The impact of widespread loss of hemlock could trigger changes more significant as those that followed the demise of the American Chestnut in the 1930s and 40s. Hemlocks play an important role by providing deep shade along creeks, maintaining cool micro-climates critical to survival of trout and other cold water species. Without successful intervention, the hemlock woolly adelgid is likely to kill most of the hemlock trees in the national park. The hemlock woolly adelgid (pronounced ah-DEL-jid) is a tiny aphid-like insect that poses a very serious threat to the ecology of the Smokies. The presence of non-native species in the Smokies is a detriment to the park as an International Biosphere Reserve because of the reduction in biological diversity as native populations are forced out of their environmental niches. This could be explained by the biological similarity between the Smokies and regions of Europe, East Asia, and western North America. In fact, most of the successful non-natives seem to be pre-adapted to our area. Often, non-native species will not have natural predators, so their numbers will grow alarmingly. The non-native species are not natural components of the ecological system and, as a result, have not evolved in concert with the native species. Non-natives compete with native species for habitat and food and often take over specialized ecosystems that rare plants or animals need to survive. A non-native is any species that occurs outside its native range as a result of deliberate or accidental introduction by humans. Many non-native species have set up residence in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rooting and wallowing by non-native hogs causes extensive damage to the park's ecosystem.
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