Summits

Mountain peaks, hilltops, ridgelines, knolls

Ranging from alpine summits with a unique gem-like flora to the fog-shrouded granite domes of coastal islands - mountain top and hill crest features are some of the most characteristic and beloved features of the ecoregion. Their biodiversity contributions are well documented. The immense open barrens on serpentine rock or the smaller mid-elevation outcrops on calcareous rocks abound with plant rarities. Rocky pine/oak woodlands predominate at low elevation punctuated by open sparse grasslands and heath communities. Among the high spruce and fir, the stunted krummholz, open meadows and the rare Bicknell's thrush have brought them to global attention.

Key conclusions for summits and mountains

Summits comprise about 3 percent of the whole region. We recommend a minimum of 9% of all summits them be protected in a set of 393 key sites that concentrate almost 2000 of our most critical summit ecosystems. This is a very achievable goal amounting to less than 1 % of the whole ecoregion with 35% of it already protected.