They cover the lower Atlantic coastal plain and are bordered on the west by the Southeastern mixed forests.

[2] This ecoregion has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters, and with the heaviest precipitation concentrated in the warmest months.

The mixed pine-oak forests occur on dry or sandy soils or in areas exposed to occasional fires.

[3] The Middle Atlantic coastal forests contain the most diverse assemblage of freshwater wetland communities in North America.

These include freshwater marshes, shrub bogs, white cedar swamps, bayheads, and wet hammocks.

[2] The bottomland hardwood forests for which the ecoregion is famous are dominated by bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and swamp tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var.

They have scattered pond pine (Pinus serotina) and a dense growth of mostly evergreen shrubs including gallberry (Ilex glabra).

The Bachman's sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis) and red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), both uncommon, also live in this ecoregion.

[2] The main causes of habitat conversion are agriculture, fire suppression, urbanization, coastal development, ditching and draining of wetlands, and damming of rivers.