11a. Prose Description of Site: 



INTRODUCTION 



Although pocosins are a widely recognized feature of eastern 

 North Carolina, there exists no simple, unified statement of what 

 is meant by or included in the term. B. W. Wells (1928) called 

 pocosin "the most indefinite of the major communities" found in 

 the state's Coastal Plain. A brief working characterization of 

 the pocosin ecosystem includes the following points: pocosins 

 are nutrient-poor wetlands vegetated by combinations of pond 

 pine ( Pinus serotina ) , semi-evergreen shrubs , and greenbriers 

 ( Smilax spp.) , with height and composition of vegetation varying 

 in response to recurrent fire , length of hydroperiod and mineral/ 

 organic matter proportions in the soils. The vegetation also 

 responds to human activity, which has affected nearly all poco- 

 sins. Most major pocosins originated in blocked drainageways , 

 and have spread far beyond the original blocked channels as 

 peat accumulated, mantling inter stream uplands. Pocosin vege- 

 tation is also found in some Carolina bays, in swales between 

 relict beach ridges and dunes, and around seepage areas and 

 streams in the Sandhills. 



Pamlico County has three large pocosins: Bay City, Light 

 Ground and Northwest. Of these, the first two have been severely 

 altered by construction of roads and canals, and clearing for 

 agriculture and tree farming. Parts of Northwest Pocosin re- 

 main much closer to the original conditions of hydrology, soils 

 and fire. 



The least-disturbed portion of the Northwest Pocosin natural 

 area is centered in an extensive roadless tract in the north- 

 western corner of the county, just south of the point at which 

 Pamlico, Craven and Beaufort Counties meet. This roadless tract 

 comprises about two thirds of the natural area, with the rest, 

 contiguous to the north, west and south having been roaded and 

 ditched. The most severely affected southerly portion of the 

 original pocosin is excluded from this report. The natural area 

 adjoins North Minnesott Ridge natural area to the east (see pp. 



) ; and is bounded on the south by sections of Beltline 

 Road (from NC 306) , Chamness II Road, South Road, and overland 

 to Whiskey Road. Whiskey Road approximates the boundary on the 

 west side, and the Craven and Beaufort County lines close out 

 the boundary on the northwest and northeast, respectively. 



84 



