additional structures like scales and hair offer further protection from the elements and from predators, with some animals having features such as spines or camouflage servi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bogs Of West Virginia
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. A bayhead is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States.Watson, Geraldine Ellis (2000) ''Big Thicket Plant Ecology: An Introduction'', Third Edition (Temple Big Thicket Series #5). University of North Texas Press. Denton, Texas. 152 pp. Texas Parks and Wildlife. Ecological Mapping Systems of Texas:West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall. Retrieved 7 July 2020 They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink. Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is acidic and low in nutrients. A bog usually is found at a freshwater so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian Bogs
Appalachian bogs are boreal or hemiboreal ecosystems, which occur in many places in the Appalachian Mountains, particularly the Allegheny Mountains, Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge subranges. Though popularly called bogs, many of them are technically fens. Natural history After the Pleistocene ice ages, species and ecosystems that had shifted southward often survived in local refugium (population biology), refugia. As a result, cold-adapted ecosystems, such as bogs, remain as far south as East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Development of land has greatly reduced both the number and acreage of the bogs in North Carolina. Bog ecosystems evolved in humid cold temperate regions and are generally ombrotrophic which means the system is dependent on precipitation for moisture and nutrient inputs. Shady Valley bogs Situated between Holston Mountain and the Iron Mountains, the community of Shady Valley, Tennessee, once contained an estimated 10,000 acres (40 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nashville Warbler
The Nashville warbler (''Leiothlypis ruficapilla'') is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter in southern California and Texas, Mexico, and the north of Central America. It has a gray head and a green back, and its underparts are yellow and white. Description The Nashville warbler is a small warbler. Both male and female Nashville warblers have a gray head fading into a greenish back and wings, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast. They have a complete white eye ring, no wing bars, and a thin pointed black bill. Adult males have a rusty brown patch on their crown, which is usually hard to see and often covered by gray feathers. Males will raise it slightly when agitated. Females and immature birds have a duller olive-grey head, and less bold yellow on their throat. The Nashville warbler is closely related to Virginia's war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden-crowned Kinglet
The golden-crowned kinglet (''Regulus satrapa'') is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America. Description Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with a browner back and without the yellow crown. This is one of the smallest passerines in North America. Its length, at , is probably the shortest of any American passerine. Its weight, averaging for females and 6.3 g (0.22 oz) for males and ranging from , is similar to the American bushtit and black-tailed gnatcatcher. The golden-crowned kinglet has a wingspan of 5.5–7.1 in (14–18 cm). Ecology The golden-crowned kinglet is insectivorous, foraging in trees or shrubs, where it eats insects (especially caterp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowshoe Hare
The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Its feet also have fur on the soles to protect it from freezing temperatures. For camouflage, its fur turns white during the winter and rusty brown during the summer. Its flanks are white year-round. The snowshoe hare is also distinguishable by the black tufts of fur on the edge of its ears. Its ears are shorter than those of most other hares. In summer, it feeds on plants such as grass, ferns, and leaves; in winter, it eats twigs, the bark from trees, and plants and, similar to the Arctic hare, has been known to occasionally eat dead animals. It can sometimes be seen feeding in small groups. This animal is mainly active at night and does not hibernate. The snowshoe hare may have up to four litte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Porcupine
The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America after the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis''). The porcupine is a Caviomorpha, caviomorph rodent whose ancestors were believed to have Oceanic dispersal, crossed the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil 30 million years ago, and then migrated to North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago. Etymology The word "porcupine" comes from the middle or old French word , which means 'thorn pig'. Its roots derive from the Latin words or pig and meaning thorns. Other colloquial names for the animal include quill pig. It is also referred to as the Canadian porcupine or common porcupine. The porcupine's scientific name, ''Erethizon dorsatum'', can be loosely translated as "the animal with the irritating back". Indigenous t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Black Bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with a diet varying greatly depending on season and location. It typically lives in largely forested areas; it will leave forests in search of food and is sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species because of its widespread distribution and a large population, estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear (''Ursus arctos''), it is one of the two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction. Taxonomy and evolution The American black bear is not closely related to the brown bear or polar bear, though all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
