Editing Appalachian Trail (section)

==Flora and fauna==
The Appalachian Trail is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.<ref name=ATE>{{cite web |last=Alger |first=Nate |url=https://www.liveoutdoorsy.com/best-day-hikes/ |title=The 10 Best Day Hikes in the United States |date=November 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075939/https://www.liveoutdoorsy.com/best-day-hikes/ |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |access-date=February 12, 2017}}</ref>

===Animals===
The [[American black bear]] (''Ursus americanus''), among the largest animals along the Appalachian Trail, rarely confronts people.<ref name="ATJ510" /> The black bear is the largest omnivore that may be encountered on the trail, and it inhabits all regions of the Appalachians.<ref name=TPBB>Wingfoot [http://www.trailplace.com/portal/article_nature.php?id=22&topic%5Bname%5D=Mammals&topic%5Btopicid%5D=3 "Black Bears on the Appalachian Trail"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126094158/http://www.trailplace.com/portal/article_nature.php?id=22&topic%5Bname%5D=Mammals&topic%5Btopicid%5D=3 |date=November 26, 2006 }} TrailPlace.com (accessed September 14, 2006)</ref> Bear sightings on the trail are uncommon, except in certain sections, especially [[Shenandoah National Park]] and portions of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts sections, where bear populations have increased steadily since 1980; confrontations are rarer still.<ref name="ATJ510">{{cite web|url=http://www.appalachiantrail.org/docs/atj/atj-may-june-2010.pdf|title=Black Bear Neighborhood|access-date=July 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221164257/http://www.appalachiantrail.org/docs/atj/atj-may-june-2010.pdf|archive-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
Other hazards include venomous snakes, including the Eastern [[timber rattlesnake]] and [[Agkistrodon contortrix|copperhead]], which are common along the trail. Both snakes are generally found in drier, rockier sections of the trail; the copperhead's range extends north to around the [[New Jersey]]–New York state line, while rattlesnakes are commonly found along the trail in Connecticut and have been reported, although rarely, as far north as [[New Hampshire]].<ref name=AnimalFAQ>{{Cite web|url=http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/hiking-basics/safety#environment|title=The Appalachian Trail Conservancy - Hiking Basics Safety|website=www.appalachiantrail.org|access-date=July 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713141147/http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/hiking-basics/safety#environment|archive-date=July 13, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Other large mammals commonly sighted include [[White-tailed deer|deer]];<ref name="colorful" /> [[elk]], reintroduced in the [[Great Smoky Mountains|Smoky Mountains]]; and [[eastern moose|moose]], which may be found in the vicinity of Massachusetts and northward.<ref name="MaMoose">{{cite news | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2014/03/23/massachusetts-and-moose-meant-for-each-other/lSrS1GlnfJofwpGZufuhJK/story.html | title=Massachusetts and moose: Meant for each other | work=The Boston Globe | date=March 24, 2014 | last=Graham | first=Jennifer | access-date=July 15, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817020615/https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2014/03/23/massachusetts-and-moose-meant-for-each-other/lSrS1GlnfJofwpGZufuhJK/story.html | archive-date=August 17, 2016 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Small mammal species that inhabit along the trails are [[North American beaver|beaver]], [[squirrel]], [[North American river otter|river otter]], [[chipmunk]], [[North American porcupine|porcupine]], [[bobcat]], two species of [[fox]], [[wild boar|boar]], [[groundhog|woodchuck]], [[raccoon]], and [[coyote]]. Bird species that reside in the trails are [[wild turkey]], [[ruffed grouse]], [[mourning dove]], [[common raven|raven]], two species of [[eagle]], [[wood duck]], three species of [[owl]], and three species of [[hawk]] as well as [[New World warbler|warbler]]s. There are different kinds of squirrels along the Appalachian Trail as well, especially in Maine. They are generally smaller and very territorial, and produce a loud call if approached.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Squirrel |url=http://mainenaturenews.com/2015/03/red-squirrel/ |website=Maine Nature News |access-date=May 16, 2019 |date=March 24, 2015 |archive-date=May 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516200723/http://mainenaturenews.com/2015/03/red-squirrel/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

For most hikers, the most persistent pests along the trail are [[tick]]s, [[mosquito]]s, and [[black flies]] along with the mice that inhabit shelters.<ref name="jour">{{cite web|url=http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=1879|title=GAdewME's 2004 Appalachian Trail Journal, Part of Trail Journals' Backpacking and Hiking Journals|access-date=July 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040609233550/http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=1879|archive-date=June 9, 2004|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Plants===
Plant life along the trail is varied. The trail passes through several different biomes from south to north, and the climate changes significantly, particularly dependent upon elevation. In the south, lowland forests consist mainly of second-growth; nearly the entire trail has been logged at one time or another. There are, however, a few old growth locations along the trail, such as Sages Ravine straddling the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and atop higher peaks along the trail on either side of the same border, the Hopper (a [[glacial cirque]] westward of the trail as it traverses Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts), and "The Hermitage", near [[Gulf Hagas]] in Maine. In the south, the forest is dominated by hardwoods, including [[oak]] and [[Liriodendron tulipifera|tulip trees]], also known as yellow poplar.<ref name=PlantFAQ>{{Cite web|url=http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1080155/k.F2A6/Plant_FAQ.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102071159/http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1080155/k.F2A6/Plant_FAQ.htm|url-status=dead|title=Appalachian Trail Conservancy Plant FAQ|archive-date=January 2, 2007}}</ref> Farther north, tulip trees are gradually replaced by [[maple]]s and [[birch]]es. Oaks begin to disappear in Massachusetts. By Vermont, the lowland forest is made up of maples, birch and [[beech]], with colorful foliage displays in September and October.<ref name=colorful>{{cite journal |last1=Stroh |first1=Bess Zarafonitis |date=September–October 1998 |title=Colorful Climbs |journal=National Parks |volume=72 |issue=9/10 |pages=34–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuAtB9EGI6AC&pg=PA34 |access-date=November 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102162741/https://books.google.com/books?id=YuAtB9EGI6AC&pg=PA34 |archive-date=January 2, 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref> While the vast majority of lowland forest south of the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] is hardwood, many areas have some [[coniferous]] trees as well, and in Maine, these often grow at low elevations.<ref name=PlantFAQ/>

There is a drastic change between the lowland and [[subalpine]], [[evergreen]] forest, as well as another, higher break, at [[tree line]], above which only hardy alpine plants grow.<ref name=PlantFAQ/> The sub-alpine region is far more prevalent along the trail than true alpine conditions. While it mainly exists in the north, a few mountains in the south have subalpine environments, which are typically coated in an ecosystem known as the [[Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest]]. Southern ranges and mountains where sub-alpine environments occur include the [[Great Smoky Mountains]], where sub-alpine environments only begin around {{convert|6000|ft|m}} in elevation, [[Roan Highlands]] on the [[North Carolina]]-[[Tennessee]] border, where sub-alpine growth descends below {{convert|6000|ft|m}}, and [[Mount Rogers (Virginia)|Mount Rogers]] and the [[Grayson Highlands]] in [[Virginia]], where there is some alpine growth above {{convert|5000|ft|m}}. [[Appalachian balds]] are also found in the Southern highlands, and are believed to occur due to fires or grazing in recent centuries, or in some cases due to thin, sandy soils.<ref name=Mitch>{{cite journal|last1=Wells|first1=B.W.|date=July 1937|title=Southern Appalachian Grass Balds|journal=Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society|volume=53|issue=1|pages=1–26|url=http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/jncas/id/1685/rec/4|access-date=July 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820163246/http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/jncas/id/1685/rec/4|archive-date=August 20, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Several balds are sprouting trees, and on some, the [[United States National Forest|National Forest]] service actually mows the grasses periodically in order to keep the balds free of trees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blueridgecountry.com/api/content/ebdf04b2-700a-11e8-9374-12408cbff2b0/|title=Should We Save the Vanishing Balds? The Forest Service Says "Yes"|last=Johnson|first=Randy|date=2018-06-18|website=Blue Ridge Country|language=en-us|access-date=2020-01-29|archive-date=February 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220015741/https://blueridgecountry.com/archive/favorites/should-we-save-the-vanishing-balds-the-forest-service-says-y/|url-status=live}}</ref>