longleaf in this area. The pines at the last site in Virginia 

 were somewhat older than the oaks (up to 100 yrs) and the presence 

 of oak was probably due to fire suppression. Before this practice 

 became universal in the 20th century, fire was an important 

 factor in determining upland forest types of this region. 



William Byrd in 1729 described longleaf pine as the 

 dominant type along the Suffolk Scarp near Sunbury. An ad in the 

 Virginia Gazette in 1772 described a large tract of land on the 

 headwaters of Bennett's Creek (possibly the present site of 

 Sunbury) on which there was available a large quantity of 

 "lightwood". This term was usually applied to dead and fallen 

 longleaf pine, and when present, was sometimes mentioned in 

 land descriptions because of its commercial value for tar and 

 pitch making. 



Modern remnants of the longleaf pine forests of Gates 

 County occur now only on a few small tracts in the Sand Banks 

 area. This species was probably an important forest type on the 

 uplands of the rest of the county as well. It would have been 

 found as a fire climax on sandy loam soils on low ridges above 

 streams or wherever the land was rolling enough to allow good 

 drainage. Virtually all of these sites are now in agriculture. 



ANIMAL DIVERSITY 



Because of the diversity of wetland and upland habitats 

 within the natural area. Merchants Mill Pond has the highest 

 species diversity of the remaining natural areas in the county. 

 Species lists, while still incomplete, have been kept for plants, 

 birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. In a published study 

 (Tarplee 1979) 26 species of fish were identified from the 

 watershed above the mill pond. Virtually no work has been done 

 on bryophytes, fungi, lichens, algae, insects or other inverte- 

 brates. The rich invertebrate fauna of the pond should be 

 especially rewarding. Much work remains to be done before it 

 will be possible to complete a catalog of species and evaluate 

 the habitat and protection status of each. This should be a 

 long-term goal of park naturalists. 



The park bird list includes about 160 species, of which 

 11 are listed as endangered or threatened in North Carolina 

 (see Significance Summary Table) . About an equal number are 

 listed as of special concern. No information is available on 

 the possible breeding status of the first 11 species mentioned. 

 All except several hawks are presumed to be visitors. The red- 

 shouldered hawk, in particular, is present year round and nests 

 somewhere in the vicinity. Their presence, with young in Lassiter 

 Swamp during spring and summer months suggests nesting there, 

 but no actual sites have been discovered. 



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