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Resources < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Natural Habitats < Piedmont
Considered the nonmountainous portion of the old Appalachians Highland by physiographers, the northeast-southwest trending Piedmont ecoregion comprises a transitional area between the mostly mountainous ecoregions of the Appalachians to the northwest and the relatively flat coastal plain to the southeast. It is a complex mosaic of Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks with moderately dissected irregular plains and some hills. The soils tend to be finer-textured than in coastal plain regions. Once largely cultivated, much of this region has reverted to pine and hardwood woodlands, and, more recently, spreading urban- and suburbanization.
Canebrakes are thickets of native river cane found along rivers and creeks under sparse to full tree cover. They represent important wildlife habitat for a variety of neotropical birds and insects. These habitats require fire or other form of periodic disturbance for maintenance. Most canebrakes in this region are relatively small and fire-suppressed, often occurring along the edges of fields and other clearings. Murder Creek Research Natural Area on the Oconee National Forest is a good example of a canebrake.
Download .pdf with more information on the Piedmont and migratory birds.
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