4.4 Terrestrial Communities
location: Coastal Fringe Sandhill, Xeric Sandhill Scrub, and Pine/Scrub oak Sandhill types, Mesic Pine Flatwoods, and Piedmont Longleaf Pine Forest. Tese communities have in common a regime of frequent natural fres which once crept across vast areas of the landscape. Te ground cover is dominated by wiregrass and has a variety of other herbs and low shrubs. Te structure and composition of these communities at present strongly depends on the extent to which these fres have continued or have been replaced by prescribed fre. • In the three Sandhill community types a sparse midstory of scrub oaks is present, with the species varying with the types and variants. In the mesic pine fatwoods type, oaks are absent and the community has a distinctly two-layered structure of trees and grass. Te herb layer is often very diverse. With removal of fre, scrub oaks in the Sandhills community types and shrubs and hardwood trees in the fatwoods community types become dense and out-compete the herbs. • Piedmont Longleaf Pine forests are more poorly known. Most existing examples have a mixed canopy of longleaf, loblolly, and shortleaf pine, often mixed with Southern Red Oak and Post Oak. Tese communities probably once also had a grassy understory, but it is not known if wiregrass was once dominant.
Te 2005 WAP identifed dry Longleaf Pine as a priority habitat (see Chapter 5) (NCWRC 2005) .
4.4.13.2 Location of Habitat Te best remaining examples of the dry Longleaf Pine habitat in the Coastal Plain are on the military bases of Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Sunny Point, and Cherry Point, the Croatan National Forest, Holly Shelter Game Land, Goose Creek Game Land, and Sandhills Game Land. Most of the acreages on the above sites are in fair to good condition, due to regular prescribed burning. Tere are many other sites on both public and private lands where little to no burning has depleted the value of the habitat; these sites would thus be considered to be in poor condition. Piedmont Longleaf Pine forest examples are found mainly in Uwharrie National Forest. 4.4.13.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Severe wildfre in droughts or burning with excessive fuel loads may cause ecological damage. For particular species, especially insects, too frequent or too extensive burning (whether by wildfre or prescribed burns) can have major efects when coupled with loss of landscape integrity resulting from habitat loss. Efects may include some positive (longer
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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