Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Blue Huckleberry - Coastal Sweet-pepperbush - Switch Cane / Pineland Three-awn - Western Brackenfern Seepage Meadow

Colloquial Name: Typic Sandhill Hillside Seep

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This type covers seepage-fed herbaceous or shrub-herb wetlands of sandhills terrain found primarily in the Sandhills region but present in scarps and sand ridges elsewhere in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and South Carolina. These are generally small areas on slopes, but can occur at slope bases where water is forced to the surface by a clay layer. This type covers less wet types of Sandhill seeps which may be seasonally rather than permanently saturated and which may occur alone or as an outer zone to permanently saturated seeps. Sandhill seeps consist of a dense to open growth of various wetland shrubs and herbs, or mixtures of wetland and upland species, with structure determined by fire regime. Common shrubs include Clethra alnifolia, Lyonia lucida, Aronia arbutifolia, Ilex glabra, Gaylussacia frondosa, Symplocos tinctoria, Morella caroliniensis, and Toxicodendron vernix. A variety of other shrubs may be present in some sites. Arundinaria tecta may dominate in places, especially in frequently burned sites. Osmunda cinnamomea often dominates annually burned sites. Canopy species include Pinus serotina, Pinus palustris, and Liquidambar styraciflua. Acer rubrum, Magnolia virginiana, and Persea palustris are often present in the midstory. Herbs are sparse under shrub cover but may dominate frequently burned sites. Typical herbs include Osmunda cinnamomea, Xyris caroliniana, Pteridium aquilinum, Woodwardia virginica, Dichanthelium spp., Andropogon glomeratus, Ctenium aromaticum, Sarracenia flava, Sarracenia purpurea, Sarracenia rubra, Drosera capillaris, Rhexia alifanus, Polygala lutea, Eupatorium pilosum, and Aristida stricta. Sphagnum spp. are common. On frequently burned sites a great diversity of other herbs may also be present. Community structure is strongly controlled by fire regime. Because of their small size, Sandhill seeps are subject to fires spreading from adjacent sandhill communities, and under natural fire regimes they probably burned more frequently than other similarly wet communities. At least parts of them burned almost as frequently as the adjoining sandhill communities. Under frequent fire Sandhill seeps are open and herb-dominated. In the absence of fire shrubs quickly expand and the vegetation becomes pocosin-like. The nutrient dynamics of these communities are not known. The presence of clay in the soil may allow greater retention of nutrients than in sandy soils, although the seepage is likely to be very low in nutrients. Like other small communities in sandhill areas, nutrients mobilized by fire may be available to Sandhill seeps even if they do not themselves burn. These communities are distinguished by the occurrence of wetland vegetation on seepage slopes. The boundary with Streamhead Pocosin may be difficult to determine in some areas. In infrequently burned areas where both are shrubby, Sandhill seeps may be recognized by partial or total isolation from a stream system, location on a sharp slope break, or by remnants of the herbaceous vegetation beneath the shrubs. Herb-dominated Sandhill seeps may be distinguished by their occurrence on relatively small, sloping, seepage-fed areas in sandhills. This seep type is distinguished from the other wetter types by a drier flora that includes abundant Aristida stricta and Pteridium aquilinum and general lack of Osmunda cinnamomea, Sarracenia flava, Calamovilfa brevipilis, and other more water-loving plants. Typical shrubs are Gaylussacia frondosa, Clethra alnifolia, Ilex glabra, and Arundinaria tecta, with species such as Lyonia lucida, Cyrilla racemiflora, Toxicodendron vernix, and Ilex coriacea absent.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: In very frequently burned (every 1-2 years) seepage areas on Fort Bragg, these communities had extremely high species richness, with up to 102 species per 1/100 hectare (10x10 m) (NC Vegetation Survey 1989), the highest known species richness in temperate North America. Those seeps may represent unusually rich examples, but many Sandhill Seeps had fairly diverse herbaceous vegetation that has gradually disappeared with the lack of fire. It is unclear how common Sandhill Seeps are. They may be fairly widespread in the northern part of the Sandhills region, in Moore and Hoke counties, North Carolina, but they have always been of limited acreage. Because they so quickly become overgrown with shrubs, examples in good condition are now extremely rare, except for on Fort Bragg, where marginal to good examples are common. Numerous examples of high-quality seeps are most likely present in the annually burned impact areas.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available