red and sweet bays and red maple ( Acer rub rum ) also present 

 in the canopy. In the shrub layer of this community are many 

 of the species already mentioned under CT 2 , as well as high- 

 bush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum ) , sweet gallberry (Ilex 

 coriacea ) and cane ( Arundinaria gigantea ) . The community type 

 is Pinus serotina-Gordonia lasian thus/ mixed bay shrubs// Smilax 

 laurifolia (pond pine-loblolly bay/mixed bay shrubs//green- 

 brier; CT 3) . Relatively undisturbed areas of this community 

 (3100 acres) form a narrow fringe around the high pocosin 

 (CT 1) along most of its perimeter. 



The extreme of this pond pine forest community is located 

 along Whiskey Road in the southwest corner of the natural area. 

 Here a small area (250 acres) of loblolly bay dominates the 

 canopy locally, in nearly pure stands 30-50 feet tall (see map) . 

 We did not determine whether the dominance by loblolly bay is 

 natural , or whether the stand resulted from selective logging 

 of pond pine. The stand is considered a sub-type of CT 3 

 rather than a separate community type. 



To complete the review of the Northwest Pocosin, several 

 generally disturbed areas are briefly summarized. First, ex- 

 tensive additional areas of Croatan muck soils in the southern 

 half of the natural area, once vegetated by pond pine forest 

 and woodland types, are now much more disturbed than the pond 

 pine communities described above (CT 2 and CT 3) . In addition 

 to extensive roads and ditches , other disturbances include con- 

 siderable logging in the most accessible stands. This logging 

 removed primarily large pond pines. Much of the area is now 

 vegetated by a patchwork of pond pine stands varying greatly 

 in size and age. Although much old-growth pond pine remains, 

 it is in fragmented stands and scattered trees left after 

 cutting. The pond pine communities in this section are deemed 

 of insufficient quality to merit consideration as a significant 

 feature in this report, but this southern section of the natural 

 area is significant as habitat for black bear and to a lesser ex- 

 tent for the red-cockaded woodpecker. 



Finally, an extensive band of Paxville mucky fine sandy 

 loam encircles the natural area. This is the third concen- 

 tric soils mapping unit, surrounding the Croatan and Dare 

 muck units. No vegetation of noteworthy natural quality 

 was located in association with the Paxville soils , but some 

 areas of this soil series are included in the natural area, 

 primarily as buffer. 



38 



