view occur along the Juniper and Town Creek drainages. 



D, Bay Forest Community 



The bay forest community discussed is essentially that described 

 by Kologiski (1977) in his Green Swamp study, and occurs on broad, 

 flat interfluves within the county. Dominant canopy species are red 

 maple, Atlantic white cedar ( ChamaQcyparis thyoides ) , loblolly bay 

 ( Gordonia lasianthus ) , sweet bay ( Magnolia virginiana ) , red bay 

 ( Persea borbonia ) , pond pine ( Pinus serotina ) , swamp black gum, and 

 pond cypress, rarely in pure stand, but rather, typically in one of 

 a seemingly endless array of combinations. A dense shrub — transgres- 

 sive layer, forming a continuous "stratum" from near ground to canopy 

 level, is dominated by "ericaceous" species, such as shining fetter- 

 bush ( Lyonia lucida ) , gallberries ( Ilex coriacea , I^, glabra ) , blue- 

 berries (Vaccinium spp.), titi ( Cyrilla racemi flora ) , and honey-cup 

 ( Zenobia pulverulenta ) . The ever-present laurel-leaved greenbrier 

 (Smilax laurifolia ) is abundant in all strata. Soils are generally 

 Terric to Typic Medisaprists and Typic Humaquepts. 



This community has historically been subject to relatively fre- 

 quent fire, and it is Isirgely this factor — along with post-fire seed 

 ■ sources--which has determined the present species composition of 

 various sites. In addition, because of certain common factors — soil 

 properties, fire frequency, moisture relations, etc, — swamp forest, 

 bay forest, and pocosin at times may intergrade in a heterogeneous 

 assemblage intermediate between "characteristic" community types of 

 each, necessitating a somewhat arbitrary assignment into any single 

 vegetation category. 



The best intact example of this plant community occurs in the 

 northwest portion of the Green Swamp, between highway NC 211 and 

 S.R. 15^2 (Prospect Ridge), but is at present rapidly being altered 

 for eventual conversion to pine plantation, 



E. Lowland Pine Communities 



Lowland pine communities are the widespread wetland vegetation 

 types which cover a large percentage of mainland Brunswick County, 

 typically occupying low marine ridge and swale areas, Pleistocene 

 backbarrier flats, and other broad interfluves. Both divisions 



