Great Smoky Mountains’ spruce-fir forest shows slight recovery but remains endangered amid climate change threats.

The endangered forest at the heart of America’s most biologically diverse national park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has made a modest recovery in recent decades due to curbs on overlogging and acid rain. However, climate change has threatened the spruces and firs of the park, which have made a significant recovery but are still in poor condition. Conservationists are concerned that warmer winters and invasive species may stress the high-altitude trees. The National Park Service has released inventory data in January, which indicates that the park’s spruce-fir forest remains poor condition despite some improvement. The southern Appalachian spruce forests have suffered a greater than 98 percent decline since European settlement and classified as America’s second-most endangered ecosystem.