The MAB Program United States of America
Biosphere Reserve Information - General Description
Southern Appalachian
General Description
Straddling the border of six
states of the Southern Appalachians (Northern Georgia, northeastern Alabama,
western South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and
southwestern Virginia), this biosphere reserve encompasses mainly second growth
temperate forests and contains a diversity of habitats ranging from remnant
prairie grasslands and swamp forests to high elevation spruce-fir forests and
grassy meadows. The biosphere reserve consists of six units (e.g. Great Smoky
Mountains National Park) which independently manage their resources.
Regional population growth in the region exceeds the national average but is
unevenly distributed. Good health care facilities and recreational opportunities
are attracting retirees. Younger, well-educated people are finding jobs in
cities. However, many of the long-term residents are finding fewer job
opportunities as the traditional resource extraction and textile industries
decline. These factors contribute to poorly planned land development and
degradation of natural resources. Growing tourism pressure, urbanization, air
and water pollution, changing patterns of land use, fragmentation of wildlife
habitats, and invasion of alien species are main challenges which faces the
region today.
The main mission of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere (SAMAB) is to
promote environmental health and stewardship of natural and cultural resources
in the Southern Appalachians. It encourages community-based solutions to
critical regional issues through cooperation among partners, information
gathering and sharing, integrated assessments, and demonstration projects. The
SAMAB is a private, non-profit organization, established to complement the
activities of the Cooperative of Federal and State Agencies. It comprises
university, community, corporate and non-governmental organization
collaborations. One example of these cooperation activities is the Southern
Appalachian Assessment (1996) which reports on the status and trends through
time of atmospheric, aquatic, terrestrial, and socio-economic and cultural
resources of the region.
SAMAB is currently planning an assessment of the environments surrounding the
3,467 km Appalachian Trail that extends from Maine to Georgia. This project
engages managers, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs and communities in order
to illuminate the needs, capabilities and constraints that each of them face.
Last updated: 09/08/2005