since the late 19th century. Tram roads were used to 

 haul timber out during the early 1900 ' s before the ad- 

 vent of modern road and canal construction. It is 

 likely that most if not all of the dense white cedar 

 stands in Bull ' s Neck Swamp are the result of past 

 timber cutting. 



The third high-quality community type located in 

 Bull's Neck is Pinus serotina/Chamaecyparis thyoides- 

 Acer rubrum/Myrica heterophylla-Baccharis halimifolia/ 

 mixed marsh herbs (pond pine/Atlantic white cedar-red 

 maple/bayberry-groundsel tree/mixed marsh herbs; CT 3) . 



This community is dominated by an open stand of 

 pond pine over an open subcanopy of Atlantic white 

 cedar and red maple. A low shrub layer of bayberry 

 and groundsel tree occurs throughout much of the com- 

 munity over a mixture of marsh herbs. Common herbs 

 include pickerelweed ( Pontederia cordata ) , sedges 

 (Carex spp.) , tear-thumb (Polygonum sagittatum ) , and 

 marsh pennywort ( Hydrocotyle sp.). Canopy height 

 ranges from 40-50 feet with trunk diameters of 8-12 

 inches. 



This community is restricted to the northernmost 

 point of Bull's Neck in an area just north of the large 

 white cedar stand previously described. It occupies 

 an area of about 664 acres, or about 10% of the natural 

 area. The area is underlain by Dorovan muck, already 

 described. 



The community is an unusual one, containing an 

 assemblage of species not typically found growing 

 together. It appears to be in a state of transition 

 from pond pine-white cedar forest to a shrub-marsh 

 system. Almost all of the white cedars in the com- 

 munity appear to be under stress and many have recently 

 died. Dead cedar trunks are scattered throughout. 

 Reasons for this are unclear. The pond pines appear 

 to be healthy, although somewhat stunted and the red 

 maples also seem to be relatively healthy. Could 

 rising sea level coupled with increasing salinity be 

 the reason for the cedar's demise? This seems to be 

 a good possibility since other possible factors such 

 as disease or insect predation should affect trees 

 throughout the natural area. White cedar stands in 

 other, more inland portions of the natural area seem 

 to be thriving and healthy. 



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