Chapter 4 Habitats
Ephemeral (temporary) pools are usually found in sandy uplands. Those that occur in the Piedmont are associated with mafic rocks or shale. Those in the Mountains occur on quartzite. Examples include Frogsboro Upland Depression Forest in Caswell Game Land; Badin Upland Depression Swamps in the Uwharrie National Forest; Meadow Flats in Duke Forest; and Bog Hole (Seventeen Frog Pond, Grassy Pond) on the Sandhills Game Land in Scotland County (an unusually wet example, transitional to Small Depression Pond). Carolina bays and limestone sinks are probably the best-known examples of isolated wetlands in North Carolina because they are easy to view on aerial or infrared photos of the region, and they are generally obvious on the landscape. Carolina bays and clay-based upland depressions occur throughout the Coastal Plain, whereas limestone sinks tend to occur in clusters in areas along the lower Coastal Plain – numerous limestone sinks are visible around the Boiling Springs Lakes area in Brunswick County. 4.3.11.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Isolated, ephemeral wetlands are regarded as one of the most endangered, and simultaneously one of the most biologically productive habitats in North America. Wetlands of this type are characterized by unique assemblages of flora and fauna that are not associated with permanent-water wetlands. In the Southeast, they serve as critical breeding habitat for several endangered species of amphibians. Many declining species of plants and animals depend on, or use, isolated, temporary wetlands. Land Use. Across the Southeast, most of these systems have been lost to draining for agriculture, commercial silviculture, and development. Others have been altered to retain the permanent water necessary to support fish populations. Further, many of the temporary wetlands that remain on the southeastern landscape have been greatly affected by lack of fire that would have naturally maintained them in an early successional condition. The resulting colonization by large overstory trees significantly alters these wetland systems such that they no longer support many of the rare species that depend on them. The vegetation of upland ephemeral pools varies widely because of natural and human-induced differences among ponds. Factors related to human-induced changes such as ditching and lowering of water tables through agricultural and urban uses have caused some pools to completely dry or revert to forested wetlands. Some upland ephemeral pools are maintained as open-canopy emergent wetlands because of naturally long hydroperiods that prevent the colonization of trees and shrubs (e.g., limestone sinks with a groundwater connection). Prescribed Suppression. However, many upland, isolated wetlands would have historically been maintained as open, “grassy” ponds through a combination of hydroperiod and fire regime processes (DeSteven and Toner 2004) . In these situations, summer fires would occasionally burn through the dry basins, limiting the establishment and growth of fire-intolerant woody species and controlling the buildup of excessive amounts of peat (Florida Natural Areas Inventory 1990) .
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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