Chapter 4 Habitats
4.3.11 Upland Pools and Depressions 4.3.11.1 Ecosystem Description
Small, isolated wetlands, such as upland pools and depressions, are important areas of diversity for plants and animals, especially specialized amphibians that require these habitats for breeding. Typically, they include shallow depressions that hold water in wetter parts of the year. Many are ephemeral, drying during some part of the year (often in summer), but are flooded long enough into the growing season to contain wetland vegetation that contrasts with the surrounding uplands. They are filled by rainwater and local runoff so that water levels usually fluctuate over the course of a season, and from year to year (Schafale 2024) . Communities differ in overall hydroperiod, in soil, in slope, and in depth. Hydroperiod is the length of time that there is standing water at a particular location; it can also be defined as the number of days per year that an area of land is dry (Gaff et al. 2000) . Some ephemeral (temporary) pools are wet enough to accumulate muck on the bottom, while others remain sandy. Upland pools and depression communities occur in all regions of North Carolina; however, Piedmont and mountain upland pools and depressions have been categorized into one of several types as follows (Schafale 2024) . • Coastal Plain depression swamp (mixed and pocosin subtypes) • Coastal Plain seepage banks • Cypress savanna (acidic and typic subtypes) • Floating bog • Small depression drawdown meadow (boggy pool and typic subtypes); • Small depression pocosin (blueberry and typic subtypes) • Small depression pond (cutgrass prairie, open lily pond, and typic marsh subtypes) • Small depression shrub border • Upland depression swamp forest • Upland pool (typic Piedmont, Pleasant Grove, Roberdo, and mountain subtypes) • Vernal pool All of these natural community types often have abundant amphibian species. Those that dry annually or semi-annually benefit amphibians the most, due to the absence of fish, which would typically eat amphibian eggs and larvae. During heavy storm events, however, fish can be swept in by overbank flooding, reducing the suitability of these pools for amphibian breeding until they dry out again. 4.3.11.2 Location of Habitat Upland depression communities occur throughout North Carolina but are often overlooked features on the landscape mainly because they are difficult to discern on aerial photographs unless they are quite large. In the Piedmont and in the Mountains, these small wetland communities can be found on broad upland flats and occasionally on high ridge tops.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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