Like the changing canopies of 

 evergreen and deciduous forests, the 

 tree and plant populations shift from 

 ridge to swale. Live oak and red cedar 

 dominate the canopy on dune ridges. 

 They stand low and reach high with 

 their branches. The loblolly pine, ash, 

 maple and other mixed hardwoods 

 that stand in the swales grow taller 

 and less branched. A mixture sinks 

 roots in the slopes between. 



In the bottom of these swales and 

 other barrier island depressions grow 

 freshwater wetland forests: swamp 

 forest or shrub swamp. Both are wet 

 because the ground surface is below 

 the water table, but their height and 

 vegetation differ. 



The swamp forests — with a tall 

 canopy of red maple, sweet gum, 

 green ash and bald cypress — can be 

 found at Kitty Hawk Woods, South- 



em Shores Cypress Swamp, Nags 

 Head Woods, Theodore Roosevelt 

 Natural Area and Emerald Isle 

 Woods. The underbrush is thick with 

 vines, herbs and a population of iron- 

 wood, swamp red bay and sweet bay. 



The low-standing maritime shrub 

 swamps emerge from the forests as a 

 dense canopy of shrubs or small trees, 

 including red bay, swamp dogwood 

 and occasional loblolly pine or red 

 maple. Rich in ferns and tangled with 

 the vines of greenbrier and Carolina 

 supplejack, they are found in Buxton 

 Woods and Nags Head Woods. 



These freshwater wetlands range 

 from moist soil to knee-deep sloshing 

 water, all habitat that is critical to the 

 biodiversity of a maritime forest, says 

 Vince Bellis, a biology professor at 

 East Carolina University. Species that 

 aren't tolerant of salt water thrive 



here. Frogs and some turtles populate 

 the wetland, where they're prey to 

 snakes, birds and alligators. Rac- 

 coons also rely on this critical habi- 

 tat, foraging at night for frogs, toads, 

 snakes and birds. But they don't 

 mind moving to the fringe of the salt 

 marsh for mussels and crabs. Deer, 

 too, graze on marsh and inner dune 

 grasses. 



Still, the habitat is less than hos- 

 pitable. The forests on barrier islands 

 support only one-third to one-quarter 

 of the biodiversity on the adjacent 

 mainland, Bellis says. 



Few rare animals live only in the 

 maritime forest, but this habitat is 

 important for a wide range of wild- 

 life. It offers critical feeding, resting 

 and roosting sites for migratory land 

 birds, especially in the fall. Unfortu- 

 nately, barrier island wildlife is also 



6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1993 



