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.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher.
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
The survey found 403 species in 88 families.
Verbatim
e0“A total of 403 species from 88 families were found in the survey.”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Asteraceae had 61 species.
Verbatim
e0“Families with greatest representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44), Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14).”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Cyperaceae had 46 species.
Verbatim
e0“Families with greatest representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44), Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14).”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Poaceae had 44 species.
Verbatim
e0“Families with greatest representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44), Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14).”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Fabaceae had 20 species.
Verbatim
e0“Families with greatest representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44), Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14).”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Ericaceae had 14 species.
Verbatim
e0“Families with greatest representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44), Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14).”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Croton michauxii was a new state record.
- Taxon
- Croton michauxii
Croton michauxiie0 - Outcome
- new state recordse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Two new state records, Croton michauxii and Rubus discolor, and 40 new county records were added to the state and county floras.”
Claim · model-written summary
Rubus discolor was a new state record.
- Taxon
- Rubus discolor
Rubus discolore0 - Outcome
- new state recordse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Two new state records, Croton michauxii and Rubus discolor, and 40 new county records were added to the state and county floras.”
Claim · model-written summary
The survey added 40 new county records.
Verbatim
e0“Two new state records, Croton michauxii and Rubus discolor, and 40 new county records were added to the state and county floras.”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Ordination grouped herbaceous plots into hydrophytic and xerophytic groups along a soil moisture gradient.
Verbatim
e0“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.”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Xerophytic plots were positively correlated with elevation and depth to B horizon.
Verbatim
e0“xerophytic plots being positively correlated with elevation and DBTH”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Moisture availability structures plant associations.
Verbatim
e0“moisture availability structures plant associations”
t0“vascular flora”
Claim · model-written summary
Early restoration should increase soil organic matter to maintain water balance and reduce erosion.
Verbatim
e0“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”
t0“vascular flora”