Flora and Fauna –

September 2006

New York Metropolitan Region Complex and Rich in Diversity

• Appalachian Highlands, Piedmont, Coastal Plain

• ~3000 Plant Species(~15% US flora)

• 1,500 Miles of Coastline Marine HabitatBird Migration Flyways

• Transition area of northern and southern species

Hartig, 2001

Regional Plan Association

N Black – 1930 Built-up landGray -- 1990 Built-up land

Environmental Regional Planning in New York Metropolitan Region

New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary ProgramH-2-O (Highlands to Ocean) Initiative of Regional Plan Association and Highlands CoalitionWildlife Conservation Society BioscapeProgramNature NetworkNurture New York’s Nature

Fragmented Current Conditions

New York Biosphere Reserve – Harbor Estuary Scenario

Core

Buffer – Watershed

Transition Zone –Resource-shed

1828

Ecosystem Health Impactsof New York Metropolitan Region’s Coastal Wetlands

Growing dominance of less productive Phragmites marshesEvidence of possible sea level rise Difficult to define specific impacts (multiple-stresses on ecosystems)Speed of change onset is criticalRisk to restored (mitigated) marshes

American Sycamore / London Plane – two species very similar –Platanus genus

Ailanthus – Tree of Heaven

American ElmTulip Tree

Ginkgo

Tulip Tree

Disappearing New Yorkers

Hemlock American Chestnut