The vascular flora of Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve, Brunswick County, North Carolina
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- J. Clay Morris (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Greg Chandler
Abstract: The vascular plants of Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve (BSLP) in Brunswick
County, North Carolina were collected and catalogued during the growing seasons of
2005 through 2007. The 2,400 ha tract is comprised of Coastal Fringe Sandhills, Wet
Pine Flatwoods, Pine Savannas, Small Depression Ponds, and Pond Pine Woodlands.
The variety of ecosystems and relatively low disturbance has resulted in the designation
of BSLP as a nationally significant ecological site. Brunswick County has the highest
concentration of rare plants in North Carolina, but few floristic surveys from the region
have been published. This study is the first comprehensive floristic survey of BSLP. A
total of 403 species from 88 families were found in the survey. Families with greatest
representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44),
Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14). Two new state records, Croton michauxii and Rubus
discolor, and 40 new county records were added to the state and county floras. Further
conservation implications and management suggestions were suggested based on
observations made in several powerline clearcuts that transect the site. Longleaf pine ecosystems are characterized by high groundcover species richness,
but the intent of most commercial pine plantation management techniques is to reduce
understory competition. In areas where pine plantations are the focus of longleaf pine
restoration efforts, questions arise as to the negative impact of intensive management
practices on the native groundcover. The objective of this study was to examine plant
associations in a loblolly (Pinus taeda) pine plantation and determine some of the abiotic
variables driving the associations. Such information provides insight into restoration
techniques that will best address current problematic site issues (erosion, low soil organic
material (SOM)) that hamper restoration efforts.
Thirty-one North Carolina Vegetation Survey (NCVS) plots were established in
the summer of 2006 to classify the vegetation in a 57 ha loblolly pine plantation within
the Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Abiotic
variables measured were soil organic carbon (SOC) in the A, E, and B horizons,
elevation, and the depth to the B horizon (DBTH). Water availability is one of the main
limiting resources in longleaf pine systems and is critical to the storage of SOC,
therefore, SOC from the A, E, and B horizons were used as proxies for moisture content.
Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used to classify and ordinate the
herbaceous plots into two consistent groups, hydrophytic and xerophytic, based on a soil
moisture gradient along the first axis. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and
Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) grouped plots along gradients of the abiotic
variables with xerophytic plots being positively correlated with elevation and DBTH.
This is reasonable because increasing DBTH with increasing elevation results in decreased proximity to perched water tables, favoring the establishment of xeric adapted
species. This study demonstrated that moisture availability structures plant associations
and early restoration efforts should focus on increasing SOM as a means to maintain the
water balance and reduce the effects of erosion, providing conducive conditions for
restoration planting.
The vascular flora of Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve, Brunswick County, North Carolina
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Science
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve (N.C.), Botany--North Carolina--Brunswick County, Plants--North Carolina--Brunswick County
- Subjects
- Plants -- North Carolina -- Brunswick County
- Botany -- North Carolina -- Brunswick County
- Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve (N.C.)