4.3 Wetland Natural Communities
and structure of habitats that have been degraded, and manage habitats for priority species (ACJV 2004) .
• Work with partners (e.g., NC Coastal Federation, Audubon NC, TNC, Ducks Unlimited) to leverage funding programs such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act that target conservation of coastal wetlands.
• Implement conservation measures outlined in the Albemarle–Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (see http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/apnep).
4.3.3 Floodplains—Blackwater Systems 4.3.3.1 Ecosystem Description
Floodplains are defned as “areas of low lying land that are subject to inundation by lat- eral overfow water from rivers or lakes with which they are associated” (Junk and Welcomme 1990; Tockner and Stanford 2002) . Other terms frequently used to refer to foodplains include alluvial forests, bottomlands, fuvial systems, riverine forests, or stream or riparian zones. Floodplains can be comprised of more than one community type since the timing, depth, and duration of fooding are considered the primary infuence on plant species compo- sition (Wharton et al. 1982; Kellison et al. 1998; Mitsch and Gosselink 2000; Burke et al.2003) . Te foodplain community will also be infuenced by variations in soils and microenvironments that occur in the landscape adjacent to the aquatic community. In its natural state, foodplains have high biodiversity and productivity as well as providing recreational and aesthetic values (Tockner and Stanford 2002) . Blackwater foodplains include the vegetated communities on the foodplains of blackwa- ter rivers. Blackwater rivers are lowgradient rivers in small watersheds where hydroperiods are characterized by short duration foods that may be deep and widespread, followed by extensive periods of lower discharge (Burke et al . 2003) . Te fow often is not sustained, and extended droughts during the growing season can occur in these foodplains (Wharton et al. 1982; Burke et al. 2003) . Contrary to brownwater rivers, they carry little mineral sediments (e.g., clay and silt). Instead, the water chemistry in blackwater rivers is dominated by dissolved organic matter leached from decomposing vegetation and is generally low in pH and nutrients. Te water is tea-colored but not cloudy. Te soils of blackwater foodplains are usually sandy or mucky and are acidic and relatively infertile. Many foodplains, particularly the larger ones, have at least some development of depositional features such as natural levees, point bars, and ridge-and-swale systems, but these are not as large or prominent as on brownwater rivers. Many smaller blackwater foodplains are flled with muck and are fat and featureless.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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