vegetation are discussed below. It should be mentioned at the outset that, 

 as is usually the case in coastal plain vegetational communities, abundant 

 evidences, e.£. , charred stumps and tree trunks, clustered sten arrangements, 

 eto. , indicate the important role played by fire in the past development 

 and maintenance of the bog and surrounding bay communities. 



Bog communities— The vegetation combinations found within the bog itself 



Bay be divided into three community types: 



1) Black gum. Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora. Dwarfed black gum approx- 

 imately 2m in height and 5 to 6 cm dbh (diameter at breast height), 

 and having swollen bases, dominate much of the bog, with nothing, 

 other than occasional pockets of sphagnum moss ( Sphagnum sp.), 

 growing below the gun. Water within the bog (pond) is deepest 

 here, seasonally to 40cm, 



2) Black gum/diffuse rush. Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora/Juncus diffusissimus . 

 The water level is slightly shallower within this community type, 



and black gum forms an open canopy over diffuse rush. Sphagnum moss 

 may or may not be present as a ground-covering mat. 



3) Diffuse rush — yellow-eyed grass — beak rush. Juncus diffusissimus— 

 Xyris fimbriata— 3hyncospora chalarocephala . A combination of diffuse 

 rush and yellow-eyed grass share dominance' in these treeless areas. 

 Beak rush may share dominajice within this community tj-pe, or may 

 dominate it altogether. Sphagnum moss usually covers the surface 



' of the ground here. 



In addition, the presence of a large and occasionally dense, healthy, 

 reproducing population of sweet pitcher plant ( Sarracenia rubra ) should 

 be mentioned as occurring within the bog community at various scattered 

 localities, characteristically growing on thick sphagnum mats. 



Disturbed savannah community — A brief mention should be made of the vege- 

 tation which exists between the bog ajid highway NC 130, in the power line 

 right-of-v/ay • A disturbed — the area is mowed— mixed evergreen shrubs/ 

 mixed graminoids community type occurs here in a zone some 10 to 15n 

 in width. 



Surrounding bay communities — The bog (pond) area itself is surrounded by 

 an open, pine flatwoods cocnunity, which gradually changes to a denser, 

 fairly typical "bay community" in moving further outwards from the bog 

 in any direction. Each of these areas is discussed belov;; 



1) Pond pine/mixed evergreen shrubs/creeping blueberry-wiregrass. 



Pinus serotina/ nixed evergreen shrubs /Vac cinium crassifoliun — Aristida 

 stricta . This flatwoods community, which inaediately surrounds the 

 bog, is characterized by an open canopy layer of scattered pond pines, 

 with individual trees averaging approximately 12 to l6cn dbh. The 

 tall, open shrub layer is composed of mixed evergreen shrubs (see 

 accompanying Flora Species List), with bitter gallberry ( Ilex glabra ) 

 and sweet gallberry ( Ilex coriacea ) occasionally occurring as the 

 shrub layer codorainants. A mixture of creeping blueberry and wire- 

 grass forms the "herbaceous" layer. 



2) Pond pine/mixed evergreen shrubs//laurel-leaf sawbrier, Pinus serotina/ 

 mixed evergreen shrub s//Snilax laurifolia » This is the "typical" 



dense pocosin community that dominates most of the inner (Carolina) 

 bay area which borders Piver Bays Bog. Floristically it is similar 

 i ;.■.; to the pine flatwoods co:nraunity just previously discussed, but it 

 is different from that community in the fact that no herbaceous 

 layer is present within this latter discussed community type, due 

 to the thick shrub layer which is "tied" together into a neaxly inpen- 

 etrable thicket by a tangling growth of laurel-leaf sawbrier (Smilax 



186 



