Vol. 45 TORREYA December 1945 



Late Pleistocene Forests of Southeastern North Carolina 



Murray F. Buell 



An oak-pine-fir forest recorded by pollen preserved in lake sediments of 

 fine clay existed in southeastern North Carolina in what definitely was Wis- 

 consin time. Today there is no lake left, the clay sediments being overlain by 

 eight feet of peat. The bog concerned lies just west of Jerome in Bladen 

 County, North Carolina. It is ideally situated for recording the upland vegeta- 

 tion of the coastal plain of this section. It is immediately surrounded today by 

 the sand hill vegetation of the turkey oak-long leaf pine community (Quercus 

 catesbaei Michx. — Pinus palustris Mill.; Wells and Shunk, 1931) and a short 

 distance to the west is a fairly extensive oak-hickory-loblolly pine forest. With 

 the prevailing southwest winds, the bog and lake deposits of the Jerome bog 

 basin could be expected to reflect both the xeric vegetation of the sand ridge 

 which immediately surrounds the bog and the mesic vegetation of the sand 

 plain west of it. 



The pollen upon which this study is based was extracted from clay obtained 

 by use of the American peat sampler (Davis type). Only the carefully ex- 

 tracted central portion of the core was used. The pollen slides were prepared 

 by using the KOH method. The count was made from material mounted in 

 Canada balsam. The measurements of the fir pollen and pine pollen were 

 obtained from glycerine gelatin mounts which retain the fully expanded con- 

 dition typical of KOH treated material (Cain, 1944a). The measurements of 

 the fir and pine pollen are of grain length exclusive of bladders. (G-L, figure 

 1, p. 302 Cain, 1940). Percentages of pollen are given in terms of total tree 

 pollen only. 



Abies pollen occurs only within the bottom foot of the deposit and the 

 maximum is at six inches above the bottom. There were six tree genera present 

 at this time in sufficient quantities to leave their record. Three were of primary 

 importance: Quercus 38%, Pinus 38% and Abies 12%. The other three were 

 Carya 6%, Be tula 5% and Acer 1%. 



The Abies pollen ranges in size from 61.2 to 104.4 microns. The average of 

 100 measurements is 83.6 microns. The pine pollen based on 150 measure- 

 ments, ranges from 36.0 to 64.8 microns. The size frequency curve is bimodal 

 with a very pronounced peak at 46.8 microns and a secondary though very 

 distinct one at 54.0 microns. 



It would, of course, add a great deal if one could know the species. Thanks 

 to Cain's size frequency technique, one can venture to suggest them for Abies 

 and Pinus. There is little reason to suspect that the fir pollen is other than 

 that of Abies balsamea (L.) Mill, or A. jraseri (Pursh) Poir. or both. Cer- 



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