Mammals of Carolina Bays 5 



was the only North Carolina bay where animal communities could have 

 been related to a published vegetational analysis. 



Unlike most other pocosin sites, Carolina bays are often located 

 within xeric and mesophytic systems. Their islandlike nature often 

 makes them more visually delineated and ecologically discrete. The wide 

 spectrum of successional stages, combined with their close proximity to 

 each other, makes them excellent study sites. In one of our principal 

 study areas in Bladen County, bays are highly concentrated and succes- 

 sional stages probably achieve their greatest diversity. 



Community Development and Structure 



Various environmental factors dictate the type of pocosin commun- 

 ity that develops on a particular site. The most conspicuous factors are 

 surface and subsurface soil types, hydroperiod, and fire. The importance 

 of the regularity and intensity of fire as it relates to season, hydroperiod, 

 wind, and the accumulation of combustible vegetation cannot be over- 

 stated. Natural fires, and those started by Indians for game exploitation 

 and later by Europeans for livestock range management, were all impor- 

 tant for long-term maintenance of various serai stages of pocosins. Fire 

 exclusion policies of the middle part of this century were detrimental to 

 certain communities (particularly savannas), but recent understandings 

 of the importance of regular controlled burning in certain Southeastern 

 vegetation types for game and habitat enhancement and for wildfire 

 control has, in part, alleviated this problem. 



The characteristic and conspicuous plants of pocosins and Carolina 

 bays are comparatively few. In most instances each species occurs in a 

 majority of the vegetative community types and only its relative abun- 

 dance or growth form changes. These variations in relative composition, 

 however, may be dramatic, both visually and ecologically. The major 

 plant associates (alphabetically by genus) are Red Maple, Acer rubrum; 

 Wire Grass, Aristida strict a\ Atlantic White Cedar, Chamaecyparis 

 thyoides; Titi, Cyrilla racemiflora; Loblolly Bay, Gordonia lasianthus; 

 Sweet Gallberry, Ilex coriacea; Inkberry, Ilex glabra', Fetterbush, Lyonia 

 lucida; Sweet Bay, Magnolia virginiana; Black Gum, Nyssa sylvatica\ 

 Red Bay, Persea borbonia; Pond Pine, Pinus serotina; Bamboo, Smilax 

 laurifolia; Pond Cypress, Taxodium ascendens; and Honey-cup, Zeno- 

 bia pulverulent a. Species less uniformly distributed include Lamb-kill, 

 Kalmia Carolina; gooseberries, Vaccinium sp.; rushes, Juncus sp.; sedges, 

 Carex sp.; Loblolly Pine, Pinus taeda; Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris; 

 and Cane, Arundinaria gigantea. These latter species are, however, 

 often the dominant vegetation on certain sites. 



Major pocosin community types include shrub bogs with scattered 

 Pond Pine overstory, mixed conifer-hardwood shrub bogs, and pine- 



