(Vaccinium corymbosum), and bitter gallberry (Ilex 

 glabra). The herbaceous layer is consistently 

 depauperate. Sphagnum spp. are found sporadical- 

 ly in patches where water stands on the surface. 

 Mats of partridge berry {Mitchella repens) oc- 

 casionally cover stumps and fallen logs. 



Ve getation analysis . Sampling of six cedar 

 stands by line intercept (Canfieid 1941) and quarter 

 point (Cottam and Curtis 1956) methods in 1982 by 

 theUSFWS(unpubl.) provides the only quantitative 

 vegetation data available to date on Dare County 

 white cedar (Table 12). Study sites are indicated on 

 Figure 40. The average cedar dbh for six sites 

 ranged from 13.7 to 32.5 cm. The largest diameter- 

 class stand was harvested soon after sampling. 



Canopy cover of white cedar ranged from 

 40% to 86%; cover contributed by additional species 

 in the canopy and subcanopy ranged from 13% to 

 77%. Unpublished quarter point data delineating the 

 character of each site is on file with the Office of 

 Ecological Services, USFWS, Raleigh, NC. 



In the largest size-class sampled (stand 

 #041; dbh aver 32.5 cm), white cedar contributed 

 81 % of the cover. The four other species recorded in 

 the canopy or subcanopy were black gum, red 

 maple, pine, loblolly bay, and red bay. White cedar 

 diameters ranged from 15 to 53 cm, the average 

 being 32.5. The multiple subcanopy and shrub 

 layers dominated by evergreen red bay and fetter- 

 bush under a tall canopy of white cedar was consis- 

 tent with observations by Peacock and Lynch (1982) 

 and by other wetland biologists mapping in stands of 

 harvestable size. 



7.3.4 Mixed forests 



Pooled or shallow standing water is often 

 present on the surface of mixed cedar stands. The 

 proportion of white cedar in the mixed lowland con- 

 ifer and hardwood swamps varies greatly. The har- 

 vest of certain species, particularly bald cypress and 

 cedar, has determined in part what species are 

 dominant today. The high proportion of lowland con- 

 ifers and the abundance of evergreen shrubs make 

 the physiognomy of these forests distinctly different 

 from that of the forest dominated by black gum 

 and/or cypress in flood plains of brown-water river 

 systems. The principal canopy species occur here in 

 proportions varying from site to site, with black gum 

 the dominant hardwood present. Either white cedar 

 or loblolly pine may be codominant. The amount of 

 cover contributed by these species is more variable 

 than that provided by black gum. White cedar is 

 found throughout the mature swamp forest stands as 

 majestic, straight-trunked, small crowned old- 

 growth trees. Individual cedars range from 46 to over 

 61 cm dbh. Loblolly pine is more scattered, but often 

 attains comparable diameters and usually exceeds 

 cedar in height. Emerging from the canopy at many 

 sites are scattered old-growth bald cypress left by 

 loggers as cull trees. Bald cypress was probably a 

 more significant component of the Alligator River 

 swamps before selective timbering. Several other 

 species reach the canopy, but are of far less impor- 

 tance than the principal species. Red maple is locally 

 dominant where cypress, cedar, and black gum have 

 been removed or thinned by logging. Pond pine and 

 isolated large sweet bay are occasionally found in the 

 canopy. 



Table 12. Vegetation cover Summary of line-intercept data from six Atlantic white cedar stands in Dare 

 County, North Carolina showing the variations in cover ratios and sizes of cedar. From USFWS, unpublished 

 HEP analysis data (1982). 



Stand Ave-DBH 

 # white cedar 

 (cm) 



Total % cover 

 white cedar 



Total % cover other 

 canopy-subcanopy 

 species^ 



Total % cover 

 shrub species^ 



Total % cover 

 herb species^ 



Soil 

 series 



Percent cover may exceed 100% due to the presence of overlapping vegetative strata. 



75 



