SREL Reprint #2217

Pocosins and Carolina Bays

Rebecca R. Sharitz and Charles A. Gresham

Introduction: Pocosins and Carolina bays share several hydrologic and physical characteristics that distinguish them from other forested wetiand types; they are nutrient-poor, typically have peat or organic substrates, and are non-alluvial. Their geographic distributions overlap, and they often have similar vegetation types. Pocosins and bays receive all or most of their water from precipitation, in contrast to deepwater swamps and riverine floodplains. Like pocosins, pine and hardwood flatwoods occur on large interstream areas of the outer Coastal Plain, but the flatwoods are on relatively fertile, mineral soil with little to no peat accumulation. Although some southeastern mountain bogs have peat substrates, their vegetation and location clearly separate them from pocosins. Finally, some Carolina bays have stands of pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans), but their geology and geographical distribution distinguish them from cypress domes.

SREL Reprint # 2217

Sharitz, R. R. and C. A. Gresham. 1997. Pocosins and Carolina Bays. pp. 343-377 In: M. G. Messina and W. H. Conner. (Eds.). Southern Forested Wetlands Ecology and Management. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).