E. Pocosin - the most common general habitat in Hyde County. 



A fire-influenced group of communities , always oc- 

 curring on peats or peaty sands, but with considerable 

 variation in the vegetation in response to varying 

 peat depth, hydrology and availability of nutrients 

 to the system. Four types recognized by Otte (1981) 

 are Pond Pine Forest, Pond Pine Woodland, High Pocosin 

 and Low Pocosin; his criteria for these types are sum- 

 marized in Table 2. 



F. Mixed Hardwood Flats - this community consists primarily 



of oaks , including swamp chestnut oak ( Quercus 

 michauxii ) , laurel oak (£. laurifolia ) and cherry- 

 bark oak (Q_. pagodaefolia ) . Loblolly pine ( Pinus 

 taeda ) is usually a common component. Other hard- 

 woods present in varying proportions, depending on 

 site conditions, are tulip poplar ( Lir iodendron 

 tulipifera ) , red maple ( Acer rub rum ) , green ash 

 ( Fraxinus pennsylvanica ) , sweetgum ( Liquidambar 

 styraciflua ) and shagbark hickory ( Carya ovata ) . 

 Beech ( Fagus grandifolia ) occurs at scattered, 

 slightly better drained locales. Generally oc- 

 cupies flat "upland" areas of poorly drained, silty, 

 clayey, or fine loamy soils (usually wet Ultisols) . 



Once an extensive community in Hyde County, Mixed 

 Hardwood Flats are now severely reduced by agri- 

 cultural clearing, logging and pine plantation 

 development, and generally are one of the most 

 threatened communities of the North Carolina 

 Coastal Plain. 



G. Serai Pine and Hardwoods - distributed throughout Hyde 



County are 'areas of second-growth sweetgum, loblolly 

 pine and red maple, which have grown up on disturbed 

 sites such as old fields, logged areas, etc. These 

 successional communities vary widely in age and size, 

 often being disturbed repeatedly. Only one, Salyer's 

 Ridge, has attained natural significance. They occur 

 predominantly on poorly drained mineral soils. The 

 pre-disturbance vegetation of most of these sites is 

 not known, but probably was dominated by the same 

 hydric to mesic hardwood species associated with 

 palustrine Mixed Hardwood Flats. 



III. Terrestrial Communities - we located no true terrestrial plant 

 communities in Hyde County. If significant examples 

 existed historically, they were cleared at a very early 

 stage in the development of the county. Possibly the 

 western portion of the county originally supported ter- 

 restrial communities on what is now cleared agricultural 

 land. 



