Greensboro Plan2Play Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2019

GREENSBORO PLAN2PLAY MASTER PLAN - 31

“High population growth puts pressure on our environment. We need clean air to breath, clean drinking water, reliable food sources, and green spaces for play and relaxation.”

Ecology

contains a variety of habitat types which are home to a variety of native wildlife species. These habitat types include dry coniferous woodlands, oak forests, floodplain forest, reservoirs, riverine aquatic communities, and small wetlands. As Greensboro grew and developed, the characteristic rolling hills of the Piedmont framed a growth pattern that focused development on the uplands and left the undevelopable lowlands and creeks largely preserved. The results of this trend are a series of fragmented upland habitats that are loosely connected along undeveloped creek corridors. Greensboro’s natural ecology has been challenged by development encroachment in the uplands, a lack of continuous habitat zones, and ideal habitats for invasive species growth. Despite these challenges, existing habitat patches and creek corridors support a strong diversity of migratory and resident plants and animals.

The Piedmont ecoregion includes 42 million acres of land that extends from south-central Maryland to east-central Alabama and connects portions of 6 states (Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, & Maryland). Greensboro lies firmly within the Piedmont ecoregion. The ecology of Greensboro is shaped largely by the gentle topography of the area. A network of rolling hills, or foothills, and lowlands containing small creeks played a dominant role in shaping the native ecology and development patterns. Small creeks course through all neighborhoods of Greensboro – flowing through neighborhoods, parks and densely developed areas. These small creeks, which are the headwaters of the Cape Fear River basin, eventually merge and feed larger tributaries like North Buffalo and South Buffalo Creek. Within this system of upland woodlots and lowland creek corridors, Greensboro

PIEDMONT LAND CONSERVANCY