IIB. Prose description of site significance: 



The mesic islands are covered with mature beech stands 

 (75 to 100 yrs: one specimen 60 cm [24 in] dbh) , which also contain 

 a few oaks ( Quercus alba , Q^. nigra , Q^. falcata , Q^. michauxii ) . 

 This may have been the major presettlement community type on mesic 

 slopes and other fire-protected sites with similar drainage on the 

 Coastal Plain. The role and composition of this type have been 

 investigated (Nesom and Treiber 1977, Ware 1978) but is still 

 poorly understood. Few quality sites remain. These islands will be 

 valuable study sites for determination of the long-term successional 

 fate of beech and its oak associates. 



Similarly, the islands are ringed by large loblolly pine 

 ( Pinus taeda : one specimen 59 cm [23 in] dbh). As a consequence of 

 disturbance through logging, agriculture and fire suppression, this 

 weedy, old-field species is now the dominant tree in Gates County. 

 Its primary original habitat may have been a zonal situation along 

 a moisture gradient, such as that in which it occurs on this site. 

 Here, pines form a ring around each island in the transition area 

 between mesic upland and hydric swamp. 



Loblolly occupies the zone which is slightly wetter than beech 

 and oak, but drier than baldcypress and black gum ( Nyssa sylvatica ) . 

 Its preferred habitat is very close to that of red maple. Most 

 studies of loblolly pine have treated its characteristics as a 

 sylvicultural specimen grown for pulpwood and timber, taking 

 advantage of its role as an early successional species on upland 

 sites. Little has been done to study it in its primary wetland 

 habitat. Because of its commercial value, few remnant old-growth 

 stands remain; consequently, the mesic islands will be valuable 

 study sites for this species also. 



The "islands" constitute a significant geomorphic feature, 

 being the only specimens of this type in the region (along with 

 the two or three small groups to the east in Pasquotank County) . 

 No comparable features elsewhere are known to this author. Two 

 possible origins are suggested: peripheral lagoonal dunes 

 deposited by a retreating Sangamon sea, or fluvial and eolian dunes 

 formed during the Wisconsin. 



The islands contain Stewartia malacodendron (silky camellia) 

 and Listera australis (southern twayblade) , an endangered 

 peripheral species in North Carolina, Mesic sites are rare in the 

 Dismal and were even more so in the original swamp . As such they 

 are of critical importance as wildlife habitat. They are used 

 heavily by black bear, a species plagued on the Coastal Plain by 

 shrinking habitat. Further investigation is needed to determine 

 use by other swamp species such as bobcat and possibly panther, an 

 endangered species of which several sightings were made a few miles 

 to the north in 1979 and 1980. 



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