Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Macrogroup: Southern Oak-Pine your State Natural Heritage Ecologist for more information about this habitat. this about information more for Ecologist Heritage State Natural your Contact based inventory. field for substitute a not data is and current based on distribution a mapmodeled is This

© Gary P. Fleming ( Department of Conservation & Recreation Natural Heritage Program) Description: A mosaic of forests and shrublands of Atlantic Coast barrier islands and similar coastal strands, from Virginia Beach to central South Carolina. Seldom more than 2 miles from the ocean, areas are influenced by salt spray, extreme disturbance events, and the distinctive climate of the immediate coast. Salt-tolerant evergreen tree species are most common, particularly live oak, wax-myrtle, and loblolly pine. Also included are embedded freshwater depressional wetlands dominated by shrubs or small trees, such as red maple, swamp tupelo, stiff dogwood, or swamp bay. The ocean's moderation of climate may be a significant factor in the character of this system; a number of plant species State Distribution: VA extend much farther north in the maritime forests than they do even a few miles inland. Total Habitat Acreage: 6,295 Ecological Setting and Natural Processes: Percent Conserved: 88.7% This system requires some shelter from the ocean (high State State GAP 1&2 GAP 3 Unsecured dunes or extensive sand flats) to develop. It may occur from State Habitat % Acreage (acres) (acres) (acres) the top of interior dunes to wet swales. Soils are sandy, VA 100% 6,295 525 5,059 711 except for mucks in the wettest swamps, and range from excessively drained to permanently saturated. The destruction of dunes by storms or slow movement of dunes may quickly or slowly destroy the environment this system needs. Fire is probably not an important disturbance. Similar Habitat Types: The prominence of evergreen trees distinguished this system from Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Maritime Forest. There is a zone where both evergreen and deciduous forests occur (from approximately Nags Head, , to Virginia Beach, Virginia), making the geographic boundary between the two systems somewhat unclear.

Crosswalk to State Wildlife Action Plans: Crosswalk to State Name Examples: Forest Habitat - Coniferous Forest (VA) Maritime Mixed Deciduous Forest (VA) Places to Visit this Habitat: Habitat Patch Distribution Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge | VA | VA 5,000 4,000 | VA 3,000 2,000 Acres 1,000 0

Associated Species: Appendix lists scientific names 0 to 1 1 to 5 5 to 10 1000+ BIRDS: boat-tailed grackle, carolina wren, eastern towhee, fish 10 to 100 crow, fox sparrow, great crested flycatcher, northern cardinal, 100 to 1000 northern parula, ruby-crowned kinglets, solitary vireo, yellow Patch Size Classes throated warbler, yellow-rumped warblers The average patch size for this habitat is 12 acres and the largest single patch is 2,447 acres. This chart shows the proportion of the habitat that is in each patch-size MAMMALS: barking tree frog class.

HERPTILES: chicken turtle Age Class Distribution 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percent of Habitat

1 to 20 20 to 40 40 to 60 60 to 80 80 to 100100 to 140 Age (Years)

This chart shows the average age of trees associated with this habitat based on forest Inventory data. For non-forested systems or small habitats the average age is Species of Concern (G1-G4): Appendix lists scientific names influenced by the surroundings. BIRDS: bald eagle Predicted Habitat Loss to Development MAMMALS: Rafinesque's big-eared bat 6,000 INSECTS: a gnaphosid spider (Drassylus louisianus) 5,500 5,000 PLANTS: baldwin's spikerush (Eleocharis baldwinii), big-head

Acreage 4,500 rush (Juncus megacephalus), branching bur-reed (Sparganium androcladum), dixie broomspurge (Chamaesyce bombensis), 4,000 Eaton's ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes eatonii), elliott's aster 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 (Symphyotrichum elliotii), fasciculate beakrush (Rhynchospora fascicularis), fibrous bladderwort (Utricularia fibrosa), long beach Decade seedbox (Ludwigia brevipes), long-beaked baldrush (Rhynchospora scirpoides), pineland tick-trefoil (Desmodium This chart shows the predicted loss of habitat over the next five decades (933 acres) strictum), saltmarsh spikerush (Eleocharis halophila) if loss continues at the same rate as 1990-2000. The average rate of loss is 19 acres per year.

Habitat Connectedness Index

80 60 40 20 0 Percent of Habitat

0 to 25 25 to 50 50 to 75 75 to 100 Degree of Fragmentation (0=Highly Fragmented & 100= Highly Connected)

This metric measures how connected or fragmented the land directly surrounding (18 © Gary P. Fleming (Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation Natural square miles) the habitat is, this the chart shows the proportion of the habitat in each Heritage Program) connectedness class.

Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Maritime Forest http://nature.ly/HabitatGuide