SREL Reprint #2704

Carolina bay wetlands: Unique habitats of the southeastern United States

Rebecca R. Sharitz

Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA

Abstract: Carolina bays, depression wetlands of the southeastern United States Coastal Plain, are "islands" of high species richness within the upland landscape and are the major breeding habitat for numerous amphibians. The 2001 Supreme Court decision that removes isolated wetlands from protection under the Clean Water Act has potential for great losses of these wetland ecosystems. Most Carolina bays are not naturally connected with stream drainages or other water bodies, and their hydrology is driven primarily by rainfall and evapotranspiration. Their potential interaction with shallow ground water is not well-understood. Water levels in these wetlands may vary seasonally and across years from inundated to dry, and organisms inhabiting Carolina bays must be adapted to fluctuating and often unpredictable hydrologic conditions. The ecological importance of these wetlands as habitats for species that require an aquatic environment for a part of their life cycle has been well-documented. Many Carolina bays have been drained and converted to agriculture or other uses, and many of the smaller bays have been poorly inventoried and mapped. If these wetlands are not protected in the future, a major source of biological diversity in the southeastern United States will be lost.

Keywords: depression wetlands, Carolina bays, Delmarva bays, variable hydrology, amphibian habitat

SREL Reprint #2704

Sharitz, R. R. 2003. Carolina bay wetlands: Unique habitats of the southeastern United States. Wetlands 23: 550-562.

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