North Carolina State Library
D&O.
Natural Areas Inventory
of
Pamlico County, North Carolina
JUL 2
0 1983
S. Lance Peacock
J. Merrill Lynch
NOVEMBER 1982
North Carolina
Coastal Energy Impact Program
Office of Coastal Management
North Carolina Department of Natural Resources
and Community Development
CEIP REPORT NO. 29
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Series Edited by James F. Smith
Cover Design by Jill Miller
NATURAL AREA INVENTORY OF PAMLICO COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
BY
S. Lance Peacock
2
J. Merrill Lynch
The preparation of this report was financed through
a Coastal Energy Impact Program grant provided by
the North Carolina Coastal Management Program, through
funds provided by the Coastal Zone Management Act of
1972, as amended, which is administered by the Office
of Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration. This CEIP grant was part of
NOAA NA-80-AA-D-CZ149.
The natural area inventory was supervised by the North
Carolina Natural Heritage Program (Division of Parks
and Recreation, N.C. Department of Natural Resources
and Community Development) .
November 1982
CEIP Report No. 29
1 2
P. 0. Box 6006 Route 2, Box 222-B
Raleigh, NC 27628 Enfield, NC 27823
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
State Library of North Carolina
http://www.archive.org/details/naturalareainvenpamlico
PREFACE
The North Carolina Office of Coastal Management and the
North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, both units of the
Department of Natural Resources and Community Development,
have commissioned a series of natural areas inventories for
ten counties in the coastal zone of this state. The Pamlico
County inventory was conducted in 1982 and was financed by a
Coastal Energy Impact Program (CEIP) grant. CEIP funded the
Pamlico County survey because of the potential environmental
impacts of peat mining and other energy-related development.
The recommendations made in this report by J. Merrill
Lynch and S. Lance Peacock are advisory. Their inventory
and recommendations are designed to help state and federal
agencies, county officials, resource managers, landowners
and developers work out effective land management and preser-
vation mechanisms to protect the six outstanding or exemplary
natural areas described in the report. Agencies such as the
N.C. Division of Environmental Management, Division of Land
Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries, Wildlife Resources
Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service and Environ-
mental Protection Agency should find this report useful, as
may university researchers, private consultants, and private
conservation groups. The Office of Coastal Management will
use the report in assessing permit applications and for
federal and state consistency reviews.
Merrill Lynch and Lance Peacock are experienced field
biologists, who have previously been employed with the N.C.
Natural Heritage Program and are most familiar with natural
habitats throughout the North Carolina coastal plain region.
The investigators were exceptionally well qualified to iden-
tify, describe, and evaluate the most outstanding natural
areas of the project region.
Project investigators were instructed to identify natural
areas that contain highly unique, endangered, or rare natural
features, or high-quality representations of relatively
undisturbed natural habitats, and which may be vulnerable
to threats and damage from land use changes. Consequently,
the investigators were advised not to report extensively on
the large expanses of brackish marshes that fringe most of
the shoreline along the Pamlico Sound, and which, for the
most part, is an ecosystem protected through state and federal
regulatory programs.
1 1
We wish to underscore the investigators' recommendations,
in their introduction to this report, that several other areas
in Pamlico County warrant further inventory. Some of these
other sites may prove to possess special interest natural
features. One other area not identified in this report has
been earlier considered as a natural area. Previous to this
survey project, the Natural Heritage Program conducted a site
inventory for Jones "Island" south of Hobuken. That 3,000-
acre peninsula on the Pamlico Sound is cut off from the main-
land by the Intracoastal Waterway. It is characteristic of
extensive but ditched needier ush-brackish marshes, with
second-growth loblolly pine, live oak, and black gum on
upland hummocks. Jones Island is considered to be represen-
tative of a widespread and generally protected wetland
habitat type.
The Office of Coastal Management, and the Coastal
Resources Commission which it serves, implement the Coastal
Area Management Act of 1974 (CAMA) . Under this statute, the
North Carolina Coastal Management Plan has been prepared
and approved. It includes the definition and designation
of various Areas of Environmental Concern (AEC) . In many
cases, AECs may coincide with natural areas that are herein
recommended for preservation or special management. In some
cases, AECs may encompass other areas — 'such as marsh zone
wetlands — which are not extensively treated in this inventory.
Peat mining has particular implications for these
natural areas, some of which overlay exploitable peat
deposits. Mining will remove natural vegetation, permanently
alter the hydrology of the region, lower surface soil types
from high organic histosoils to the clayey, sandy, and loamy
soils typical of other parts of the outer coastal plain.
Thus, natural communities, once mining is complete, almost
certainly could never be re-established or reclaimed on
mined-out land. Preservation of the best natural areas,
and appropriate hydrological management, is necessary prior
to and during active peat mining.
The Natural Heritage Program is most pleased to have
had this opportunity to conduct this project for the Office
of Coastal Management. The inventory has revealed a number
of high-quality natural areas that possess natural elements
of statewide priority and are important parts of North
Carolina's natural diversity. Most of the identified sites
were previously unknown and undocumented by the state's
scientific community. The Natural Heritage Program hopes
that these areas will be protected for the benefits of
present and future generations of North Carolinians and for
the preservation of the state's truly exceptional natural
heritage.
Charles E. Roe, Coordinator
N.C. Natural Heritage Program
November 16, 1982
hi
ABSTRACT. Six natural areas are described and delineated
for Pamlico County, North Carolina, as a result of a field sur-
vey December 1981 - September 1982. The natural areas contain
about 18,500 acres, of which essentially 100% are in private
ownership. Almost the entire acreage is wetland, primarily
various pocosin types and palustrine mixed hardwood stands ,
along with some wetland and terrestrial longleaf pine communi-
ties. Several categories of significant features are described
and mapped for each site, including representative plant com-
munities, rare species, and the presence of exceptional biotic/
abiotic diversity.
IV
I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The assistance of the following individuals is gratefully
acknowledged;
Julie H. Moore, Lee Otte, Chuck Roe and John Taggart reviewed
manuscripts and offered many helpful comments. Lee Otte also
provided invaluable insights into the ecology and biota of Pamlico
County pocosins, and shared information on conditions at several
sites. Others who assisted us in locating study sites include
Otto Florschutz, Jr., and Pat White. Staff of the U. S. Soil
Conservation Service, particularly Carolyn Boykin,
allowed us to draw upon the unpublished manuscript of the Soil
Survey of Pamlico County. Earl Faison ably assisted as our pilot
during aerial reconnaissance phases of the project.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE ii
ABSTRACT iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v
LIST OF FIGURES vi
LIST OF TABLES vi
INTRODUCTION 1
NATURAL AREA INVENTORIES
Federal Paper, Stonewall and
Merritt Hardwood Flats 16
North and South Minnesott Sand Ridges 50
Northwest Pocosin 82
BIBLIOGRAPHY 112
GLOSSARY 116
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
1. Natural Areas of Pamlico County ...... 15
2. Access Information: Federal Paper, Stonewall
and Merritt Hardwood Flats 17
3. Significant Features: Federal Paper
Hardwood Flats 26
4. Significant Features: Stonewall Hardwood Flats 28
5. Significant Features: Merritt Hardwood Flats 29
6. Access Information: North and South
Minnesott Sand Ridge ..... 51
7. Significant Features: North Minnesott
Sand Ridge ........................ 61
8. Significant Features: South Minnesott
Sand Ridge 63
9. Access Information: Northwest Pocosin 83
10. Significant Features: Northwest Pocosin. .......... 97
LIST OF TABLES
1. Selected Characteristics of Otte's
Pocosin Types. ............. 11
VII
INTRODUCTION
Pamlico County is in the eastern section of North Carolina,
situated in the Coastal Plain Province. It was formed in 1872
from parts of Craven and Beaufort Counties, and has an area of
576 square miles, of which 341 are land and 235 are water (Powell,
1968). The approximately 369,000 acres encompass a variety of
habitats , ranging from open sound waters , brackish marsh and
embayed rivers to pocosins, wooded swamps, hardwood flats, pine
flatwoods, upland pine stands and upland mixed pine-hardwood
forests.
Pamlico County occupies the outer part of a peninsula which
lies between the embayed lower portions of the Pamlico and Neuse
Rivers. Beaufort County bounds Pamlico on the north and occupies
the remainder of the peninsula; Craven bounds Pamlico County on
the west along Upper Broad Creek. The county is bordered on the
south by the embayed Neuse River and on the east by Pamlico Sound.
The Pamlico Sound shoreline of the county is highly dissected by
the embayment of local streams by sea level rise. This dissected
aspect is evident also along the Neuse and Pamlico River shorelines.
A major local embayment is the Bay River, which extends west nearly
halfway across the county from the sound. Other embayments include %
two Goose Creeks, Broad Creek, Upper Broad Creek, Mouse Harbor,
Jones Bay and numerous others. The entire drainage of the county
is directly into estuarine bodies of water (Pamlico Sound and the
Neuse and Pamlico River estuaries) . The southwestern quarter of
the county is the only section drained by a well-developed den-
dritic system of non-embayed creeks, Upper Broad being the major
one. The flow in these creeks is sluggish. Pocosin areas with
very poor natural drainage occupy much of the county interior.
There are no natural lakes; a few vegetated Carolina bays are
located on sandy surfaces in the western section. Elevations in
the county range from 0-50 feet above mean sea level; this rela-
tively great range is due to the fact that the western third of
the county lies on an older and higher surface known as the Chowan
marine terrace (see next section) .
RECENT GEOLOGY
The eastern two-thirds of Pamlico County is on the Pamlico
marine terrace or Pamlico surface. The Pamlico is the lowest
and youngest of the several generalized surfaces of the state's
Coastal Plain recognized as having been formed during periods
of higher sea level. The history of sea level rise and fall which
formed the Pamlico surface is complex. About 75,000 yrs. BP (Daniel,
1981) , during the Pamlico transgression, the edge of the sea lay in-
land to a point now marked by the sandy ridge of the Suffolk Scarp,
known as Minnesott Ridge in Pamlico County. The toe of the scarp
is now about 20 ft. above modern sea level, and 10-15 miles west of
the Pamlico Sound shoreline of the county. During the peak of the
Wisconsin glaciation (15,000 yrs. BP) , sea level stood as much as
400 ft. below its modern level (Daniel, 1981). Since that period
the sea has risen to its present level, and continues to rise today.
The complex cycle of marine transgressions and regressions has
produced differing effects upon the topography of the alternately
exposed and submerged surfaces. Rising seas slowed stream erosion
by raising stream base level , and planed off or obscured with silts
and muds the previous surface features. Falling sea level in con-
trast exposed areas of the continental shelf and rejuvenated streams,
increasing downcutting and topographic relief.
The western third of the county is generally on the Chowan
marine terrace, the next-oldest of the Coastal Plain marine surfaces.
The history of the formation of the Chowan terrace is very similar
to that of the younger Pamlico surface. The surface is interpreted
as having formed during a higher stand of the sea; probably also
involving several transgressions and regressions of the sea. De-
posits in the vicinity of Arapahoe, Pamlico County, are interpreted
by Mixon and Pilkey (1976) as being of lower Sangamon or pre-Sangamon
Interglacial age. They note that researchers have reported a date
of "147,000 + 13,000 years BP for a similar stand of sea" in South
Carolina (ibid, p. 36) . The Chowan terrace portions of Pamlico
County were not submerged during the Pamlico transgression, but
did share the increased downcutting by streams during periods of
lower sea level.
The two marine surfaces of Pamlico County are separated by the
prominent ridge and scarp known as the Minnesott Ridge and Grants-
boro Scarp. This ridge/scarp trends approximately north-south, and
along the crest reaches elevations of 47 feet in Pamlico County (60
feet to the north in Beaufort County) . Mixon and Pilkey interpret
the pair of features as a multi-age "compound feature" representing
shorelines and accompanying dunes formed by at least two transgressions
of the sea, and younger than the Chowan surface to the west.
Concurrently with the most recent period of rising sea level,
conditions favorable to peat formation have prevailed in Pamlico
County and throughout the North Carolina Coastal Plain, in a variety
of vegetational and topographic situations. During the past 10,000
years, peat has been forming in blocked drainages, Carolina bays and
river floodplains; under swamp forests, pocosins and marshes (Otte,
1981) . Of these, however, only floodplain and coastal marsh peats
appear to be caused by or directly related to sea level rise and
position. Interior Pamlico County peats are not a direct result
of sea level rise (Otte, 1981).
Peat has filled many of the topographic lows which were de-
veloped on the pre-peat Pamlico and Chowan surfaces during the
full-glacial lower stand of the sea, and peat deposits have spread
beyond the original lows to mantle adjacent higher ground. In the
Dismal Swamp Oaks and Whitehead (1981) have intensively examined
the topography at the base of the peat deposits, and find that a
dendritic pattern of stream drainage was present before peat for-
mation began. Such detailed exploration of the sub-peat "topography"
has not been conducted in Pamlico County, but extensive sampling of
peat depths, in conjunction with surveys of energy-grade peat de-
posits, indicates that a somewhat similar but less complex stream-
dissected surface is present beneath the Light Grounds Pocosin peat
deposit (Ingram and Otte, 1980) . Ingram and Otte found a north-
trending channel to be the site of original peat formation, with
peat eventually spreading into a broad, shallow depression in which
the stream channel lay. Sub-peat features of other Pamlico County
peat deposits have been less thoroughly studied, but probably re-
semble the pattern of the Light Grounds Pocosin.
On the basis of soils data, pocosin peat deposits occupy about
12 percent of Pamlico County. The rest of the county - mineral sur-
faces and marsh peats - also originated principally as a result of
the influences of Pleistocene , recent , and ongoing sea level fluctu-
ations.
SOILS
The Soils Associations of Pamlico County have been mapped on a
General Soil Map by the US Soil Conservation Service (SCS, 1972) ;
and more recently the entire county has been surveyed and mapped
by SCS personnel. The latter survey is available in preliminary
form (SCS, 1981) and the State SCS Office made available to us a
manuscript version of the final Pamlico County Soil Survey (SCS,
in manuscript) . Because considerable refinement of soils informa-
tion has been accomplished since 1972, we use the most recent (manu-
script) source in the following soils discussion. In the main body
of this report the equivalent Soil Association from the more readily
available 1972 General Soil Map is given for each natural area.
a) Belhaven-Dare Association - nearly level, very poorly drained
organic soils subject to frequent ponding, on low marine
terraces.
Area of county: 8 percent; in Bay City and Light Ground Pocosins.
Natural areas identified: none.
b) Croatan-Dare Association - nearly level, very poorly drained
organic soils on uplands subject to frequent ponding.
Area of county: 4 percent; in Northwest Pocosin
Natural areas identified: Northwest Pocosin.
c) Lafitte-Axis Association - nearly level, very poorly drained
organic soils and loamy soils in marshes that are flooded
frequently with salt water.
Area of county: 9 percent; mostly in the eastern section;
naturally vegetated (marsh) .
Natural areas identified: none.
d) Leon-Tomahawk-Rutlege Association - nearly level to gently
sloping, poorly drained sandy soils with a hardpan subsoil,
moderately well drained soils with a loamy subsoil , and
very poorly drained sandy soils; on uplands.
Area of county: 5 percent
Natural areas identified: North Minnesott Sand Ridge; South
Minnesott Sand Ridge.
e) Stockade-Arapahoe-Wasda Association - nearly level, very poorly
drained soils that have a loamy, moderately permeable sub-
soil; subject to occasional flooding or frequent ponding;
on low marine terraces and stream terraces.
Area of county: 21 percent; about two-thirds woodland; the
rest row crops and pasture.
Natural areas identified: Merritt Hardwood Stand.
f) Argent-Brookman-Wahee Association - nearly level, poorly drained,
very poorly drained, and somewhat poorly drained soils that
have a clayey, slowly permeable subsoil; subject to rare to
occasional flooding; on low marine terraces.
Area of county: 11 percent; about three-fourths woodland.
Natural areas identified: Federal Paper Hardwood Stand; Stonewall
Hardwood Stand.
g) Yonges-Altavista-Fork Association - nearly level, poorly drained,
moderately well drained and somewhat poorly drained soils
that have a loamy, moderately permeable subsoil; on low
marine terraces and stream terraces.
Area of county: 26 percent; about one-third in row crops.
Natural areas identified: none.
Three other minor Associations are present in the county: Goldsboro-
Lynchburg-Norfolk (4 percent of county area) ; Paxville-Rains (6 per-
cent) ; and Leaf-Lenoir-Craven (6 percent) . All are mineral soils;
none has any identified natural areas.
THE VEGETATION
Much of Pamlico County is comprised of a diversity of wetland
habitat types, under the criteria established by Cowardin, e_t al.
(1979) . Uncleared areas of the county generally support hydrophytic
vegetation, and the soils of the county, whether drained or undrained,
are predominantly hydric (51 percent very poorly drained; 29 percent
poorly drained; SCS, in manuscript). Either of these attributes -
hydrophytes or hydric soils - is sufficient to indicate the presence
of wetlands. As in most counties of North Carolina's lower Coastal
Plain , large areas of wetland soils and vegetation have been cleared
and put into agricultural production. This land use was concentrated
on wet mineral soils throughout much of the historical period of
development, but recently large acreages of peat lands have been
intensively developed.
About 12 percent of the county has soils considered moderately
well drained to well drained, involving several Soils Associations
concentrated in the western part of the county. These areas are
mostly in second-growth successional communities or are cleared and
in agricultural use. The nature of the original vegetation is unknown,
but was probably a diverse assemblage of mesic to xeric hardwoods and
longleaf pine (Pinus palustris; cf. Frost, 1982). The drier uplands
were cleared and farmed at an early date. Additional moderately well
drained soils occur along Minnesott ridge , where they are dominated
by the original longleaf pine , or a replacement growth of loblolly
pine (Pinus taeda) .
The forests of Pamlico County have been exploited since the
colonial period. Timber cutting and similar activities do not
necessarily entail a permanent alteration of plant communities,
however. Plant communities along Minnesott Ridge and in the
northwestern and southeastern quadrants of the county have retained
considerable integrity of composition in the face of repeated logging
cycles - although with changes in the age class structure and in-
creased presence of some species which are promoted by disturbance
or by selective removal of their competitors. Recovery in wetland
communities after logging is most complete where extensive ditches
have not been constructed „ The longleaf pine communities of the
Ridge, the Northwest Pocosin, and the hardwood flats around the
southern edge of Light Grounds Pocosin in particular still exhibit
a remarkable correlation with soil types. This observation supports
the conclusion that edaphic and related hydrologic and nutrient con-
ditions (and an uninterrupted fire regime on sand ridge and in poco-
sin) still exert a controlling influence on the basic wetland com-
munities in those sections of the county.
Contemporary disturbances affecting the Pamlico County vege-
tation include continued timber cutting, fire suppression in certain
communities , clearing of wetland vegetation and draining of wetland
soils for agriculture and pine plantations, and, potentially, peat
mining. The now common practice of extensive ditching in conjunction
with timbering will shift wetland sites toward drier conditions and
prevent the self-maintenance and recovery of the vegetation. Drained
sites from which the original hydric tree species have been removed
often become dominated by more mesic and "weedy" species such as red
maple (Acer rub rum) , sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and lob-
lolly pine. This process is evident in the Bay City Pocosin in
northern Pamlico County, where pocosin vegetation has been extens-
ively replaced by loblolly pine and red maple thickets after drainage.
The same process , with only minor variations occurs when longleaf
pine flatwoods and hardwood flats are drained during logging.
Modern fire control and suppression also contribute to vege-
tational change. Fire is a natural and common force in the pocosin
and longleaf pine communities which are extensive in Pamlico County.
Fire/vegetation relationships cannot be adequately expressed solely
in terms of fire presence or fire absence, however. Where fire
occurs , as in Pamlico County pocosins and longleaf stands , its in-
fluence on vegetation will be in large measure a function of its
frequency. The function of fire frequency in controlling the
structure and composition of longleaf pine communities is fairly
well known to ecologists and foresters, but the similar effect of
fire frequency in pocosins has gone unnoted by most observers.
Although wildfires continue to occur, particularly in pocosins,
fire frequency is being reduced over much of the county, pur-
posely through fire control efforts and incidentally through
creation of cleared areas and ditches which act as firebreaks.
Long term land-use commitments such as agricultural develop-
ment obviously require an effectively permanent alteration of the
ecosystem, including both biotic and abiotic components. Recent,
ongoing and proposed land conversion in Pamlico County totals
many thousands of acres. Peat mining is the ultimate consumptive
use proposed thus far for the county, in which the soil itself is
removed from the site and used to produce energy. Light Grounds
Pocosin contains the most suitable peats for energy production.
OUTLINE OF PRINCIPAL VEGETATION TYPES IN PAMLICO COUNTY
I. Aquatic Communities - submerged and floating aquatic plants are
found in numerous areas of Pamlico County, principally in
the brackish water habitats which abound along the estuarine
shorelines and localized embayments of the county. Fresh-
water habitats are much scarcer in the county, but fresh-
water aquatics are undoubtedly present in the few small,
non -embayed creeks.
II. Wetland Communities
A. Brackish Marsh - extremely abundant in the eastern part of
the county along Pamlico Sound, the Pamlico River and
their embayed tributaries. Also present along the
Neuse River shoreline in scattered locales.
B. Freshwater Marsh - very uncommon in the county. Small amounts
of fresh or near-fresh marsh were noted at the head of
Brown Creek in the eastern part of Pamlico County, and
additional small fresh marshes may be present in the
upper reaches of other local embayments.
C. Cypress-gum-lowland conifers Swamp Forest (Taxodium distichum-
Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora- lowland conifers) - A once
fairly extensive community in Pamlico County, now much
reduced by logging and land clearing. An excellent small
example was noted at the head of Upper Broad Creek, in
which loblolly pine is the coniferous element. Lesser
examples are present further down the same creek and at
the heads of local embayments throughout the county.
Examples of palustrine, as opposed to riverine, swamp
forest may be present in the Gum Swamp vicinity along
the Pamlico-Beaufort County line , where additional
field work is needed. Interestingly, almost no Atlantic
white cedar was seen in Pamlico County, although W. W.
Ashe (1894) reported 3000 acres "partly lumbered," near
Vandemere in Gum Swamp.
D. Mixed Hardwood Flats - this community consists primarily of
oaks , including swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) ,
laurel oak (Q. laurifolia) and cherrybark oak (Q. pago-
daefolia) . Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is usually a
common component. Other hardwoods present in varying
proportions , depending on site conditions , are tulip
poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) , red maple (Acer rub rum) ,
blackgum, (Nyssa sylvatica) swamp gum (N. s_. var. biflora)
and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) . Beech (Fagus
grandifolia) occurs at scattered, slightly better drained
locales. Generally occupies flat "upland" areas of poorly
drained, silty, clayey, or fine loamy soils (usually wet
Alf isols in the sites examined) .
Once an extensive community in Pamlico County, Mixed
Hardwood Flats are now severely reduced by agricultural
clearing, logging and pine plantation development; and
generally are one of the most threatened communities of
the North Carolina Coastal Plain.
E. Pocosin - one of the most common general habitats in Pamlico
County, which has three major pocosins exhibiting varying
degrees of disturbance: Light Grounds, Bay City and
Northwest. A fire-influenced group of communities, always
occurring on peats or peaty sands , but with considerable
variation in the vegetation in response to varying peat
depth, hydrology and availability of nutrients to the
system. Four types recognized by Otte (1981) are Pond
Pine Forest, Pond Pine Woodland, High Pocosin and Low
Pocosin; his criteria for these types are summarized in
Table 1.
F. Pine Flatwoods - a group of communities primarily associated
with wet sandy soils of the Minnesott Ridge. Longleaf
pine dominates the slightly higher "flats," pond pine
(Pinus serotina) the interf ingered swales , with various
shrub and herb combinations in the lower strata . These
communities are fire-maintained, and exhibit a great de-
gree of variation in the proportion of shrub to herbaceous
cover, depending on recent fire history. Long term fire
exclusion will result in extensive changes in herb, shrub
and canopy layers.
G. Wetland Serai Pine and Hardwoods - distributed throughout
Pamlico County are areas of second-growth sweetgum,
loblolly pine and red maple , which have grown up in
differing mixes on disturbed wetland sites such as old
fields, drained pocosins, logged swales, etc. These
successional communities vary widely in age and size,
often being disturbed repeatedly, and occur on a variety
of soils. The original wetland communities likewise
varied from site to site.
III. Terrestrial Communities
A. Upland Longleaf Pine - occurs on moderately well drained sites
along the crest of Minnesott Ridge, and is the only ter-
restrial community in Pamlico County of which signifi-
cant examples remain. This community is closely associ-
ated with the pine flatwoods described above, being
physically intermingled and an. ecologically very
similar fire-maintained vegetation type.
Upland Serai Pine and Hardwoods - extensive areas of this
second-growth type are found on better-drained sites
in the western section of Pamlico County, where the
original vegetation was probably a combination of
hardwoods and/or longleaf pine. As with the wetlands
successional assemblage discussed above, size and age
of the canopy vegetation is variable , and disturbance
often repeated.
Other land use types in Pamlico County include pine plantations,
agricultural fields, abandoned fields and habitations, a state
game land, urban areas, and extensive brackish marsh impoundments.
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11
STUDY OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND RESULTS
Contract requirements called for identification and field in-
ventory of natural areas throughout Pamlico County. The field in-
ventory was community-oriented; we concentrated on locating natural
communities of exceptional quality, based on such factors as size
and age of canopy species, biologic, edaphic and hydrologic diversity,
extensiveness of habitat (s) and contiguity with other natural areas,
absence of intensive disturbance and recovery from past disturbance ,
and the presence of a full range of communities and ecological con-
ditions functioning as a system.
To inventory the diverse communities of Pamlico County first
necessitated a general county-wide reconnaissance. After review of
several sets of aerial photographs, particularly 1970 photography
used by the US Soil Conservation Service in its preliminary soils
mapping, an initial inspection of the county by vehicle and on foot
was completed in February, 1982. Shortly later, an aerial recon-
naissance of the entire county was conducted. Species and site
reports on file with the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program
were examined concurrently with these activities , and knowledgeable
individuals were interviewed (see acknowledgements) . A basic tenta-
tive list of potential study areas began to emerge early in the
reconnaissance, and was finalized by early May.
During the reconnaissance period most of the private and public
roads in the county were driven. Roads in most of the potential study
areas identified during photography reviews were walked during April
and May. Throughout all periods of fieldwork, notes were taken on
vegetation, both in study areas and, for comparative purposes, in
areas not exhibiting superior natural qualities. Orthophotoquad
diazo (blackline) prints were used in the field as guides in assessing
the extent of large communities, the amount of recent disturbance and
to some degree the cover composition of inaccessible stands.
Sites selected as representative of community types to be described
in this report were examined on foot. Plant species lists, tree diame-
ters at breast height, tree height and age estimates and a judgement of
dominant species were all recorded. Examples we considered representative
or superlative and on which we base our descriptions of the vegetation
are mapped on the site report maps incorporated in the text. We con-
ducted an informal but complete survey of the breeding birds at most
of the wooded and shrub-bog habitats upon which we report. Other "high
profile" vertebrates were noted where observed.
The six natural areas we have identified are as follows (see also
county map) :
(la) Federal Paper Hardwood Flats - 2400 acres
(lb) Stonewall Hardwood Flats - 425 acres
12
(lc) Merritt Hardwood Flats - 1500 acres
(2a) North Minnesott Sand Ridge - 1250 acres
(2b) South Minnesott Sand Ridge - 380 acres
(3) Northwest Pocosin - 12,500 acres
These areas are summarized in detail in the following report.
The candidates represent several edaphic and biotic combinations.
Most of the areas selected have a long history of disturbance of the
cover vegetation by human activity; but all are considered to be re-
covered from past disturbance and ecologically intact; i.e. not drained,
having continued frequent fire in fire-adapted vegetation, etc. Some
of the areas are large, in keeping with the expansive and relatively
unbroken character of the vegetation in parts of Pamlico County, but
no natural area was selected on the basis of so-called "wilderness
values." All support some rare plant and/or animal species, but
none was chosen based solely on the presence of these organisms.
Typical questions we considered when examining a potential site were:
(1) Does the site have regional, state or county-wide
significance as a natural area?
(2) Are there unusual habitat conditions present?
(3) Has the site recovered from (or escaped) prior
disturbance?
(4) Is the site representative of a type of habitat
which is rapidly being converted to other land uses?
(5) Would loss of the habitat constitute an irretrievable
loss of resources to Pamlico County?
The inventory results reflect a bias toward large areas of
relatively undisturbed land. A chief limit inherent in the study
is that it was too broad; more attention should have been focused
on analysis of communities at specific locations. While such an
approach would have satisfied the desire for technically complete
community descriptions, it would have diverted us from our objective
to present useful natural areas data in the context of the county
and its land use patterns as a whole. We recognize that certain
biologically significant areas - and significant features at iden-
tified sites - have gone unnoted and unreported by us. We wish to
point out the following areas in need of further inventory:
13
(1) Gum Swamp along the Pamlico-Beaufort County line
north of Vandemere
(2) Goose Creek Game Land
(3) Brackish marshes throughout the northeastern
section of the county
(4) additional botanical inventory along Minnesott
Ridge
(5) further inventory of all hardwood flats
(6) Honey Road swamp forest on the Pamlico-Craven County
line
(7) Carolina bays near Goose Creek in the southwestern
area of the county.
14
I
I
NATURAL AREA INVENTORY FORM
(To be prepared for each site)
Basic Information Summary Sheet
1. Natural Area Name: (a) Federal Paper Hardwood Flats, (b) Stonewall
Hardwood Flats and (c) Merritt Hardwood Flats
(Descriptions of these three separate sites are combined due to
their vegetational relationship)
2. County: Pamlico
3. Location: (a) Federal Paper - north of SR 1300, paralleling that
road approximately between Granny Gut and the NC 55
junction. Light Ground Pocosin borders this tract
on its western and northern edges.
(b) Stonewall - due south of Bayboro across the_ South
Prong of the Bay River. Bounded on the east by
SR 1337 and associated fields; on the west by
Neal Creek.
(c) Merritt - centered about 2.3 miles ENE of the com-
munity of Merritt, in a large loop formed by SR
1324, 1329, 1321 and 1322.
4. Topographic quadrangle (s) : Federal Paper: Arapahoe (1951) and
Oriental (1975)
Stonewall: Bayboro (1974) and Oriental
Merritt : Oriental
All 7.5 min.
5. Size: Federal Paper - 2400 acres; Stonewall - 425 acres; Merritt -
1500 acres; all measured with a grid calculator
6. Elevation: Federal Paper and Stonewall: 10 to 15 feet or slightly
higher above mean sea level.
Merritt: 7 to 8 feet above mean sea level
7. Access: The Federal Paper Hardwood Flat may be reached from points
along SR 1300 and SR 1313, and from an unnamed woods road north from
old SR 1300 (a minor relocation of SR 1300 may be confusing) . The
Stonewall tract is entered where it abuts SR 1337. The Merritt Flat
is reached via Jack Taylor Road, a private woods road going southeast
from SR 1324.
8. Names of investigators: S. Lance Peacock J. Merrill Lynch
P. 0. Box 6006 Route 2, Box 222-B
Raleigh, NC 27628 Enfield, NC 27823
9. Date(s) of investigation: February 25, April 14, June 28 and July 13, 1982.
10. Priority rating: Medium, to high for the Federal Paper tract
16
Fig. 2. Access information:
FEDERAL PAPER HARDWOOD FLATS
STONEWALL HARDWOOD FLATS
MERRITT HARDWOOD FLATS
17
study area
&V& study area
'' study area
'/
11a. Prose Description of Site:
SOILS AND TOPOGRAPHY
East of the Light Ground Pocosin lie extensive level tracts
of hardwood forest, of which two examples of outstanding quality
are described here plus a third of local significance. These
examples represent the magnificent hardwood-dominated plant com-
munities which once occupied a major percentage of the county,
often fringing the peats and peaty mineral soils of the pocosins.
Because of the preponderance of oak species (Quercus) in the
canopy, these communities were termed "oak flats" by W. W. Ashe
(1894) ; the more general term "hardwood flats" recognizes the
common presence of a number of other hardwoods in addition to
oaks.
Hardwood flats occur in Pamlico County primarily on the
mineral soils of the Leaf-Bayboro and Portsmouth-Torhunta
Associations. A suggestion of the original extent of the
hardwood flats may be gained from the fact that 47 percent
of the county area consists of these two soils associations
(SCS 1974, Appendix H) . Thus the hardwood stands associated
with these soils probably were once one of the most common
forest types in Pamlico County, and indeed are still common
today in a reduced and disturbed condition.
Within the hardwood flats general habitat feature, herb,
shrub and tree species composition varies considerably from
one stand to the next (see detailed site description following) .
Soils characteristics control the composition at a given loca-
tion with cutting and other disturbances introducing secondary
variations. Internal soil drainage seems to be the most im-
portant natural determinant of plant communities on these ex-
tremely flat sites , which exhibit only poorly developed sur-
face drainage systems (streams) .
Typically in the areas surveyed, deep and shallow peat
soils at slightly higher elevations bound the hardwood flats
soilscape on the wet end of the soil moisture gradient.
Mineral soils with a histic epipedon may be present also.
(These peat and mineral soils generally are on pocosin sites.)
Moving along the moisture gradient from hydric (saturated)
peat sites to wet-mesic and mesic (very poorly to moderately
well drained) sites, one finds a consistently arranged set of
mineral soils, ranging from wettest to driest. Usually two
or three mineral soil series are mapped across the moisture
gradient, although the best-drained series is often mostly
cleared for cropland. Elevation continues to fall very
gently toward the better drained soils; the elevational
18
drop from peat soils to best-drained mineral soils is never
more than three feet per mile. At the lowest edges of the
broad flats, approaching the shoreline at the mouth of the
Neuse River and local tributaries to Pamlico Sound, a better
developed dendritic drainage pattern marks the topographic
limit of hardwood flats. Cleared agricultural land invariably
interposes a limit to the existing hardwood communities before
the topographic boundary is reached. (Other sequences of soil
moisture, organic content and elevation probably occurred in
interior parts of the county, but no high quality examples
of plant communities on such sites have been located.)
Following are descriptions of two excellent examples of
hardwood flats over soils of the Leaf-Bayboro Association;
both examples are adjacent to Light Ground Pocosin and follow
the general moisture/organic content/elevation sequence put
forth above. Sites described are chosen primarily for high
natural quality, with a secondary consideration being to
provide examples of the observed variation in species com-
position.
FEDERAL PAPER NATURAL AREA
The Federal Paper natural area, on the Arapahoe and
Oriental Quadrangles (see map) , is the most diverse hardwood
community surveyed. It is named for the major landowner,
Federal Paper Board Corporation. At the southern edge of
this stand near Holt's Chapel, about 15 feet above mean sea
level, are relatively well drained areas of Argent loam
(Typic Ochraqualfs) upon which beech (Fagus grandi folia)
in places dominates the canopy, growing with loblolly pine
(Pinus taeda) and swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii)
(CT 1) . The average canopy dbh (diameter at breast height)
here is 12-18 inches, with some beech up to 24 inches. On
the very best drained sites white oak (Quercus alba) replaces
swamp chestnut oak. Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) are common in the
canopy. Common understory species are the two oaks, beech
and red maple (Acer rubrum) . Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
is also present in the subcanopy. No shrub or herb layer
dominants are present. Shrub species include witch-hazel
(Hamamelis virginiana) , strawberry bush (Euonymus americanus) ,
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) , and horse sugar (Symplocos
tinctoria) . Herbaceous species include New York fern (Thelypteris
novaboracensis) , heart leaf ginger (Hexastylis arifolia) and green
adder's mouth orchid (Malaxis unifolia) .
19
Beech-dominated stands were probably once much more
common in Pamlico County; but because they occurred on soils
highly suited to agriculture , they have been much reduced in
extent.
Off SR 1313 on the eastern edge of the Federal Paper
hardwood stand other areas of uncultivated Argent loam pro-
vide additional examples of the vegetation of the Argent
soils in the natural area (CT 2) . Unfortunately the ground
cover here is heavily dominated by Japanese honeysuckle
(Lonicera japonica) , which invaded the site aggressively
after selective logging opened the canopy. Native vines
such as grape (Vitis spp.) arid Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus
guingue folia) have also increased as ground cover in response
to the opening of the canopy. This site is wetter than the
Holt's Chapel site, as indicated by the denser growth of
such herbs as false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) , netted
chain fern (Woodwardia areolata) , southern lady fern (Athyrium
asplenioides) , and lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus) . Scattered
unvegetated depressions are present which probably hold water
for long periods. Beech is less common and does not dominate
any part of the site. Swamp chestnut oak and laurel oak
(Quercus laurifolia) are canopy dominants, with some loblolly
pine present (individuals of all three species to 3 feet dbh) .
Tulip poplar, sweetgum and American elm (Ulmus americana) are
other canopy species; shorter individuals of the same trees,
with ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) , form the subcanopy.
Taller shrubs are red bay (Persea borbonia) and red maple
transgressives. Leucothoe (Leucothoe axillaris) forms
localized dense patches. Loblolly pine and cherrybark oak
(Quercus falcata var. pagodaefolia) may have been selectively
cut from this site.
The SR 1313 site, although disturbed, represents a transition
to the wetter mineral soils closer to Light Ground Pocosin. These
are mapped as Brookman mucky silt loam (Typic Umbraqualfs) , the most
extensive mapping unit in the Federal Paper natural area. Almost none of
the Brookman soils here are in cultivation. Elevations range from 12 to
16 feet above mean sea level, but always relatively higher and wetter
than the Argent loams described previously.
The best example seen in Pamlico County of natural vegetation
over a Brookman soil is on the Federal Paper natural area (and
owned by Federal Paper; CT 3). The canopy (av. dbh 24 in.) on
these wetter soils is dominated by wet-mesophytic oaks, swamp
chestnut oak and laurel oak being the most common. Cherrybark
oak is fairly common also. Large American hollys (Ilex opaca)
form a distinct subcanopy. In places the Federal tract is
dominated by sweetgum and tulip poplar. Red maple and swamp
20
black gum (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora) are present also
in the canopy and subcanopy. The stand is very open beneath
and shrubs are scattered, including red bay, sweet pepperbush
(Clethra alnifolia) and in dense patches leucothoe, as well
as transgressives of red maple and American holly. Netted
chain fern is the predominant herb.
A slightly better-drained area mapped as Brookman is located
in the Holt's Chapel section of the natural area (CT 4).
The Argent loam, beech flat described above (CT 1) grades
into this stand, which is dominated by swamp chestnut oak
and the same hydric hardwoods found on the Federal Paper
property, but lacking the American holly, leucothoe and
netted chain fern.
The Brookman soil series marks the edge of the Federal
Paper natural area. Wasda muck is the next mapping unit
encountered to the west; it consists of poorly drained soils,
having thin black organic surface layers over loamy textured
soils with a sandy substrate (SCS, 1981) . Though not
true histosols , Wasda mucks support a growth of pond pine
(Pinus serotina) and bay shrubs.
STONEWALL NATURAL AREA
A second exceptional natural area within the Leaf-Bayboro
Soil Association is near the community of Stonewall (see map) .
This area is smaller than the Federal Paper natural area, but
offers the best known example of a hardwood stand over Argent
loam (CT 5) . The total acreage in the natural area designated
here is mapped as Argent. Swamp chestnut oak and cherrybark
oak dominate most of the stand, with loblolly pine and tulip
poplar locally dominant, probably as second growth after logging.
Laurel oak and red maple are uncommon in the canopy. The average
canopy dbh is 18 inches. Ironwood and various transgressives
dominate the very open shrub layer; "bay" shrubs are virtually
absent. The herb layer is diverse but not developed into dense
stands. Japanese honeysuckle has invaded only in local patches;
overall this community has maintained its natural integrity. To
the southwest the Stonewall hardwood flat gently gains elevation
and grades into disturbed areas of Brookman mucky silt loam and
Wasda muck. To the northwest, it grades into soils associated
with a small tributary to the Bay River.
21
MERRITT NATURAL AREA
Within the Portsmouth-Torhunta Soil Association, one
hardwood flat of local significance is found east of the
community of Merritt. Again the flat is delimited topo-
graphically by well-developed local tributaries, in this
case to the Bay River and Pamlico Sound. The Merritt
hardwood flat centers on the highest local elevation,
and no pocosin vegetation or peat soils abut this hard-
wood stand, although pond pine - dominated vegetation occurs
to the north, probably as a secondary growth after removal
of hardwoods.
Soils in the Merritt natural area include Arapahoe
fine sandy loam and Stockade loamy fine sand, as well as small
areas of several other soil series. (Arapahoe soils are Typic
Humaquepts; Stockade soils are Typic Umbraqualfs. ) Only the
vegetation over the Arapahoe series has been examined in the
field (CT 6) . Sweetgum, laurel oak, tulip poplar and red
maple form a mixed canopy over ironwood, red bay, wax myrtle
(Myrica cerifera) and leucothoe; the shrub layer is fairly
dense. Ground cover is 100 percent, except where open
shallow pools occupy the forest floor. Herbs include netted
chain fern, Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica) , cin-
namon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) and lizard's tail. Some
canopy-sized pines were noted during aerial reconnaissance.
Based on field reconnaissance elsewhere of sites mapped
as Stockade fine loamy sand, the vegetation over the Stockade
series in the Merritt hardwood flat resembles that over the
Arapahoe soils, possibly being slightly better-drained, with
water oak (Quercus nigra) present and ironwood less common on
Stockade .
The Merritt stand is less well-developed than the two
hardwood flats natural areas detailed previously, having been
more recently logged. It is, however, still a diverse com-
munity which has not succumbed to domination by "weedier"
tree species.
22
lib. Prose Description of Site Significance:
The Federal Paper and Stonewall natural areas , which are
parts of the same system, together make up one of the two
highest quality non-alluvial hydric hardwood stands in the
entire Coastal Plain of North Carolina, with quality being
defined in terms of absence of recent disturbance , recovery
from past disturbance, diversity of biologic, edaphic and
hydrologic factors, extensiveness, average size of canopy
trees, well-developed stratification, and the representation
of a full range of communities and ecological conditions
functioning as a system. To the knowledge of the authors,
only one site, in Hyde County, surpasses the Federal Paper
and Stonewall tracts in these natural qualities.
In addition to virtually intact gradients in soil
moisture, soil organic matter content, and other factors,
various microhabitats including hummocks, pools and ele-
vated tree -bases add to the habitat diversity of the natural
areas. These stands offer exceptional opportunities for
field study of an extensive and complete ecosystem which
has scarcely been recognized by the state's plant ecologists
and foresters since the time of W. W. Ashe. The Federal Paper
and Stonewall hardwood stands are important examples of a
little-known ecosystem which contributes to the plant com-
munity diversity of the North Carolina Coastal Plain.
The Merritt natural area is extensive but does not
equal the preceding two natural areas in significance.
It is, however, the best example observed of a non-alluvial
hardwood community on the very wet mineral soils common in the
extreme eastern part of the county. We present it in this
report to further indicate the variation found in the ecology
of hardwood communities in Pamlico County.
23
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-Fig. 4. Significant features:
STONEWALL HARDWOOD FLATS
natural area boundary
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Legal Status, Use, and Management
13. Ownership type by percent area:
Type
Private
100
% (for all three
Public
natural areas)
*6
Unknown
14. Number of Owners: Federal Paper: 10 owners in 15 tracts, with two
other tracts in unknown ownership.
Stonewall : 7
Merritt : 1
15. Name(s) of owner (s) and/or custodian (s) (with addresses, phone
numbers, other pertinent information). Numbered tracts in order
of importance, others listed alphabetically.
FEDERAL PAPER HARDWOOD FLAT:
(1) Federal Paper Board Company (9-8-011 and two other tracts) ,
Regielwood Operations, P. 0. Box 338, Bolton, NC 28423
(2) Georgia-Pacific Corporation (8-8-001 and one other tract) ,
P. 0. Box 1808, Augusta, GA 30903
(3) Weyerhaeuser Company, Plymouth, NC 27962
First Citizen's Bank & Trust, R. H. Morrison, trustee;
P. 0. Box 849, Kinston, NC 28501
A. Hugh Harris, Jr. (two tracts), P. 0. Box 160, Oriental, NC
28571
International Paper Co. (two tracts), P. 0. Box 2905, New Bern,
NC 28560
James A. Miller, Box 314, Merritt, NC 28556
James W. Potter, Route 2, Box 217, Arapahoe, NC 28510
Alston W. Spruill, Route 1, Box 78, Oriental, NC 28571
Wachovia Bank & Trust Company, Agent for Swan Farm, P. 0. Box
27886, Raleigh, NC 27611
STONEWALL HARDWOOD FLAT:
(1) Nellie H. Ratcliffe, P. 0. Box 175, Bayboro, NC 28515
(2) Swan Motor Co., c/o W. F. Rawls, P. 0. Box 848, New Bern, NC
28560
31
STONEWALL HARDWOOD FLAT: (continued)
H. H. Bate, P. O. Box 2945, New Bern, NC 28560
Cassie Mae Coppage, P. O. Box 846, New Bern, NC 28560
Louise W. Rawls, P. O. Box 848, New Bern, NC 28560
W. F. Rawls, P. O. Box 848, New Bern, NC 28560
Wachovia Bank s Trust Co. , Agent for Swan Farm, P. O. Box
27886, Raleigh, NC 27611
MERRITT HARDWOOD FLAT:
(1) John Taylor, P. O. Box 1062, New Bern, NC 28560
16. Name(s) of knowledgeable person (s) (with addresses, phone
numbers, other pertinent information) .
None known.
17. Attitude of owner or custodian toward preservation (contacted?);
None contacted. Mr. H. H. Bate, owner of part of the Stonewall
natural area, is personally interested in the natural values
of his properties elsewhere in the state.
32
18,
Uses of natural area:
All three Hardwood Flats natural areas covered in this report
are used for hunting; possibly some tracts are leased to hunt clubs
although no signs were posted indicating this use. All these lands
have been logged selectively at least once and probably several
times. The best drained soils may have been cultivated. Histor-
ically range animals have been pastured on these woodlands , but
grazing is not a current use. Some firewood cutting is likely.
19, Uses of surrounding land:
Wildland
30
b. Agricultural land 70
c. high-intensity forestry_
d. developed %
20. Preservation Status:
Cat
* %
*Description of preservation status
6
100
private land, not protected by owner
21. Regulatory protections in force:
None.
33
22. Threats:
Logging is a constant likelihood in high-quality hardwood
stands such as these, and is underway at the southern edge of
the Federal Paper hardwood flat, in one of the best quality
stands. Stands adjacent to the Federal Paper and Stonewall
natural areas have been heavily logged within the last three
years. An associated threat is the initiation of drainage,
which always accompanies modern logging in the form of ditches
bordering woods roads. Severe and permanent site alteration may
also stem from treatment of a given hardwood stand in the after-
math of logging. Systematic drainage may be installed and the
acreage converted to an agricultural use , or a pine plantation
may be established.
Sheet flow from Light Ground Pocosin drains into the
two most important hardwood stands described here (Lee Otte,
pers. coram., 1982), and the hydrology of the natural areas
is thus closely linked to conditions in Light Ground. That
pocosin is being drained and developed, with possible drying
effects on the hardwood stands.
23. Management and Preservation Recommendation:
No palustrine hardwood flats are highly protected in the
Coastal Plain of North Carolina, and the authors know of no
similar communities in protective ownership elsewhere in the
Southeast. One publicly-owned example, of somewhat younger
second growth than the Federal Paper and Stonewall sites, is
located on the Gull Rock Game Land in Hyde County. A second
excellent example in that county is protected by a private
individual. The protection status of these two areas could
well change suddenly.
The hardwood flats ecosystem is little-studied and barely
mentioned in the ecological literature of North Carolina, despite
its intriguing hydrologic and edaphic diversity. Additionally,
this once fairly common vegetation type is now scarce, having
been reduced by logging and clearing for agriculture and silvi-
culture. The palustrine mixed hardwood community will very
likely cease to exist in any significant acreage, and pass
from the scene unstudied, unless some examples are protected
quickly.
34
The Nature Conservancy should seek to acquire key tracts
of this vegetation type in the North Carolina Coastal Plain,
where excellent candidates are present in the Federal Paper
and Stonewall Hardwood Stands. Only acquisition can main-
tain this very threatened group of communities in the long
run. The Natural Heritage Program should establish or pur-
sue landowner contacts and seek to register some tracts.
Additional field work is of critical importance to fully
define the significance of the hardwood flats biota.
Management needs are not well-known, but appear to be
few after initial acquisition. Included are hydrologic
monitoring, monitoring of rare species populations, control
of vegetation such as Japanese honeysuckle , and prevention
of timber trespass, firewood poaching and illegal hunting.
No need for active site manipulation is currently recognized.
35
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 1
Community type: Fagus grandifolia-mixed oaks/mixed hardwoods
Community cover type: Fagus grandifolia-mixed oaks
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 50-60 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: unknown
Canopy cover: Closed
Estimated size of community: 50 acres
Successional stage: Climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Quercus alba, Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua,
Acer rubrum, Pinus taeda
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Oxydendrum arboreum, Cornus florida, Euonymus americanus,
Hamamelis virginiana, Symplocos tinctoria, Myrica cerifera,
transgressives of canopy spp.
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Hexastylis arifolia, Thelypteris novaboracensis , Mitchella
repens
36
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 2
Community type: Quercus michauxii-Q. laur ifolia/Carpinus caroliniana-
mixed hardwoods/mixed shrubs/Woodwardia areolata-mixed herbs//
mixed clambering vines
Community cover type: Quercus michauxii-Q. laurifolia
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 70-80 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: Unknown
■Canopy cover: Closed
Estimated size of community: 120 acres
Successional stage;
Near-climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Pinus taeda, Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera,
Liquidambar styraciflua, Ulmus americana, Nyssa sylvatica
var. biflora
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Ilex opaca, Leucothoe axillaris, Per sea borbonia
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Polystichum acrosticoides, Arisaema triphyllum, Boehmeria
cylindrica, Athyrium asplenioides, Mitchella repens, Saururus
cernuus, Woodwardia virginica
37
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 3
Community type: Mixed hydric oaks-mixed hardwoods/Ilex opaca/
Woodwardia areolata
Community cover type: Mixed hydric oaks-mixed hardwoods
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 70-80 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: 65+ years (one laurel oak stump had 65
annual rings at ground level; 24 in.
dia.)
Canopy cover : Closed
Estimated size of community: 460 acres
Successional stage: Climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Acer rubrum, Quercus laurifolia, Quercus michauxii, Liriodendron
tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus falcata var. pagodae-
folia, Fagus grandifolia
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Magnolia virginiana, Persea borbonia, Clethra alnifolia,
Leucothoe axillaris , Callicarpa americana
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Boehmeria cylindrica, Asplenium platyneuron, Mitchella repens
38
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 4
Community type: Quercus michauxii-mixed hydric hardwoods/mixed hardwoods
Community cover type: Quercus michauxii-mixed hydric hardwoods
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 60-70 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: 60+ years (one loblolly pine stump
had 60 annual rings at ground level;
22 in. dia.)
Canopy cover: Closed
Estimated size of community: not determined
Successional stage: Near climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua,
Pinus taeda, Acer rubrum, Quercus laurifolia, Quercus falcata var.
pagodaefolia, Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora.
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Myrica cerifera, Euonymus americanus, Ilex opaca, Lyonia lucida,
Clethra alnifolia, Persea borbonia, transgressives of canopy spp.
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Arundinaria gigantea, Arisaema triphyllum, Osmunda regalis,
Osmunda cinnamomea, Boehmeria cylindrica
39
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 5
Community type: Quercus michauxii-Q. falcata var. pagadaefolia/
Carpinus carolinianus/mixed herbs
Community cover type: Quercus michauxii-Q. falcata var. pagodaefolia
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 70-80 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: Unknown
Canopy cover: Closed
Estimated size of community: 150 acres
Successional stage: Near-climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Pinus taeda, Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Euonymus americanus, Callicarpa americana, transgressives of
canopy spp.
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Polystichum acrosticoides , Osmunda cinnamomea, Arundinaria
gigantea, Woodwardia areolata, Thelypteris novaboracensis ,
Athyrium asplenioides, Pteridium aquilinum, Sabal minor
40
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 6
Community type: Mixed hydric hardwoods/mixed tall shrubs/
Leucothoe axillaris/mixed ferns
Community cover type: Mixed hydric hardwoods
General habitat feature: Hardwood Flat
Average canopy height: 50 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: Unknown
Canopy cover : Closed
Estimated size of community: +500 acres
Successional stage: transitional to young climax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Platanus occidentalis, Acer rubrum, Liriodendron tulipifera,
Quercus laurifolia, Liquidambar styraciflua
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Persea borbonia, Myrica cerifera, Carpinus caroliniana
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Saururus cernuus, Woodwardia areolata, Woodwardia virginica,
Osmunda cinnamomea, Sabal minor
41
24b. (1) Soil Summary (by community type) - CT 1 , CT 2 , CT 5
Soil series: Argent loam
Soil classification: fine, mixed, thermic Typic Ochraqualfs
Soil association: Leaf-Bayboro
pH class : strongly acid to medium acid
(2) Soil Summary (by community type) - CT 3 , CT 4
Soil series: Brookman mucky silt loam
Soil classification: fine, mixed, thermic Typic Umbraqualfs
Soil association: Leaf-Bayboro
pH class:
(3) Soil Summary (by community type) - CT 6
Soil series: Arapahoe fine sandy loam; Stockade loamy fine sand
Soil classification: Arapahoe: coarse-loamy, mixed, nonac id,
thermic Typic Humaquepts
Stockade: fine-loamy, mixed, thermic
Typic Umbraqualfs
Soil association: Portsmouth-Torhunta
pH class: Arapahoe: strongly to very strongly acid
Stockade: slightly acid
Source of information: All CT's
General Soil Map, Pamlico County, USDA, SCS (1972) ;
Preliminary Soil Survey, Pamlico County, USDA, SCS (1981) .
24c. Hydrology Summary (by community type) All CT's
Hydrologic system: Palustrine (generally) to terrestrial
Hydrologic subsystem: Interaqueous to mesic
Water chemistry: Fresh
Water regime: Saturated to temporarily flooded (palustrine portions)
42
24c. continued —
Drainage class: Very poorly to poorly drained
Drainage basin: Neuse River (CT 1, CT 2, CT 3, CT 4); and local
tributaries to Pamlico Sound (CT 5, CT 6)
Hydrology characterization: Very poorly to poorly drained mucky
silt loams and fine sandy loams in a saturated, temporarily
flooded palustrine system; with, locally, moderately well drained
loams in a mesic terrestrial system. Both systems drain either
into the Neuse River or into Pamlico Sound via local tributaries.
24d. Topography Summary - All CT's
Landform: Interstream flat or lowland plain
Shelter: partly sheltered
Aspect: Not applicable
Slope Angle : Nearly level
Profile: Flat
Surface patterns: Hummocky to smooth, often with shallow pans
present locally
Position: Not applicable
25. Physiographic characterization of natural area:
A climax to near-climax mixed mesophytic to hydrophytic
forest of a pelosere or pelopsammosere, on a lowland plain
underlain by Pleistocene Marine and estuarine sediments, in
the Outer Coastal Plain Region of the Embayed Section of the
Coastal Plain Province.
Geological Formation: CT 1, CT 2, CT 3, CT 4, CT 5
Core Creek sand of the Pleistocene ("lower Wisconsin and
(or) upper Sangamon (?) ") possibly over the Yorktown Formation
of the lower Pliocene to upper Miocene.
CT 6: unknown, but either similar to the preceding, or underlain
by more recent Holocene deposits. All communities on the Pamlico
marine terrace.
43
25. continued —
Geological Formation age: Core Creek Sand - 75,000 years
Yorktown formation - 7,000,000 years
References Cited:
Reconnaissance Geology of the Submerged and Emerged
Coastal Plain Province, Cape Lookout Area, North Carolina.
Robert B. Mixon and Orrin H. Pilkey. USGS Professional
Paper 859 (1976) .
44
27. Master species lists:
VASCULAR PLANTS
(listed alphabetically by family)
ACERACEAE
Acer rubrum
ANACARDIACEAE
Rhus radicans
AQUIFOLIACEAE
Ilex glabra
I . opaca
ARACEAE
Arisaema triphyllum
ARECACEAE
Sabal minor
ARI S TOLOCH I ACE AE
Hexastylis arifolia
ASPIDIACEAE
Athyrium asplenioides
Dryopteris celsa
Polystichum acrosticoides
Thelypteris noveboracensis
ASPLENIACEAE
Asplenium platyneuron
BETULACEAE
Carpinus caroliniana
BIGNONIACEAE
Anisostichus capreolata
BLECHNACEAE
Woodwardia areolata
W„ virginica
CAPRIFOLIACEAE
Lonicera japonica
Sambucus canadensis
Viburnum nudum
CELASTRACEAE
Euonymus americanus
CLETHRACEAE
Clethra alnifolia
CORNACEAE
Cornus florida
CUPRESSACEAE
Juniperus virginiana
CYPERACEAE
Carex sp„
CYRILLACEAE
Cyrilla racemiflora
45
ERICACEAE
Leucothoe axillaris
Lyonia lucida
Oxydendrum arboreum
Vaccinium corymbosum
FAGACEAE
Fagus grandifolia
Quercus alba
Q. falcata var. falcata
Q. f. var. pagodaefolia
Q. laurifolia
Q. michauxii
Q. nigra
HAMAMELIDACEAE
Hamamelis virginiana
Liguidambar styraciflua
JUNCACEAE
Juncus coriaceus
LAURACEAE
Persea borbonia
LI LI ACE AE
Smilax rotundifolia
LOGANIACEAE
Gelsemium sempervirens
LORANTHACEAE
Phoradendron serotinum
MAGNOLIACEAE
Liriodendron tulipifera
Magnolia virginiana
MORACEAE
Morus rubra
MYRICACEAE
Myrica cerifera
NYSSACEAE
Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora
N. s. var. sylvatica
OLEACEAE
Fraxinus americana
ORCHIDACEAE
Malaxis unifolia
Tipularia discolor
OSMUNDACEAE
Osmunda cinnamomea
0. regalis
PINACEAE
Pinus taeda
PLATANACEAE
Platanus occidentalis
POACEAE
Arundinaria gigantea
46
POLYPODIACEAE
Polypodium polypodioides
PTERIDACEAE
Pteridium aquilinum
RHAMNACEAE
Berchemia scandens
ROSACEAE
Crataegus sp.
Geum canadense
Prunus serotina
RUBIACEAE
Mitchella repens
SAURURACEAE
Saururus cernuus
SAXIFRAGACEAE
Decumaria barbara
SYMPLOCACEAE
Symplocos tinctoria
ULMACEAE
Ulmus americana
URTICACEAE
Boehmeria cylindrica
VERBENACEAE
Callicarpa americana
VITACEAE
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Vitis rotundifolia
AMPHIBIANS
Oak Toad
Gray Tree frog
Squirrel Treefrog
Little Grass Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
REPTILES
Spotted Turtle
Eastern Box Turtle
Ground Skink
47
BIRDS
(Emphasis of bird lists is on breeding or summering
species; lack of adequate field work during the other
seasons prevented compilation of a complete list.)
KEY
PR = Permanent resident
SR = Summer resident
WR = Winter resident
T = Transient
PV, SV, WV = Visitor; year-round, summer or winter
* = Breeding or suspected breeding at site
Red-tailed Hawk PR*
Red-shouldered Hawk PR*
Bobwhite PR*
Mourning Dove PR*
Yellow-billed Cuckoo SR*
Common Flicker PR*
Pileated Woodpecker PR*
Red-bellied Woodpecker PR*
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker WR
Hairy Woodpecker PR*
Downy Woodpecker PR*
Great Crested Flycatcher SR*
Acadian Flycatcher SR*
Eastern Wood Pewee SR*
Blue Jay PR*
Carolina Chickadee PR*
Tufted Titmouse PR*
White-breasted Nuthatch PR*
Carolina Wren PR*
American Robin WR
Wood Thrush SR*
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher SR*
Golden-crowned Kinglet WR
Ruby-crowned Kinglet WR
White-eyed Vireo SR*
Red-eyed Vireo SR*
Prothonotary Warbler SR*
Swainson's Warbler SR*
Northern Parula SR*
Yellow-rumped Warbler WR
48
Ovenbird SR*
Kentucky Warbler SR*
Hooded Warbler SR*
Scarlet Tanager SR*
Summer Tanager SR*
Cardinal PR*
Rufous-sided Townee PR*
White-throated Sparrow WR
Note: no mammal list was recorded.
49
NATURAL AREA INVENTORY FORM
(To be prepared for each site)
Basic Information Summary Sheet
1, Natural Area Name: North Minnesott Sand Ridge; South Minnesott
Sand Ridge
2. County: Pamlico
3. Location: North Minnesott Sand Ridge - lying along both sides of
NC 306 between a private woods road named Beltline Road on the south,
and the Pamlico-Beaufort County line on the north. Extending east of
NC 306 an average of 0.25 mile, west an average of 0.75 mile.
South Minnesott Sand Ridge - along both sides of NC 306 beginning at
the north edge of the Pamlico Technical College campus and extending
north about 2.0 miles, excluding some cleared areas. Distances east
and west of NC 306 are as given for North Minnesott Sand Ridge.
4. Topographic quadrangle (s) : North Minnesott Sand Ridge - Bayboro (1974)
South Minnesott Sand Ridge - Arapahoe (1951)
5. Size: North Minnesott Sand Ridge - 1250 acres
South Minnesott Sand Ridge - 380 acres
both measured with a grid calculator
6. Elevation: Both natural areas range from slightly less than 20 feet
to more than 45 feet above mean sea level.
7. Access: Both natural areas may be reached at various points along NC
306. Several private woods roads also traverse each area.
8. Names of investigators: S. Lance Peacock J. Merrill Lynch
P. O. Box 6006 Route 2, Box 222-B
Raleigh, NC 27628 Enfield, NC 27823
9. Date(s) of investigation: February 24 and 25, April 14, May 13 and 14,
June 28, and July 11 and 12, 1982.
10. Priority rating: Medium to High
50
Fig. 6. Access information:
NORTH MINNESOTT SAND RIDGE
SOUTH MINNESOTT SAND RIDGE
££.£ study area
^% study area
51
11a. Prose Description of Site
LOCATION, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY
Crossing the inner and outer Coastal Plain of North Carolina
are several linear scarps, usually trending north-south, which
may often be traced for miles across the landscape. These marine
scarps mark high stands of the sea during the Pleistocene epoch.
Frequently associated with the scarps are elongate linear ridges
of sand, interpreted to be beach, dune and overwash fan deposits
formed in a marine environment and later abandoned as sea level
fell. Scarps and associated ridges, though closely related in
their origin, are separate geomorphological features, with ridges
generally bounded by scarps on the seaward (east) side. These
same scarps also mark the edges of the marine terraces described
by early geologists such as Stephenson (1912) : broad, flat,
successively lower and younger surfaces which form much of the
Coastal Plain, and which represent major sea level fluctuations
in response to worldwide uptake and release of water into and
out of glacial ice.
Extending the length of Pamlico County, the Minnesott Ridge
and Grantsboro Scarp form one such ridge/scarp system, and to-
gether comprise one of the county's most prominent topographic
features, still supporting several areas of natural and semi-
natural vegetation.
Two natural areas have been identified in association with
the Minnesott Ridge/Grantsboro Scarp. North Minnesott Sand
Ridge natural area is located along both sides of NC 306,
beginning at the Pamlico/Beaufort County line and extending
south about 3.0 miles to "Beltline" road. South Minnesott
Sand Ridge also lies on both sides of NC 306, extending about
2.0 miles north from the Pamlico Technical College campus.
For the two natural areas described here, and in general
for Pamlico County, the Minnesott Ridge averages slightly more
than 0.75 mile wide. Maximal elevations above mean sea level
range from 35 to 47 feet, and the entire ridge crest north of
Arapahoe is above 40 feet elevation (higher in Beaufort County) .
The ridge and scarp trend north-south. To the east the face of
the Grantsboro Scarp is steep, falling off rather quickly to
elevations of approximately 20 feet. At this toe of the scarp,
where the surface of the Pamlico Terrace is encountered, were
once two major pocosins systems, Bay City and Light Ground, but
these are no longer in a natural condition. A narrow strip of
swamp forest also borders the toe of the scarp in places , where
mineral sediments wash from the ridge into the adjacent peats
52
(Lee Otte, 1981 and pers. coram. , 1982). To the west the
Minnesott Ridge grades more gradually to the Chowan Terrace ,
about 5 feet below the ridge crest and ranging from 35 to 40
feet above mean sea level. This "rear" edge of the Ridge is
topographically less precisely defined than the front or
eastern (scarp) edge, being more dissected into a complex
system of low swales and islands of upland vegetation. On
this western side the partially natural Northwest Pocosin
borders the north half of the Minnesott Ridge (see pp. ) .
Mixon and Pilkey (1976) argue that the Grantsboro Scarp
is not strictly equivalent to the well-known Suffolk Scarp
alone, but that it is a feature of multiple ages, "as sug-
gested by the southward convergency of relict shorelines in the
Pamlico Sound area" (p. 37). According to the same authors,
the Minnesott sands (which form the Minnesott Ridge) are in
part correlative with the Pamlico Terrace to the east (op.
cit. , Geologic Map Plate I) . Further summary of the fairly
extensive published geologic and geomorphologic interpretive
literature is beyond the scope of this report. However,
conditions on the Minnesott Ridge natural areas have been
strongly affected by the geomorphological origins of the
ridge and scarp, particularly the depositional environment
in which the Minnesott sands were laid down. The well-sorted,
fine to coarse sands of the ancient barrier system have pro-
duced the sandy soils on which various pine flatwoods and upland
pine natural communities have developed.
SOILS
The Minnesott Ridge natural areas are in the Leon-Lynn
Haven Soil Association, which characteristically includes poorly
drained soils with sand surface layers and sandy hardpan subsoils
(SCS 1974, Appendix H) . The soilscape across the Minnesott Ridge
and immediately adjacent locations is very diverse, both in
arrangement and in soil orders represented. Preliminary mapping
of the two natural areas denotes three soil series in three dif-
ferent orders: Leon sand, a Spodosol; Tomahawk loamy sand, an
Ultisol; and Rutlege mucky loamy fine sand, an Inceptisol. All
three of these soil series are present within both natural areas;
the mapping units are complexly interfingered on the surface of
Minnesott Ridge.
Additional soil orders are found on either side of the North
Minnesott Ridge natural area: Histosols (Dare and Croatan series)
to the west in the Northwest Pocosin natural area, and Alfisols
(Yonges and Stockade series) to the east, mostly recently logged
over. Thus a mile-long transect spanning North Minnesott Ridge
53
will cross five soil orders, four of them having natural or
partly natural vegetation. The soils within and contiguous
to the South Minnesott Ridge natural area are somewhat less
diverse, since no Alfisol is present in the transect.
VEGETATION
The pine-dominated natural communities along Minnesott
Ridge contain the most diverse species assemblages found in
Pamlico County. This diversity is consistent with the fact
that herb and shrub dominated pine flatwoods, which cover
most of both natural areas, are among the most diverse of
southeastern Coastal Plain natural communities. The com-
munities on the Ridge respond strongly to soil conditions,
and beginning with the more hydric, are described here in
two broad groups reflecting wetness of the soil upon which
the communities occur.
The wettest soils are the Rutlege and Leon series.
Rutlege occupies the lowest swales on the surface of Minnesott
Ridge, including narrow linear units which possibly comprise
poorly formed local drainageways . Rutlege soils are also
present in the two small Carolina bays within North Minnesott
Ridge natural area. Leon soils typically border areas of
Rutlege, but are slightly higher, and derive their wet
character from spodic horizons which impede internal soil
drainage. Together, these two series form approximately 75
percent of the two natural areas. The vegetation is similar
over each of these two series: wet, pine-dominated stands with
a dense shrub layer, which are examples of the shrub-dominated
pine flatwoods natural community (CT 1; CT 2).
Although not often thought of as wetlands, these diverse
communities are strongly correlated with and dependent upon
soils which are wet, due either to landscape position or to
moisture-trapping spodic horizons. At other times of the year
the soils, Spodosols particularly, can be very droughty. Hence
the pine flatwoods communities must be adapted to severe seasonal
extremes of both wetness and aridity. Fire is also a dominant
ecological force shaping the pine flatwoods, as it has been
historically and prehistorically in various southern pine forest
types.
The wet shrub phase pine flatwoods over Leon soils are
dominated by an open to scattered canopy of longleaf pine,
(Pinus palustris) . Other species are essentially absent
from the canopy, excepting pond pine (Pinus serotina) ,
which occurs as scattered individuals at the edges of long-
54
leaf stands and dominates the deepest, wettest (Rutlege) swales.
(Some of the disturbed areas of Rutlege soils are occupied by
low red maple (Acer rubrum) thickets probably resulting from
logging.) Canopy height ranges from 20 to 40 feet. Generally
no subcanopy is present, but widely scattered subcanopy height
individual pines, tall bay species and a few red maples are pre-
sent.
Beneath the canopy is a complex pattern of shrub-dominated
areas, arranged in response to moisture and frequency of fire.
Where fire has not occurred recently, an abrupt edge of dense
shrubs 5 to 10 feet tall usually marks the boundary of the
wetter soils. A partial species presence list includes sweet
pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) , titi (Cyrilla racemiflora) ,
male-berry (Lyonia ligustrina) , sweet gallberry (Ilex coriacea) ,
bitter gallberry (Ilex glabra) , red bay (Persea borbonia) , sweet
bay (Magnolia virginiana) , and fetterbush (Leucothoe racemosa) .
Catbriar (Smilax laurifolia) is usually abundant. The few herb
species present include Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica)
and giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) . The community type is
characterized as Pinus palustris or Pinus serotina/mixed tall
pineland shrubs// Smilax laurifolia. Where fire has occurred
more frequently, the community boundary is wider, and a broad
low-shrub-dominated ecotone is found. In this ecotone are most
of the shrubs mentioned above, as well as several species of a
shorter growth habit, such as sheepkill (Kalmia angustifolia)
and dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) , all 2-4 feet tall.
Under natural conditions of frequent fire, the shrub phase
pine flatwoods of Minnesott Ridge, especially over the Leon soil
series, were probably much less shrubby and supported more herb-
aceous plant species. Unfortunately, a certain proportion of
the original diverse Minnesott Ridge flora, particularly herb-
aceous species, has been lost or suppressed due to man's suc-
cessful efforts to exclude fire, allowing shrubs to overtop
and out-compete the herbs. One species of particular interest,
Dionaea muscipula (venus ' flytrap), here at its northern range
limit, is persisting almost exclusively on ditch banks and
mowed roadsides, where human activity incidentally provides
the needed open conditions over wet mineral soil.
In drier portions of the Minnesott Ridge natural areas,
the herbaceous component of the vegetation is more strongly
evident, but shrubs still dominate (CT 3; CT 4) . Soils are
of the Tomahawk series. Tomahawk soils are drier than most
pine flatwoods soils, being moderately well drained and with
a seasonal water table at about 3 feet below the surface
(SCS, 1981) . The community over these soils is thus
transitional between true pine flatwoods and more xeric up-
land pine communities (cf. Taggart in Radford et al., 1980).
55
The canopy is longleaf pine; open to scattered stands
range from 40 to 60 feet tall, 6 to 12 inches dbh. A few
relictual "flattop" canopy longleaf remain from past logging;
these are much older than the average canopy tree. Tall
shrubs and transgressive small trees such as sweetbay and
red maple are scattered, as are patches of longleaf pine
saplings. Scrub oak spp. (Quercus) are notably scarce.
Zonation in the shrub layer is pronounced in places, probably
due to the rhizomatous habit of the species involved, but the
zones are not extensive in area. Typical shrub dominants
locally are dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa) , dangle-
berry (Gaylussacia frondosa) and bitter gallberry, with
other common shrubs including sheepkill, sweet gallberry,
wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) , dwarf azalea ( Rhododendron
atlanticum) , blueberry (Vaccinium tenellum) , squaw huckle-
berry (Vaccinium stamineum) , and stagger-bush (Lyonia mariana)
all ranging from 1 to 3 feet tall. Giant cane is scattered,
not forming dense stands. Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) domi-
nates the herb layer over much of this community, often sharing
seasonal dominance with bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) . Creeping
blueberry (Vaccinium crassifolium) , a prostrate shrub, is present
throughout as a dense ground cover, absent only beneath the dens-
est growth of other shrubs. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
is locally common. The community type is Pinus palustr is/mixed
low pineland shrubs/Aristida stricta-Vaccinium crassifolium.
WILDLIFE VALUES
Breeding bird diversity along the Minnesott Ridge is fairly
high. We recorded approximately 30 species, including a full
complement of characteristic open pine woodland species such
as bluebird, brown -headed nuthatch and pine warbler. Worm-eating
warblers (two individuals) were noted in association with the
dense shrubby ecotones between open pine stands and deep shrub
thickets.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are permanent residents along the
Ridge. Most activity by this endangered species was noted at the
North Minnesott natural area. Inactive cavity trees were seen at
South Minnesott. Suitable habitat is present at both sites. Ad-
ditional details of our observations are given on p.
The wildlife values of North Minnesott natural area in
particular are enhanced by the contiguity of Northwest Pocosin
to the west. Northwest Pocosin provides additional habitat for
red-cockaded woodpeckers. It also supports a population of black
bear which uses the sand ridge habitats to some extent.
56
Finally, one fox squirrel was noted on North Minnesott,
and habitat appeared good for this species.
57
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NORTH MINNESOTT SAND RIDGE
61
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62
Fig. 8. Significant features:
SOUTH MINNESOTT SAND RIDGE
natural area boundary
(the complex pattern of
community types is
not mapped)
63
Legal Status , Use , and Management
13. Ownership type by percent area: Type
Private 100 % (South Minnesott)
Public 5 % (North Minnesott;
remainder private)
Unknown %
14. Number of Owners: North Minnesott: six owners in seven tracts
South Minnesott: six owners
15. Name(s) of owner (s) and/or custodian (s) (with addresses, phone
numbers , other pertinent information) . Numbered tracts in order
of importance, others listed alphabetically.
North Minnesott Sand Ridge
(1) Texasgulf, Inc., P. 0. Box 425, Aurora, NC 27806
(2) Agrico Chemical S Kennecott, N. C. Phosphate Corporation,
P. 0. Box 1157, Washington, NC 27889
(3) N. L. Industries, Inc., Financial Service Dept. , P. 0. Box 360,
Hightstown, NJ 85200
Pamlico County- Government, Bayboro, NC
Channing Smith estate (two tracts), Route 1, Box 274,
New Bern, NC 28560
James Tingle estate and Paul Waters, P. 0. Box 1088,
Washington, NC 27889
South Minnesott Sand Ridge
(1) M. D. Brinson, Sr. estate, P. 0. Box 92, Grantsboro, NC 28529
(2) Milton D. Brinson, Jr., P. 0. Box 58, Grantsboro, NC 28529
(3) Milton and R. T. Brinson, 4028 Converse Drive, Raleigh,
NC 27609
64
15. continued —
Mrs. W. L. Dixon, Route 1, Box 136, Grantsboro, NC 28529
Austin R. Johnson, 1804 Marshburn Circle, Kinston, NC 28501
George S. Willis, Route 1, Box 18A, Grantsboro, NC 28529
16. Name(s) of knowledgeable person (s) (with addresses, phone
numbers, other pertinent information) .
None known .
17. Attitude of owner or custodian toward preservation (contacted?) :
Unknown .
65
18. Uses of natural area:
The primary use historically has been the production of timber.
Probably some turpentining was also conducted, although little visible
evidence remains in the form of "boxed" pines. Both natural areas
have been logged through several times, some parts as recently as
1981. Little cultivation has occurred, but both sites have most
likely been grazed. Hunting is a long-term and continuing use.
The ridge is a major highway corridor, and NC 306 bisects both
natural areas. A 48-acre tract is used in part as a county landfill.
Trash dumping and removal of sand for fill have been minor uses.
19, Uses of surrounding land:
a. Wildland 50 %
b. Agricultural land 20
c. high-intensity forestry 20
_% d. developed 10 %
20. Preservation Status:
Cat
100
'Description of preservation status
Private land, not protected by owner or lesee
21. Regulatory protections in force:
None for the overall system; some of the features may be protected from
taking (red-cockaded woodpecker) or potentially, from sale without a
permit (venus ' flytrap) .
66
22. Threats:
Logging is a chronic threat, but its disruptive effects are
moderated if severe soil disturbance is avoided. However care-
fully done, logging will unavoidably decrease the already limited
foraging and nesting habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Site preparation and pine planting, which have followed logging
elsewhere on Minnesott Ridge, will critically disturb the natural
areas1 pine flatwoods ecosystem, through drainage, soil disturbance
and fire suppression. Overall disruption of the natural fire cycle
throughout the natural areas has already taken place, resulting in
increased dominance of shrubby species, reduction of herbaceous
diversity and loss of red-cockaded woodpecker habitat.
Other threats include subdivision of the natural areas into
building lots, expansion of the landfill or development of other
dumping sites, and possibly involvement of the natural areas in
phosphate production.
23. Management and Preservation Recommendation:
Protection of the Minnesott Sand Ridge natural areas should
be aimed at maintaining the relatively undisrupted hydrologic and
edaphic conditions at the two sites, and at restoring the vigor
and diversity of the herbaceous assemblage present. The natural
areas typify many important sand ridge and savanna sites in the
Southeast, in that the pine cover has been thoroughly disturbed
in the past. This does not diminish the value of the natural
areas, since the conditions required by the diverse herb assem-
blages still generally prevail.
The most pressing management need, after prevention of sheer
physical disruption, is the resumption of a regime of frequent
fire, through prescribed burns. The potentially herb-rich eco-
tones between upland and swale are especially in need of shrub
control by fire.
Fire will also aid the red-cockaded woodpecker by maintaining
the open pine forest preferred by the species. Potential and actual
cavity trees are very scarce on the Ridge , and should be identified
and protected from logging. Sufficient foraging habitat should
also be withdrawn from logging, or at least, logged on a long
rotation designed to provide adequate foraging stands (and cavity
tree replacements) .
67
Site protection is perhaps most expeditiously pursued
through establishment of voluntary conservation agreements
(registry) with landowners. The Natural Heritage Program
should seek such agreements, and also explore the intentions
of the corporate owners of large holdings. Where timbering
is being considered, every effort should be made to persuade
owners not to drain logging sites, plant pines, or disturb
the soil intensively.
68
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 1, CT 2
Community type: Pinus palustris (or Pinus serotina) /mixed tall pineland
shrubs//Smilax laurifolia
Community cover type: Pinus palustris or Pinus serotina
General habitat feature: Pine flatwoods
Average canopy height: 20 to 40 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: less than 50 years, with scattered older
individuals
Canopy cover : open to sparse
Estimated size of community: not determined
Successional stage: pyroclimax
Sere type: Psammosere
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
none
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Lyonia ligustrina, Kalmia angustifolia, Clethra alnifolia,
Ilex coriacea , Ilex glabra, Persea borbonia, Magnolia
virginiarta
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Arundinaria gigantea, Woodwardia virginica
69
24b. Soil Summary (by community type) CT 1 , CT 2
Soil series: Leon and Rutlege
Soil classification: Leon - sandy, siliceous thermic Aerie HaplaquodS;
Rutlege - sandy, siliceous, thermic Typic Humaquepts
Soil association: Leon - Lynn Haven on Pamlico County General Soil Map
(1972); Leon-Tomahawk-Rutlege in soil survey of Pamlico County (1982, in
manuscript) .
pH class: Leon - very strongly acid
Rutlege - very strongly acid
Source of information: General Soil Map, Pamlico County, USDA, SCS
(1972); Soil Survey of Pamlico County, USDA, SCS (1982, in manuscript)
Other notes:
24c. Hydrology Summary (by community type) CT 1, CT 2
Hydrologic system: Palustrine
Hydrologic subsystem: Interaqueous
Water chemistry: Fresh
Water regime: seasonally flooded to saturated
Drainage class: poorly drained to very poorly drained
Drainage basin: primary drainage is to the Neuse River, with some
drainage from the northernmost areas of this community into the
Pamlico and Bay Rivers.
Hydrology characterization: A very poorly drained, seasonally flooded
to saturated interaqueous palustrine system in swales and depressions;
bordered by a poorly drained, otherwise similarly characterized palus-
trine system on slightly higher soils.
70
24d. Topography Summary: CT 1, CT 2
Landform: relict beach ridge and marine scarp
Shelters open to partly sheltered
Aspect: flat, to east facing along scarp
Slope Angle: nearly level to sloping
Profile: flat to slightly concave, becoming broken along the
face of the scarp
Surface patterns: gently undulating; locally dissected by
drainage off the scarp.
Position: CT 1 and CT 2 occupy both flats and the sloping
face of the Grantsboro Scarp.
71
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 3, CT 4
Community type: Pinus palustris/mixed low pineland shrubs/Aristida
stricta-Vaccinium crassifolium
Community cover type: Pinus palustris
General habitat feature: Pine Flatwoods
Average canopy height: 40 to 60 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: less than 50 years, with older
individuals scattered or clumped.
Canopy cover : Open
Estimated size of community: not determined
Successional stage: Pyroclimax
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
None
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Kalmia angustifolia, Gaylussacia dumosa, Gaylussacia
frondosa, Ilex glabra, Lyonia mariana
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant):
Arundinaria gigantea, Pteridium aquilinum
72
24b. Soil Summary (by community type) CT 3, CT 4
Soil series: Tomahawk
Soil classification: loamy, siliceous, thermic Arenic Hapludults
Soil association: Leon- Lynn Haven on Pamlico County General Soil
Map (1972) ; Leon - Tomahawk-Rutlege in Soil Survey of Pamlico County
(1982, in manuscript) .
pH class: very strongly acid
Source of information: See Soil Summary for CT 1, CT 2
Other notes:
24c. Hydrology Summary (by community type) CT 3, CT 4
Hydrologic system: Terrestrial
Hydrologic subsystem: Mesic
Water chemistry: Fresh
Water regime: not applicable
Drainage class: moderately well to somewhat poorly drained
Drainage basin: Neuse River primarily; some areas of this community
on the north end of Minnesott Ridge drain to the Pamlico and Bay Rivers.
Hydrology characterization: A moderately well to somewhat poorly drained
mesic terrestrial system.
73
24d. Topography Summary : CT 3 , CT 4
Land form: relict beach ridge
Shelter: open to partly sheltered
Aspect: flat
Slope Angle : nearly level
Profile : gently convex
Surface patterns: smooth, with local hummocks and depressions caused
by windthrow of trees and possibly by removal of stumps for sale.
Position: on the nearly flat crest of Minnesott Ridge.
25. Physiographic characterization of natural area:
Fire-maintained climax wetland and transitional upland pine com-
munities of a psammosere on a beach ridge and marine scarp system,
underlain by Pleistocene marine sands, draining into the Neuse, Bay
and Pamlico Rivers, and in the Outer Coastal Plain Region of the
Embayed Section, Coastal Plain Province.
Geological Formation:
Underlain by Minnesott Sand (relict beach and dune deposits) ,
over units of the Flanner Beach Formation, over pre-Quaternary rocks
of the Yorktown Formation. The Grantsboro Scarp marks the boundary
of the Pamlico Terrace to the east and the Chowan Terrace to the west.
Geological Formation age :
Minnesott Sand - Pleistocene epoch; "lower Wisconsin and/or
upper Sangamon (?) " interglacial, 50,000 to
75,000 years. B.P.
Flanner Beach Formation - Pleistocene; "lower Sangamon or pre-
Sangamon (?) " 100,000 years B.P.
Yorktown - Pliocene or Miocene; 7,000,000 years B.P.
References Cited:
Reconaissance Geology of the Submerged and Emerged Coastal Plain
Province, Cape Lookout Area, North Carolina. Robert B. Mixon and
Orrin H. Pilkey. USGS Professional Paper 859 (1976) .
74
26. Summary - Endangered and threatened species
Name of species; Dionaea muscipula (Dionaeaceae) venus ' flytrap
Species legal status and authority: Considered a threatened endemic
by Hardin in Cooper et al. (1977). Not listed by the North Carolina
Plant Protection Board.
Number of populations on site: two
Number of individuals per population: 30 and several hundred
Size or Maturity of individuals: various; immature to mature
Phenology of population:
Eg: vegetative % 25
flowering % 0
fruiting % 75
General vigor of population: very vigorous
Disturbance or threats to population: loss of habitat through succession
to more closed conditions; widening of NC 306
Habitat characteristics
Plant community: pond pine-longleaf pine/mixed shrubs; along
open roadsides maintained by mowing
Topography: Flat
Soil Series: Leon
Microclimate: not determined
Drainage basin: Neuse and Bay Rivers
Other plants and animal species present: Polygala lutea, Polygala
ramosa, Spiranthes sp. , Drosera intermedia, Drosera leucantha,
Lacnanthes caroliniana, Zigadenus glaberrimus
AERIAL OR DETAILED MAPS WITH POPULATIONS CLEARLY MARKED.
75
26. Smnmary - Endangered and threatened species
Name of species: red-cockaded woodpecker
Species legal status and authority: endangered species on both
Federal and state lists (Cooper et al. 1977 and Federal Register
10/30/70)
Number of populations on site: one
Number of individuals per population: not determined; at North Minnesott
Ridge natural area, two birds observed February 26, 1982, one on May 14, 1982,
and one active cavity tree located; at South Minnesott Ridge natural area
several inactive cavity tress are present but no birds were observed.
Size or Maturity of individuals: adults
Phenology of population: not applicable
Eg: vegetative % not applicable
flowering % not applicable
fruiting % not applicable
General vigor of population: fair; probably reproducing, but scarcity
of potential cavity trees may be limiting. Some good quality foraging
habitat is present on both natural areas.
Disturbance or threats to population: Cutting of old-growth pines or
extensive cutting of younger stands would reduce suitability of habitat.
The continued occurrence of fire is needed to control shrub growth and
maintain structure of vegetation preferred by this species.
Habitat characteristics
Plant community: Longleaf pine savanna and pond pine/shrub
communities
Topography: not applicable
Soil Series: not applicable
Microclimate: not applicable
Drainage basin: not applicable
Other plants and animal species present: See Master Species Lists.
AERIAL OR DETAILED MAPS WITH POPULATIONS CLEARLY MARKED,
76
27. Master species lists:
VASCULAR PLANTS
(listed alphabetically by family)
ACERACEAE
Acer rubrum
ANACARDIACEAE
Rhus copallina
API ACE AE
Ptilimnium capillaceum
AQUIFOLIACEAE
Ilex coriacea
I • glabra -
I opaca
ASTERACEAE
Chaptalia tomentosa
Erigeron sp.
Pterocaulon pycnostachyum
BLECHNACEAE
Woodwardia virginica
CLETHRACEAE
Clethra alnifolia
CYPERACEAE
Rhynchospora pallida
CYRILLACEAE
Cyrilla racemiflora
DIAPENSIACEAE
Pyxidanthera barbulata var. barbulata
DIONAEACEAE
Dionaea muscipula
DROSERACEAE
Drosera capillaris
D. intermedia
D. leucantha
EBENACEAE
Diospyros virginiana
ERICACEAE
Gaultheria procumbens
Gaylussacia dumosa
G. frondosa
Kalmia angustifolia
Leucothoe racemosa
Lyonia ligustrina
L. lucida
L. mariana
Rhododendron atlanticum
Vaccinium corymbosum
V. crassifolium
V. stamineum
V. tenellum
77
EUPHORBIACEAE
Cnidoscolus stimulosus
FABACEAE
Clitoria mariana
Stylosanthes biflora
Baptisia tinctoria
FAGACEAE
Quercus falcata
Q. incana
Q. laevis
Q. marilandica
Q. nigra
Q. phellos
GENTIANACEAE
Sabatia diformis
HAEMODORACEAE
Lacnanthes caroliniana
HAMAMELIDACEAE
Fothergilla gardenii
IRIDACEAE
Sisyrinchium sp.
LAURACEAE
Persea borbonia
Sassafras albidum
LENTIBULARIACEAE
Utricularia sp.
LILIACEAE
Aletris farinosa
Smilax laurifolia
Zigadenus glaberrimus
LOGANIACEAE
Gelsemium sempervirens
LYCOPODIACEAE
Lycopodium alopecuroides
MAGNOLIACEAE
Magnolia virginiana
MELASTOMATACEAE
Rhexia alifanus
MYRICA6EAE
Myrica cerifera
M. heterophylla
NYSSACEAE
Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora
ONAGRACEAE
Ludwigia sp.
ORCHIDACEAE
Calopogon pulchellus
Spiranthes sp.
OSMUNDACEAE
Osmunda cinnamomea
0. regalis
78
PINACEAE
Pinus palustris
P. serotina
POACEAE
Andropogon sp.
Aristida striata
Arundinaria gigantea
POLYGALACEAE
Polygala cruciata
P. lutea
P. ramosa
PTERIDACEAE
Pteridium aquilinum
ROSACEAE
Rubus sp .
SALICACEAE
Salix sp.
SARRACENIACEAE
Sarracenia flava
SCROPHULARIACEAE
Gratiola pilosa
THEACEAE
Gordonia las ian thus
VITACEAE
Vitis rotundifolia
XYRIDACEAE
Xyris sp»
AMPHIBIANS
Oak Toad
Southern Cricket Frog
Pine Woods Treefrog
Little Grass Frog
Carpenter Frog
79
BIRDS
(Emphasis of bird lists is on breeding or summering
species; lack of adequate field work during the other
seasons prevented compilation of a complete list.)
KEY
PR = Permanent resident
SR = Summer resident
WR = Winter resident
T = Transient; spring or fall
PV, SV, WV - Visitor; permanent, summer, or winter
* = Breeding or suspected breeding at site
Turkey Vulture PV
Black Vulture PV
Red-shouldered Hawk PV
Bobwhite PR*
Mourning Dove PR*
Yellow-billed Cuckoo SR*
Barred Owl PV
Whip-poor-will SR*
Common Nighthawk SR*
Common Flicker PR*
Pileated Woodpecker PV
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker WR or WV
Downy Woodpecker PR*
Red-cockaded Woodpecker PR*
Great Crested Flycatcher SR*
Eastern Wood Pewee SR*
Purple Martin SV
Blue Jay PR*
Common Crow PR*
Fish Crow SR or SV
Carolina Chickadee PR*
Tufted Titmouse PR*
Brown-headed Nuthatch PR*
Carolina Wren PR*
Gray Catbird SR or PR*
American Robin WR
Eastern Bluebird PR*
Golden-crowned Kinglet WR
Ruby-crowned Kinglet WR
White-eyed Vireo SR or PR*
Worm-eating Warbler SR*
Yellow-rumped Warbler WR
Yellow-throated Warbler SR*
80
Pine Warbler PR*
Prairie Warbler SR*
Common Yellowthroat PR*
Yellow-breasted Chat SR*
Hooded Warbler SR*
Bobolink T
Brown-headed Cowbird PR*
Summer Tanager SR*
Cardinal PR*
Indigo Bunting SR*
Rufous-sided Towhee PR*
Song Sparrow WR
MAMMALS
White-tailed Deer
Eastern Mole
Fox Squirrel
Black Bear
Note: no reptile list was recorded.
81
NATURAL AREA INVENTORY FORM
(To be prepared for each site)
Basic Information Summary Sheet
Natural Area Name: Northwest Pocosin
2. County: Pamlico
3. Location: Tract is centered about 2.5 miles due west of where
NC 306 crosses the Pamlico/Beaufort County line , in
the northwest corner of the county. It is bordered
by the Craven County line on the northwest, the
Beaufort County line on the northeast, and parts of
Whiskey, Beltline and other roads along the south-
west and south.
4. Topographic quadrangle (s) : Reelsboro (1974)
Bayboro (1974)
both 7.5 min.
Size: 12,500 acres, measured with a grid calculator
Elevation: approximately 35' to 40' above mean sea level
7. Access: Best access to the roadless portion is on foot along the
bombardier track starting at the north end of Chamness II
Road (private road so named on NC Forest Service county
road map). Within 0.25 mile this track enters the low
pocosin and continues for several miles before dead-ending.
Other access points are off the boundary and interior
roads, to taller pocosin vegetation.
8. Names of investigators: Lance Peacock J. Merrill Lynch
P. 0. Box 6006 Route 2, Box 222-B
Raleigh, NC 27628 Enfield, NC 27823
9. Date(s) of investigation: February 24 and 25, April 14, May 14,
June 28 and July 12, 1982
10. Priority rating: High
82
Fig. 9- Access information:
NORTHWEST POCOSIN
study area
V
83
11a. Prose Description of Site:
INTRODUCTION
Although pocosins are a widely recognized feature of eastern
North Carolina, there exists no simple, unified statement of what
is meant by or included in the term. B. W. Wells (1928) called
pocosin "the most indefinite of the major communities" found in
the state's Coastal Plain. A brief working characterization of
the pocosin ecosystem includes the following points: pocosins
are nutrient-poor wetlands vegetated by combinations of pond
pine (Pinus serotina) , semi-evergreen shrubs , and greenbriers
(Smilax spp.) , with height and composition of vegetation varying
in response to recurrent fire , length of hydroperiod and mineral/
organic matter proportions in the soils. The vegetation also
responds to human activity, which has affected nearly all poco-
sins. Most major pocosins originated in blocked drainageways ,
and have spread far beyond the original blocked channels as
peat accumulated, mantling inter stream uplands. Pocosin vege-
tation is also found in some Carolina bays, in swales between
relict beach ridges and dunes, and around seepage areas and
streams in the Sandhills.
Pamlico County has three large pocosins: Bay City, Light
Ground and Northwest. Of these, the first two have been severely
altered by construction of roads and canals, and clearing for
agriculture and tree farming. Parts of Northwest Pocosin re-
main much closer to the original conditions of hydrology, soils
and fire.
The least-disturbed portion of the Northwest Pocosin natural
area is centered in an extensive roadless tract in the north-
western corner of the county, just south of the point at which
Pamlico, Craven and Beaufort Counties meet. This roadless tract
comprises about two thirds of the natural area, with the rest,
contiguous to the north, west and south having been roaded and
ditched. The most severely affected southerly portion of the
original pocosin is excluded from this report. The natural area
adjoins North Minnesott Ridge natural area to the east (see pp.
) ; and is bounded on the south by sections of Beltline
Road (from NC 306) , Chamness II Road, South Road, and overland
to Whiskey Road. Whiskey Road approximates the boundary on the
west side, and the Craven and Beaufort County lines close out
the boundary on the northwest and northeast, respectively.
84
The roadless section of the pocosin is about six square
miles, or 3800 acres, in area. Except for one small deposit
to the south, this six-mile expanse contains the only true
peat deposit known in Northwest Pocosin, estimated by Otte
and Ingram (1980) to be about three feet thick at the maxi-
mum. The rest of the pocosin is underlain by mineral soils,
some of which have a layer of organic material (ibid. ) .
The soils of the Northwest Pocosin may be viewed as a
group of three vast concentric mapping units, with deepest
peats in the center ringed by progressively shallower peat, and
finally mineral, soils. The pocosin is domed in the center
with elevations slightly exceeding 40 feet above sea level,
dropping to about 35 feet at the edges of the natural area,
except along the east side , where the concentric and domed
arrangement is truncated sharply by the Minnesott Ridge,
which rises to about 45 feet adjacent to the pocosin natural
area.
THE VEGETATION
Otte (1981) proposes a basic pocosin classification which
relates vegetation to combined factors of peat depth, seasonal
wetness, and nutrient availability from underlying mineral
strata or some other source outside the pocosin system. Otte's
classification is summarized in Table 1 , and is used in the
following discussion of the plant communities present in the
Northwest Pocosin.
Several natural communities are found in the pocosin, with
shorter, semi -evergreen shrub communities (Otte's high pocosin
type) predominant over the deepest peats, and taller pond pine
communities (Otte's pond pine woodland and pond pine forest)
occurring on the fringes of the central shrub-dominated area.
These communities will be described in order from deeper to
shallower peat sites.
At the heart of Northwest Pocosin is an area of deepest
peat soils, mapped as Dare muck (dysic, thermic Typic Medisa-
prists; SCS, 1981). Associated with these Dare soils is the
relatively low, predominantly evergreen shrub community which
falls within the lower height range of Otte's high pocosin
criteria, which include: two to four feet of peat, water
table at the surface much of the year and rarely falling to
the level of the underlying mineral sediments , shrub height
four to eight feet, pond pines about 25 feet tall and widely
scattered. (Otte's classification is based on a set of grada-
85
tional characters; his types are in effect representative
points selected from a vegetation continuum.)
This high pocosin community (1850 acres) is generally
dominated by a dense shrub layer of titi (Cyrilla racemiflora) ,
loblolly bay ( Gordon i a lasianthus) and fetterbush (Lyonia
lucida) . A sparse to scattered canopy of very stunted,
gnarled pond pines about 15 feet tall emerges from the shrubs ,
and dense greenbriers (Smilax laurifolia) intertwine with the
rest of the vegetation. The community is characterized as
Pinus serotina/Cyrilla racemiflora-Lyonia lucida//Smilax
laurifolia (pond pine/titi-fetterbush//greenbrier; CT 1) .
Although pond pine, as a characteristic species, is included
in the community name, the true dominants of this type are
shrubs and herbs.
Along bombardier trails which penetrate the high pocosin,
species of shorter stature are common. Leatherleaf (Cassandra
calyculata) is a prevalent low shrub in these tracks, and
yellow pitcherplant (Sarracenia flava) , purple pitcherplant
(Sarracenia purpurea) , and a sedge (Car ex walteriana) are also
associated. These species respond to the open conditions cre-
ated by the passing vehicles, and possibly to locally wetter
spots in the ruts. The open bombardier ruts mimic conditions
which would prevail under a regime of more frequent fire, which
would favor pitcherplants and other herbaceous and low shrub
species throughout the pocosin by maintaining the open, full
sun sites these plants need. Fires in pocosins also often burn
out small depressions which provide locally wetter conditions
and increase microhabitat diversity. The herb layer is depau-
perate in all the pocosin communities described here , except
in association with disturbance resulting from human activity.
Surrounding the Dare muck soils is a wide band of Croatan
muck (loamy, siliceous, dysic, thermic Terric Medisaprists;
SCS, 1981) , which form the second concentric band in the
natural area soilscape. Croatan soils are shallow Histosols;
they comprise the most extensive single soil series in the
natural area, and support a rather heterogeneous vegetation
which relates to peat depth variation, timbering history, and
recent disturbance by ditching.
The best example seen in Northwest Pocosin of Otte ' s pond
pine woodland type occurs over Croatan soils, along Loop Road
to the northeast of CT 1 (see map). The large, old-growth
trees of this 235-acre stand are about 12 inches dbh (diameter
at breast height) and 70-80 feet tall. The canopy is open to
scattered; the thick shrub layer is six to ten feet tall,
consisting of sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) , titi,
86
bitter gallberry (Ilex glabra) , low red bay (Persea borbonia) ,
low sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana) and loblolly bay. All
these physical parameters fall within Otte's proposed pond
pine woodland criteria. The community is characterized as
Pinus serotina/mixed pocosin shrubs//Smilax laurifolia (pond
pine/mixed pocosin shruhs//greenbrier; CT 2) .
Although tall, the pond pines here have a very character-
istic gnarled and twisted growth form, with many dead trunks
present, killed by fire and possibly other agents. Recent
fire in the vicinity of this old-growth pond pine stand has
created a mosaic of different communities, most having large,
isolated individual pond pines which seem to be the remnants
of denser stands killed by fire.
Immediately adjacent to the old-growth pond pine woodland,
across Loop Road, is a large area which burned about ten years
ago, based on annual ring counts of sapling pond pines. Loop
Road apparently acted as a firebreak, and is now at the boundary
between the two abruptly different communities. The ten-year-
old burn is dominated by zenobia (Zenobia pulverulenta) in
slightly lower areas and a mixture of bitter gallberry, titi
and other shrubs on relatively higher parts of the site; with
a dense regeneration of young pond pine saplings about eight
feet tall throughout the shrub layer. Also present are ex-
tremely scattered mature pond pines which survived the last
severe fire. No community type is designated for this loca-
tion, which demonstrates the early stages of secondary suc-
cession to pond pine woodland after very severe fire. Here
the pond pine canopy was removed, completely altering the
physiognomy of the community, but a young pond pine stand
is already well-established on the site. Presumably the
burned area can support a pond pine woodland community similar
to that immediately across Loop Road, and will be occupied by
the same community barring another killing fire.
Between the physiognomic extremes of old growth and re-
cent burn is another and very common vegetation type associated
with the Croatan muck soils in the Northwest Pocosin. This
commonly encountered vegetation type is termed pond pine
forest in Otte's classification. His criteria for this
type are: one to two feet of sandy peat, water table in
underlying mineral sediments much of the year, shrub height
10 to 20 feet, and pond pine height under 50 feet with canopy
closed.
Much of the pond pine forest in Northwest Pocosin is co-
dominated by loblolly bay (in addition to pond pine) , with
87
red and sweet bays and red maple (Acer rub rum) also present
in the canopy. In the shrub layer of this community are many
of the species already mentioned under CT 2 , as well as high-
bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) , sweet gallberry (Ilex
coriacea) and cane (Arundinaria gigantea) . The community type
is Pinus serotina-Gordonia lasian thus/mixed bay shrubs//Smilax
laurifolia (pond pine-loblolly bay/mixed bay shrubs//green-
brier; CT 3) . Relatively undisturbed areas of this community
(3100 acres) form a narrow fringe around the high pocosin
(CT 1) along most of its perimeter.
The extreme of this pond pine forest community is located
along Whiskey Road in the southwest corner of the natural area.
Here a small area (250 acres) of loblolly bay dominates the
canopy locally, in nearly pure stands 30-50 feet tall (see map) .
We did not determine whether the dominance by loblolly bay is
natural , or whether the stand resulted from selective logging
of pond pine. The stand is considered a sub-type of CT 3
rather than a separate community type.
To complete the review of the Northwest Pocosin, several
generally disturbed areas are briefly summarized. First, ex-
tensive additional areas of Croatan muck soils in the southern
half of the natural area, once vegetated by pond pine forest
and woodland types, are now much more disturbed than the pond
pine communities described above (CT 2 and CT 3) . In addition
to extensive roads and ditches , other disturbances include con-
siderable logging in the most accessible stands. This logging
removed primarily large pond pines. Much of the area is now
vegetated by a patchwork of pond pine stands varying greatly
in size and age. Although much old-growth pond pine remains,
it is in fragmented stands and scattered trees left after
cutting. The pond pine communities in this section are deemed
of insufficient quality to merit consideration as a significant
feature in this report, but this southern section of the natural
area is significant as habitat for black bear and to a lesser ex-
tent for the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Finally, an extensive band of Paxville mucky fine sandy
loam encircles the natural area. This is the third concen-
tric soils mapping unit, surrounding the Croatan and Dare
muck units. No vegetation of noteworthy natural quality
was located in association with the Paxville soils , but some
areas of this soil series are included in the natural area,
primarily as buffer.
38
ECOLOGY
The chief ecological factors operating in the Northwest
Pocosin are soil nutrients, hydrology and fire, with logging
and drainage being overriding and fairly recent additions to
the forces affecting the ecosystem. Evidence of fire is com-
mon throughout the natural area and its environs , in the form
of charred trees and abrupt changes in the character of the
vegetation across manmade firebreaks such as roads. The en-
tire plant species assemblage is fire adapted: able to sur-
vive fires and even promote fire-prone conditions, as well
as colonize burned areas, through such mechanisms as trunk
and root sprouts, serotinous cones and thick sclerophyllous
leaves rich in aromatic compounds (Christensen e_t a^. , 1981) .
Christensen e_t al. in their review note also that species
diversity in pocosins is greatest immediately after fire.
The authors tentatively relate the observed diversity to
local variation in the amounts of nutrients released by any
given fire, and to effects of fire on microclimate and water
availability. The authors conclude that the role of fire "in
maintaining species diversity [in pocosins] can not be over-
emphasized." (ibid. , p. 57).
Soil nutrient availability and hydrology are closely
related factors. As noted above, the deepest peats are
located in the center of the natural area, becoming gradually
more shallow as one moves toward the pocosin edge. This ar-
rangement is reflected in the concentric pattern of soil
series mapped in Northwest Pocosin: Dare muck-Croatan muck-
Paxville mucky fine sandy loam, from center to edge and from
deep to shallow organic to mineral soils. The vegetation
clearly responds to this factor of peat depth, with the lower
communities (high pocosin) in the center of the peat body
grading into pond pine woodland and forest in the surrounding
shallow peat margins. This pattern follows the general intra-
pocosin variation described by Otte (1981) .
The essence of the pocosin system is that it is nutrient-
poor or ombrotrophic (Otte, 1981; Daniel, 1981). The domed
peat deposits of the Northwest Pocosin are isolated from any
throughflowing water which could carry sediments and nutrients
into the system. There is no adjacent high ground (excepting
minor areas along Minnesott Ridge to the east) , and no source
of overbank flow from streams. Precipitation is the main
source of water entering the pocosin, and waterflow is es-
sentially out of the pocosin. Additionally, the deeper,
wetter peats more effectively isolate plant roots from under-
89
lying mineral sediments. All these effects are gradational
and most pronounced in the pocosin center, where nutrients
are most limited and vegetation lowest.
Human-caused disturbance is not absent from the natural
area, although its history and effects are difficult to dis-
cover and interpret. Certainly logging has gone on through-
out Northwest Pocosin for 150 years or more, but it is unknown
if shifts in community composition have resulted from selective
removal of certain tree species. Interestingly, virtually no
Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoiries^ has been noted
in the Northwest Pocosin; nor is bald cypress (Taxodium dis-
tichum) an iitroortant modern-day component.
WILDLIFE AND AVIAN DIVERSITY
The avifauna of Northwest Pocosin is highly responsive
to the structure of the vegetation, with extremes of breeding
bird diversity ranging from three species in the evergreen
shrub pocosin (CT 1) to nineteen in the old-growth pond pine
stand (CT 2). The latter site, with its tall open canopy
and numerous standing dead snags, is rich in feeding and
nesting niches lacking in the short pocosin. The pond pine
stand supported two unusual breeding species in the spring
and summer of 1982. A singing male house wren present on
May 14 was probably a breeding bird. The species is very
rare in the North Carolina Coastal Plain during the nesting
season. Unusual for the habitat were several orchard orioles,
present at the old growth stand on May 14 and noted again on
June 28.
Other notable birds present include Swainson's warbler,
present in a medium-height stand of pond pine, red maple and
loblolly bay, a somewhat unusual habitat for the species.
Black-throated green warblers are probably present as breeders
in the taller and denser pond pine forest stands where the
canopy is comprised of an even mix of pine, bay species and
red maple. The species occurs in the limited swamp forest
stands on the western edge of the natural area (not described
in this report) . Worm-eating warblers are probable breeders
in dense , moderately tall shrubs and low trees around the edges
of the natural area; singing males were observed in similar and
immediately adjacent habitats on the North Minnesott Ridge site
to the east. All three warblers are considered local to uncom-
mon breeding birds of North Carolina's Coastal Plain.
90
Red-cockaded woodpeckers occur in the Northwest Pocosin
in a population of undetermined size, but which is undoubtedly
small. One apparently active cavity tree in a pond pine was
located on July 12 , 1982 ; no birds were observed at this
cavity tree (see map) . Fairly extensive open stands of old-
growth pond pine are present in the natural area. Our ob-
servations conducted in several major pocosins of the outer
Coastal Plain during 1982 indicate the species is a rare and
easily overlooked inhabitant of extensive pond pine pocosins.
Black bear sign was evident almost everywhere along the
roads traversing the natural area; this observation is con-
sistent with the conclusions of wildlife biologists as to the
importance of large pocosins for black bear denning, feeding
and cover areas (see Hamilton and Marchinton, 1980).
91
lib. Prose Description of Site Significance:
The primary significance of Northwest Pocosin is in
its relatively undisturbed condition. Although it is small in
acreage in comparison both to its original size and to other
pocosin systems in the state, Northwest Pocosin is in several
aspects superior to pocosin lands elsewhere in Pamlico County.
First, most of the natural area is unditched, and appears to
be hydrologically undisturbed. Large tracts of undisturbed
pocosin wetland in private ownership are virtually absent in
Pamlico County, and are becoming extremely scarce in North
Carolina overall. In 1962 nearly 20 percent of Pamlico
County was rated as "natural pocosin" (Wilson, 1962) ; today
this figure has dropped to between 5 to 10 percent, repre-
senting a major loss of wetland habitat.
Of the several pocosin vegetation types present in
Northwest Pocosin, high pocosin (sensu Otte, 1981) forms the
least disturbed single community. More extensive examples
of high pocosin are known in other parts of the Coastal Plain,
but few are as completely undisturbed. The high pocosin por-
tion of the natural area is notable in its extent and for its
apparently uninterrupted fire history. (The latter observation
is based on appearance of the vegetation in the field and on
review of aerial photography.) The old-growth pond pine wood-
land and younger pond pine forest communities are also very
well developed. The former is limited in extent; the latter
is the largest pocosin community in the natural area.
The Northwest Pocosin natural area is contiguous with
the natural area located along the north (Pamlico County)
section of Minnesott Ridge on the east, and with areas of
cypress-gum swamp along Upper Broad Creek to the west (not
described in this document) . Thus an intact system exists
from pine flatwoods through a broad expanse of several poco-
sin types, to swamp forest. Each natural area complements
and buffers the other; and both share populations of signif-
icant faunal elements such as the black bear and red-cockaded
woodpecker.
Excellent black bear habitat is present throughout the
pocosin natural area; the chief limitation is probably the
small size of the area relative to the needs of a self-
maintaining bear population.
Fairly extensive red-cockaded woodpecker habitat is
present, including open, old-growth pine stands with a low
understory, which provide potential cavity trees; and pine
92
stands of various ages and densities for foraging. The
habitat seems to be currently under-utilized. Probably
the main factor preventing an increase in the population
of this species in the natural area is a high rate of
loss of potential cavity trees to logging. Secondarily,
logging fragments old growth stands , causing abnormal
dispersion of cavity trees, and hence exposing the red-
cockaded woodpecker clan to more intense competition with
other cavity-inhabiting vertebrates in a habitat poor in
natural cavities (Jackson, 1977) .
93
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Fig. 10. Significant features;
NORTHWEST POCOSIN
r\
\
/
natural area boundary
(community type locations are
mapped generally)
97
Legal Status, Use, and Management
13. Ownership type by percent area: Type
Private 100
Public
Unknown
14. Number of Owners: one
15. Nane(s) of owner (s) and/or custodian (s) (with addresses, phone numbers,
other pertinent information) ,
1) Texasgulf, Inc.
P. 0. Box 425
Aurora, NC 27806
16. N'ame(s) of knowledgeable person(s) (with addresses, phone numbers, other
pertinent information).
Lee J. Otte
Department of Geology
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27834
17. Attitude of owner or custodian toward preservation (contacted?)
Unknown .
98
18,
Uses of natural area;
Timber production has been the major use of Northwest
Pocosin for at least 150 years, and continues to be the
main contemporary use. Logging has been cyclical, with
each new cutting cycle concentrating on the commercially
valuable tree species and individuals of that day. Recently,
pond pine stands have been the main source of timber.
Hunting is a historic and continuing use of the natural
area, kept to a low level of intensity by the inaccessibility
of the pocosin. Certain potential uses of the area are dis-
cussed below under Item #22.
19, Uses of surrounding land:
Wildland
60
b. Agricultural land_
c. high-intensity forestry 40
% d. developed %
20. Preservation Status:
Cat
* %
*Description of preservation status
6
100
Private land, not protected by owner.
21. Regulatory protections in force:
Drainage may be regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers, if certain
technical criteria of flow rates are met.
99
22 . Threats :
Logging is a continuing threat to old-growth pond pine
stands in the natural area, and will eventually eliminate
the red-cockaded woodpecker through destruction of its
feeding, roosting and nesting habitat. Disturbance of
the natural area by logging will be severely compounded
if pine plantations are developed in the pocosin, as has
happened on its fringes and extensively in other pocosins
of Pamlico County. Very recently, apparent reconnaissance
of mineral deposits has been conducted in the center of
the high pocosin, with accompanying bombardier trails and
exploratory pits. These disturbances, while minor, may
presage a broad-scale operation in the area, possibly to
produce phosphates. Agriculture is presumably a potential
source of disturbance. Intensive uses such as mining,
agriculture and tree farming will destroy the pocosin
as a natural system. The peat resource of the Northwest
Pocosin is not highly rated by Otte and Ingram (1980) .
23. Management and Preservation Recommendation:
The central portion of Northwest Pocosin is one of the
state's most natural expanses of shrub pocosin vegetation in
private ownership. It is less disturbed than many parts of
the Croatan National Forest pocosins and Holly Shelter Game
Lands, although smaller than these publicly-owned pocosins.
Northwest Pocosin natural area is similar in extent and con-
dition to the Green Swamp Nature Preserve in Brunswick County
(especially when adjacent Minnesott Sand Ridge habitats are
considered) .
The protection of Northwest Pocosin will also benefit
Pamlico County in multiple ways. In addition to maintenance
of habitat diversity, the pocosin can act as a black bear
refuge, hunting area for other game species, and is valuable
as wetlands. It is the last partially undisturbed pocosin in
Pamlico, a county which has seen two of its three large poco-
sins drained and undergoing development.
Protection of the area is perhaps best pursued in terms
of wetlands and game values. An appropriate ultimate holder
is the North Carolina Coastal Federation or a like
group empowered to hold title to wetlands. The state's Wild-
life Resources Commission is an alternative managing agency.
100
The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program should initiate
contacts with the owner, Texasgulf, to explore corporate
intentions for the site, and to present and discuss the
natural values of this large, undisturbed natural area.
Pocosin management problems include continuance
of a natural fire regime, maintenance and monitoring of
endangered species populations, hydrologic monitoring,
and hunting control. All these problems will be en-
countered on any Northwest Pocosin preserve which may
be established.
101
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 1
Community type: Pinus serotina/Cyrilla racemiflora-Lyonia lucida//
Smilax laurifolia
Community cover type: Pinus serotina
General habitat feature: high pocosin
Average canopy height: approximately 15 feet
Estimated age of canopy trees: unknown
Canopy cover : sparse to scattered
Estimated size of community: 1850 acres
Successional stage: pyroclimax
Sere type : pelopsammosere
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
none
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Persea borbonia, Gordonia lasianthus, Magnolia virginiana,
Ilex glabra, Kalmia angustifolia, Cassandra calyculata, Myrica cerifera
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Carex walteriana, Sarracenia flava, Woodwardia virginica
102
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 2
Community type: Pinus serotina/mixed pocosin shrubs// Smilax
laurifolia
Community cover type: Pinus serotina
General habitat feature: pond pine woodland (sensu Otte 1981)
Average canopy height: 70-80 ft.
Estimated age of canopy trees: 70+ yrs. (?)
Canopy cover : open to scattered
Estimated size of community: 235 acres
Successional stage: pyroclimax
Sere type: pelopsammosere
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
none
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Cyrilla racemiflora, Clethra alnifolia, Persea borbonia,
Magnolia virginiana, Gordonia lasianthus, Ilex glabra
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
None
103
Natural Characteristics Summary
24a. Vegetation - Biotic Community Summary CT 3
Community type: Pinus serotina-Gordonia lasianthus (or Gordonia
lasianthus) /mixed bay shrubs//Smilax laurifolia
Community cover type: Pinus serotina-Gordonia lasianthus
General habitat feature: pond pine forest (sensu Otte, 1981)
Average canopy height: 25-35 ft.
Estimated age of canopy trees: unknown
Canopy cover : closed to open
Estimated size of community: 3100 acres
Successional stage: serai to near-climax
Sere type : pelopsammosere
Common canopy species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Acer rubrum
Common sub-canopy or shrub stratum species in community cover or
community type (but not dominant) :
Persea borbonia, Ilex glabra, Ilex coriacea, Lyonia lucida
Common herb stratum species in community cover or community type
(but not dominant) :
Arundinaria gigantea
104
24b. (1) Soil Summary (by community type) - CT 1
Soil series: Dare muck
Soil classification: dysic, thermic, Typic Medisaprists
Soil association: Ponzer-Pamlico (SCS, 1972); or
Croatan-Dare (SCS; in manuscript).
pH class : extremely acid
(2) Soil Summary (by community type) - CT 2, CT 3
Soil series: Croatan muck
Soil classification: loamy, siliceous, dysic, thermic
Terric Medisaprists
Soil association: Ponzer-Pamlico (SCS, 1972) ; or Croatan-
Dare (SCS; in manuscript) .
pH class : extremely acid
Source of information: General Soil Map, Pamlico County, USDA,
SCS (1972) ; Preliminary Soil Survey,
Pamlico County, USDA, SCS (1981); Soil
Survey, Pamlico County, USDA, SCS (in
manuscript) .
24c. Hydrology Summary (by community type) CT 1, CT 2, CT 3
Hydrologic system: Palustrine
Hydrologic subsystem: Interaqueous
Water chemistry: Fresh
Water regime : saturated
Drainage class : very poorly drained to poorly drained
Drainage basin: Neuse River, and to a small extent into the
Pamlico River.
Hydrology characterization: A very poorly drained to poorly
drained, saturated, interaqueous
fresh palustrine system.
105
24d. Topography Summary: CT 1 , CT 2 , CT 3
Landform: Pocosin; a slightly domed deposit of peats, with
peaty mineral soils.
Shelter: Open to partly sheltered
Aspect: not applicable
Slope Angle : nearly level
Profile: Flat
Surface patterns: irregular
Position: not applicable
25. Physiographic characterization of natural area:
Fire-influenced wetland communities (mostly climax) of a
pelopsammosere, on recent peats accumulated in a shallow de-
pression in the Chowan marine terrace, in the Inner Coastal
Plain Region of the Embayed Section of the Coastal Plain Pro-
vince.
Geological Formation:
Possibly underlain by units of the Quaternary Flanner
Beach Formation, over pre -Quaternary rocks of the Pliocene
to Miocene Yorktown Formation. The natural area lies on the
Chowan terrace.
Geological Formation age:
Flanner Beach Formation - Pleistocene; "lower Sangamon or
pre-Sangamon (?)"; 100,000 years BP
Yorktown - Pliocene or Miocene; 7,000,000 years BP
References Cited:
Reconnaissance Geology of the Submerged and Emerged Coastal
Plain Province, Cape Lookout Area, North Carolina. Robert B.
Mixon and Orrin H. Pilkey. USGS Professional Paper 859 (1976).
106
26. Summary - Endangered and threatened species
Name of species: red-cockaded woodpecker
Species legal status and authority: endangered species on both
Federal and state lists (Cooper e_t al. , 1977 ; and Federal
Register 10/30/70) .
Number of populations on site: one
Number of individuals per population: not determined, but few. No
birds were observed; one apparently active cavity tree (pond pine)
was located (see map) .
Size or Maturity of individuals: ?
Phenology of population: not applicable
Eg: vegetative %
flowering %
fruiting %
General vigor of population: unknown; limited by small population
size, coupled with habitat destruction and loss of cavity trees to
cutting. A fair amount of old-growth pine remains and appears suitable
for foraging and nesting.
Disturbance or threats to population: Cutting of old-growth pines or
extensive cutting of younger stands will reduce habitat suitability.
Land clearing for development of mineral resources may occur.
Habitat characteristics
Plant community: pond pine woodland and pond pine forest
(see Table 1) .
Topography: not applicable
Soil Series: not applicable
Microclimate: not applicable
Drainage basin: not applicable
Other plants and animal species present: See Master Species Lists.
AERIAL OR DETAILED HAPS WITH POPULATIONS CLEARLY MARKED,
107
26. Summary - Endangered and threatened species
Name of species: Black bear
Species legal status and authority: Special concern (Cooper
et al. , 1977)
Number of populations on site : one
Number of individuals per population : unknown
Size or Maturity of individuals : unknown
Phenology of population: not applicable
Eg : vegetative %
flowering %
fruiting %
General vigor of population: unknown
Disturbance or threats to population: hunting; habitat
destruction
Habitat characteristics
Plant community: various tall pond pine, tall bay and
low shrub-dominated communities.
Topography: not applicable
Soil Series : not applicable
Microclimate : not applicable
Drainage basin: not applicable
Other plants and animal species present: See Master Species
Lists.
AERIAL OR DETAILED MAPS WITH POPULATIONS CLEARLY MARKED.
108
27. Master species lists:
VASCULAR PLANTS
(listed alphabetically by family)
ANACARDIACEAE
Rhus copallina
AQUIFOLIACEAE
Ilex coriacea
I . glabra
BLECHNACEAE
Woodwardia virginica
CLETHRACEAE
Clethra alnifolia
CYPERACEAE
Carex walteriana
CYRILLACEAE
Cyrilla racemiflora
ERICACEAE
Cassandra calyculata
Gaylussacia frondosa
Kalmia angustifolia
Lyonia lucida
Rhododendron viscosum
Vaccinium corymbosum
Zenobia pulverulenta
GENTIANACEAE
Bartonia virginica
LAURACEAE
Persea borbonia
LILIACEAE
Smilax laurifolia
MAGNOLIACEAE
Magnolia virginiana
MYRICACEAE
Myrica cerifera
PINACEAE
Pinus serotina
POACEAE
Andropogon sp.
Arundinaria gigantea
ROSACEAE
Rubus sp .
Sorbus arbutifolia
SARRACENIACEAE
Sarracenia flava
S . purpurea
THEACEAE
Gordonia lasianthus
109
BIRDS
(Emphasis of bird lists is on breeding or summering
species; lack of adequate field work during the other
seasons prevented compilation of a complete list.)
KEY
PR = Permanent resident
SR = Summer resident
WR = Winter resident
T = Transient, spring or fall
PV, SV, WV = Visitor; year-round, summer, or winter
* = Breeding or suspected breeding at site
Red-shouldered Hawk PR*
Bobwhite PR*
Mourning Dove PR*
Common Flicker PR*
Pileated Woodpecker PV (?)
Hairy Woodpecker PR*
Downy Woodpecker PR*
Red-cockaded Woodpecker PR*
Eastern Kingbird SR*
Great Crested Flycatcher SR*
Acadian Flycatcher SR*
Eastern Wood Pewee SR*
Carolina Chickadee PR*
Brown-headed Nuthatch PR*
House Wren SR*
Carolina Wren PR*
American Robin WR
Eastern Bluebird PR*
White-eyed Vireo PR*
Swainson ' s Warbler SR*
Yellow-rumped Warbler WR
Yellow- throated Warbler SR*
Prairie warbler SR*
Common Yellowthroat PR*
Yellow-breasted Chat SR*
Hooded Warbler SR*
Orchard Oriole SR*
Rufous-sided Towhee PR*
110
MAMMALS
Rabbit sp.
White-tailed Deer
Black Bear
Mole sp.
Bobcat (?)
Note: no other vertebrate species lists were compiled.
Ill
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115
GLOSSARY
(from Bellis et al., 1975)
Area of Environmental Concern-(AEC) Especially fragile or ecolo-
gically unique areas of the North Carolina Coast where development
should occur only if it is in harmony with natural processes.
Areas of the coast where the public welfare might be endangered
by unwise manipulation of the environment.
BP - Before present.
canopy - A layer of leaves and branches formed by the interlocking
mosaic of tree tops in a forest.
Coastal Area Management Act of 1974 - An act passed by the North
Carolina legislature in 1974 intended to promote wide development
of North Carolina's coastal resources. Among other provisions
this act calls for the designation of certain especially sensi-
tive areas as 'Areas of Environmental Concern.'
cypress fringe - A straight or curved line of cypress running
parallel to the shoreline. Older cypress fringe has its trees
standing in water while young cypress fringe occupies sandy beaches
in front of eroding sand or clay banks.
dbh - Diameter at breast height (diameter of tree in inches
measured at a point 4.5 feet above the ground).
ecological succession - Process by which one community of living
organisms is gradually replaced by another. Usually each succes-
sive community is more stable than the last, thus leading toward
a final community especially well suited to the particular environ-
mental conditions existing at that location.
flood plain - Lowlands adjacent to a river or stream which become
inundated during periods of high flow. Flood plains are a natural
component of the river system and function as overflow storage areas.
msl - Mean sea level.
Pamlico Terrace - A low, flat, featureless, topographic surface
extending over the Coastal Plain of the Southeastern U.S. at
elevations less than 20 feet above sea level. It is considered
the relict sea floor of the Sangamon Interglacial.
Pamlimarle Peninsula - The peninsula bounded on the north by Alve-
marle Sound and on the south by the Pamlico River. Includes all of
Washington, Beaufort, and mainland portions of Dare and Hyde Counties,
116
peat - Accumulations of slowly decomposing plant remains. Peat
is formed in swamps and marshes. Erosion of peat soils releases
suspended organic matter into coastal waters as well as certain
'humic acids' which give water a tea colored stain.
Pleistocene Epoch - That period of earth history which saw the
advance and retreat of the four great Ice Ages. It is generally
considered to have begun between 1 and 2 million years ago and
to have continued up until about 18,000 years ago.
relict beach ridge - Throughout the Southeastern U.S. ancient
shorelines are detected at various elevations inland from the
coast. These shorelines are often manifested as continuous
ridges and are considered a product of higher stands of the
sea during the Pleistocene Ice Ages.
Sangamon Interglacial - A period of deglaciation (no continental
ice sheets) during the Pleistocene Epoch between the Illinoian
and Wisconsin Ice Ages. This period is generally considered
to have taken place about 80-100,000 years ago.
sp and spp - Species (singular and plural).
Suffolk Scarp - A topographic ridge rising from 20 to 40 feet above
sea level which runs parallel to the coast throughout North Carolina,
It is considered an ancient shoreline formed during the Pleistocene
Epoch.
swamp forest - Type of forest characterized by seasonal flooding
and water saturated organic soils. Water tupelo, swamp black gum
and bald cypress are dominant tree species.
Talbot (Chowan) Terrace - A rather flat but stream-dissected surface
lying at an average elevation of 40-45 feet throughout Southeastern
United States. It is considered to have been a sea floor during the
Pleistocene Epoch. In North Carolina it lies west of the topo-
graphic ridge known as the Suffolk Scarp.
Yorktown Formation - An ancient deposit of clay and clayey sand
which typically contains abundant marine fossils including clams,
snails, whale vertebrae, and shark teeth. It occurs extensively
over eastern North Carolina and is generally considered a deposi-
tional product of the Miocene Epoch which took place 15-20 million
years ago.
117
CEIP Publications
1. Hauser, E. W. , P. D. Cribbins, P. D. Tschetter, and R. D. Latta.
Coastal Energy Transportation Needs to Support Major Energy Projects
in North Carolina's Coastal Zone. CEIP Report #1. September 1981. $10.
2. P. D. Cribbins. A Study of OCS Onshore Support Bases and Coal Export
Terminals. CEIP Report #2. September 1981. $10.
3. Tschetter, P. D., M. Fisch, and R. D. Latta. An Assessment of
Potential Impacts of Energy-Related Transportation Developments on
North Carolina's Coastal Zone. CEIP Report #3. July 1981. $10.
4. Cribbins, P. S. An Analysis of State and Federal Policies Affecting
Major Energy Projects in North Carolina's Coastal Zone. CEIP Report
#4. September 1981. $10.
5. Brower, David, W. D. McElyea, D. R. Godschalk, and N. D. Lofaro.
Outer Continental Shelf Development and the North Carolina Coast:
A Guide for Local Planners. CEIP Report #5. August 1981. $10.
6. Rogers, Golden and Halpern, Inc., and Engineers for Energy and the
Environment, Inc. Mitigating the Impacts of Energy Facilities: A
Local Air Quality Program for the Wilmington, N. C. Area. CEIP
Report #6. September 1981. $10.
7. Richardson, C. J. (editor). Pocosin Wetlands: an Integrated Analysis
of Coastal Plain Freshwater Bogs in North Carolina. Stroudsburg (Pa):
Hutchinson Ross. 364 pp. $25. Available from School of Forestry,
Duke University, Durham, N. C. 27709. (This proceedings volume is for
a conference partially funded by N. C. CEIP. It replaces the N. C.
Peat Sourcebook in this publication list.)
8. McDonald, C. B. and A. M. Ash. Natural Areas Inventory of Tyrrell
County, N. C. CEIP Report #8. October 1981. $10.
9. Fussell, J., and E. J. Wilson. Natural Areas Inventory of Carteret
County, N. C. CEIP Report #9. October 1981. $10.
10. Nyfong, T. D. Natural Areas Inventory of Brunswick County, N. C.
CEIP Report #10. October 1981. $10.
11. Leonard, S. W., and R. J. Davis. Natural Areas Inventory for "Pender
County, N. C. CEIP Report #11. October 1981. $10.
12. Cribbins, Paul D., and Latta, R. Daniel. Coastal Energy Transporta-
tion Study: Alternative Technologies for Transporting and Handling
Export Coal. CEIP Report #12. January 1982. $10.
13. Creveling, Kenneth. Beach Communities and Oil Spills: Environmental
and Economic Consequences for Brunswick County, N. C. CEIP Report
#13. May 1982. $10.
%f6<>3^
CEIP Publications
14. Rogers, Golden and Halpern, Inc., and Engineers for Energy and the
Environment. The Design of a Planning Program to Help Mitigate Energy
Facility-Related Air Quality Impacts in the Washington County, North
Carolina Area. CEIP Report #14. September 1982. $10.
15. Fussell, J., C. B. McDonald, and A. M. Ash. Natural Areas Inventory
of Craven County, North Carolina. CEIP Report #15. October 1982.
$10.
16. Frost, Cecil C. Natural Areas Inventory of Gates County, North
Carolina. CEIP Report #16. April 1982. $10.
17. Stone, John R. , Michael T. Stanley, and Paul T. Tschetter. Coastal
Energy Transportation Study, Phase III, Volume 3: Impacts of Increased
Rail Traffic on Communities in Eastern North Carolina. CEIP Report #17.
August 1982. $10.
19. Pate, Preston P., and Jones, Robert. Effects of Upland Drainage on
Estuarine Nursery Areas of Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. CEIP
Report #19. December 1981. $1.00.
25. Wang Engineering Co., Inc. Analysis of the Impact of Coal Trains
Moving Through Morehead City, North Carolina. CEIP Report #25.
October 1982. $10.
26. Anderson & Associates, Inc. Coal Train Movements Through the City of
Wilmington, North Carolina. CEIP Report #26. October 1982. $10.
27. Peacock, S. Lance and J. Merrill Lynch. Natural Areas Inventory of
Mainland Dare County, North Carolina. CEIP Report #27. November 1982.
$10.
28. Lynch, J. Merrill and S. Lance Peacock. Natural Areas Inventory of
Hyde County, North Carolina. CEIP Report #28. October 1982. $10.
29. Peacock, S. Lance and J. Merrill Lynch. Natural Areas Inventory of
Pamlico County, North Carolina. CEIP Report #29. November 1982. $10.
30. Lynch, J. Merrill and S, Lance Peacock. Natural Areas Inventory of
Washington County, North Carolina. CEIP Report #30. October 1982.
$10.
31. Muga, Bruce J. Review and Evaluation of Oil Spill Models for Applica-
tion to North Carolina Waters. CEIP Report #31. August 1982. $10.
33. Sorrell, F. Yates and Richard R. Johnson. Oil and Gas Pipelines in
Coastal North Carolina: Impacts and Routing Considerations. CEIP
Report #33. December 1982. $10.
34. Roberts and Eichler Associates, Inc. Area Development Plan for Radio
Island. CEIP Report #34. June 1983. $10.
35. Cribbins, Paul D. Coastal Energy Transportation Study, Phase III,
Volume 4: The Potential for Wide-Beam, Shallow-Draft Ships to Serve
Coal and Other Bulk Commodity Terminals along the Cape Fear River.
CEIP Report #35. August 1982. $10.
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