4.3 Wetland Natural Communities
the Buckridge Preserve (Tyrell County), the only inland site that is part of the NC Coastal Reserve.
Examples of fre-managed streamhead pocosin can be found on Sandhills Game Land, Fort Bragg, Croatan National Forest, and Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. Te Croatan National Forest, Dare Bombing Range, Camp Lejeune, and Holly Shelter Game Land do conduct some pocosin burns, but all other fre introduced into pocosin habitats tends to be on small acreages (less than 100 acres). 4.3.8.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Peatland pocosin is a large, dominant habitat in the eastern part of the state and once occupied nearly 3 million acres from Virginia to Florida, with about 70% occurring in North Carolina. Only about 750,000 acres remain, with most of the area lost used for agriculture, forestry, and peat mining. Land Use. Logging, particularly of Atlantic white cedar and pond pine stands, altered food regime through ditching, constructing impoundments to store water, fre suppression, and conversion to agriculture or silviculture that fragment communities can signifcantly impact pocosin ecosystems. Te hydrologic changes resulting from ditches and canals developed to drain peatland pocosins for agriculture and forestry reduce the water holding capacity of the ecosystem and can alter the chemistry of nearby estuaries. Te ditches and canals result in the rapid drainage of rainwater into estuaries that become loaded with sed- iment and nutrients. Te deluge of freshwater into estuaries causes salinity values to plum- met while the nutrients cause eutrophication and oxygen depletion. Te result is severe alteration of habitat needed for wildlife in river mouths and estuaries near shore. Fire Suppression. Fire return intervals vary widely depending on vegetation, hydrology, and extent of organic soils. Fire suppression takes the peatland pocosin out of the normal 25- to 50-year burn cycle and allows the build up of fuel, because the acidic habitat has slow decomposition and rates of soil formation. Te build-up of fuel increases vulnerability to fres during dry summers. Impacts of fre suppression lead to larger, hotter fres in the vegetation and can cause ignition of peat fres that are difcult to extinguish. Similarly, the streamhead Atlantic White Cedar forest composition is afected by the fre cycle: fre suppression leads to accumulating fuel loads and a layer of thick, understory shrubs, and hardwood saplings.
4.3.8.4 Climate Change Compared to Other Threats Overall, climate change is not the most signifcant threat to peatland pocosins. Te most pressing climate change impacts on peatland pocosins will be from intense precipitation
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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