<P> The Appalachian floras also include a diverse assemblage of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), as well as fungi . Some species are rare and / or endemic . As with vascular plants, these tend to be closely related to the character of the soils and thermal environment in which they are found . </P> <P> Eastern deciduous forests are subject to a number of serious insect and disease outbreaks . Among the most conspicuous is that of the introduced gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), which infests primarily oaks, causing severe defoliation and tree mortality . But it also has the benefit of eliminating weak individuals, and thus improving the genetic stock, as well as creating rich habitat of a type through accumulation of dead wood . Because hardwoods sprout so readily, this moth is not as harmful as the hemlock woolly adelgid . Perhaps more serious is the introduced beech bark disease complex, which includes both a scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) and fungal components . </P> <P> During the 19th and early 20th centuries the Appalachian forests were subject to severe and destructive logging and land clearing, which resulted in the designation of the national forests and parks as well many state protected areas . However, these and a variety of other destructive activities continue, albeit in diminished forms; and thus far only a few ecologically based management practices have taken hold . </P> <P> Appalachian bogs are boreal ecosystems, which occur in many places in the Appalachians, particularly the Allegheny and Blue Ridge subranges . Though popularly called bogs, many of them are technically fens . </P>

Where are the appalachian mountains on the map