and relatively constant in depth from rim to center, and contains a horse- 

 tail spike rush ( EleochaJis equisetoides )/v/ater lily ( Nynphaea odorata ) 

 community type nearly throuchout. There are two separate black gum C Nyssa 

 sylvatica var. biflora ) "domes" near the center of the pond, with sttxnted 

 black gum also dominating as a canopy layer in the immediate pond rim area, 

 A sparse inner "zone" of button bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis ) rings the 

 pond rim area within the Eleocharis equisetoides/Nymphaea odorata community, 

 and also occurs in a sparse "zone" encircling the black gum domes nesir the 

 center of the pond. Tall beak rush ( 5hyncospora inundata) assumes codomi- 

 nance with the horsetail spike rush in bands along the outer edge of the 

 pond. 



Cypress ( Taxodiura sp,) domes are not uncommon in shallow, marshy ponded 

 areas of the outer coastal plain of north Carolina, but no cypress were 

 observed at Spring Creek Pond, and black gum entirely replaces cypress in 

 the dopes here. These domes are not islands, and the water surrounding the 

 bases of the gums comprising the domes is for the most part as deep as the 

 water of the adjacent surrounding pond, v/ith the area apparently inundated 

 for the entire year except in periods of extreme drought. In the nicro- 

 habitat afforded by crevices in the sv/ollen bases of the black gum "canopy" 

 of the done areas, seedlings of several of the evergreen shrub species 

 present in the pond rim area — especially fetter-bush ( Lyonia lucida) — have 

 sprouted, and in places have attained a large size, giving a thicket-like 

 appearance to the domes. 



The dense pocosin vegetation that surrounds the pond forms a zone 5 to 

 7in in height and 15 to 30m in v/idth, and is dominated either by mixed ever- 

 green shrubs (see accompanying Flora Species List), or often, almost exclu- 

 sively by fetter-bush, Dahoon ( Ilex cassine ) is sometimes the predominant 

 shrub along the rim of the pond. 



In moving outwards from the pond, the dense pocosin-like shrub thicket 

 becomes increasingly open, and the evergreen shrub comnunity grades into 

 an open pine flatv;oods community. The vegetation here usually consists of 

 a scattered canopy layer of pond pine ( Pinus serotina ), underlain by aji open 

 to dense subcanopy la.yer of scrub live oak ( Quercus geminata ) . The shrub 

 and/or herbaceous layer combinations existing in conjunction with the Pinus 

 serotina/^uercus g:eninata canopy/subcanopy acre many, most importantly including 

 /dwarf blueberry ( Vacciniun tcnellum ) , /dv/arf huckleberry ( Gaylussacia 

 duir.osa ) , /dangleberry ( Gaylussacia frondosa ) , /creeping blueberry ( Va'ccinium 

 crassif oliun ) — wiregrass ( Aristida stricta T« and /wiregrass. In addition, 

 scrub live oak may predominate by itself in some areas, forming dense thickets. 



To the north, east, and south of the pond, the pine flatwoods community 

 eventually gives way to the coarse sand ridge vegetational communities char- 

 acteristic of the region, predominantly longleaf pine/turkey oaJc ( Quercus 

 laevi^)/wiregras3, but including a longleaf pine/mixed oaks/ wiregrass community 

 type. The pine flatwoods community extends outward west, of the pond (see 

 accompanying map). 



Physical features: 



General description — Spring Creek Pond, nearly circulair in outline, 



is located in a low flat between E-V trending sandy ridges (probably 

 relict dunes of Pleistocene age). The pond may have been formed 

 by the blockage of the drainage which forms the upper reaches of 

 Spring Creek, probably in conjunction with slumpinr; of the surface 

 caused by subsurface solution of underlying limestone or marl 

 deposits. 



Topography — East-west trending sandy ridges surround the pond on three 

 sides, with a broad flat extendingjOiitward from the western end of 



