Ecology of southeastern shrub bogs (pocosins) and Carolina bays: a community profile

Technical Report · Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6193505

Sharitz, R R; Gibbons, J W

Shrub bogs of the Southeast occur in areas of poorly developed internal drainage that typically but not always have highly developed organic or peat soils. Pocosins and Carolina bays are types or subclasses of shrub bogs on the coastal plains of the Carolinas and Georgia. They share roughly the same distribution patterns, soil types, floral and faunal species composition and other community attributes, but differ in geological formation. Carolina bays may contain pocosin as well as other communities, but are defined more by their unique elliptical shape and geomorphometry. The pocosin community is largely defined by its vegetation, a combination of a dense shrub understory and a sparser canopy. The community is part of a complex successional sequence of communities (sedge bogs, savannas, cedar bogs, and bay forests) that may be controlled by such factors as fire, hydroperiod, soil type, and peat depth. Pocosins and Carolina bays harbor a number of animal groups and may be locally important in their ecology. Although few species are endemic to these habitats, they may provide important refuges for a number of species. These communities are simultaneously among the least understood and most rapidly disappearing habitats of the Southeast. Forestry and agricultural clearage are current impacts.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6193505
• Report Number(s): FWS/OBS-82/04; ON: DE83901648
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GEORGIA
COASTAL REGIONS
NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTH CAROLINA
SWAMPS
ECOLOGY
COMMUNITIES
ENDANGERED SPECIES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
LAND USE
MAN
PLANTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
WILD ANIMALS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
ECOSYSTEMS
FEDERAL REGION IV
MAMMALS
NORTH AMERICA
PRIMATES
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WETLANDS
520100* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (-1989)