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A NATURAL HERITAGE INVENTORY OF THE ROANOKE RIVER FLOODPLAIN, NORTH CAROLINA Harry E. LeGrand, Jr. and Stephen P. Hall North Carolina Natural Heritage Program Office of Land and Water Stewardship Department of Environment and Natural Resources Raleigh, N.C. Funding provided by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership February, 2014 Cover photo: Aerial photo of the Roanoke River floodplain forest taken by Merrill Lynch A NATURAL HERITAGE INVENTORY OF THE ROANOKE RIVER FLOODPLAIN, NORTH CAROLINA Harry E. LeGrand, Jr. and Stephen P. Hall North Carolina Natural Heritage Program Office of Land and Water Stewardship Department of Environment and Natural Resources Raleigh, NC Funding provided by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership February, 2014 ABSTRACT The floodplain of the Lower Roanoke River – from the Fall Line at Roanoke Rapids to the Albemarle Sound – contains some of the finest examples of brownwater forest ecosystems in the state. A large number of high quality natural communities exist within this area, including mature stands of Brownwater Levee Forests, Bottomland Hardwoods, and Cypress-Gum Swamps in the floodplain itself and Basic Mesic Forests on the adjoining slopes and bluffs. For each of these habitats, landscape integrity is also very high, with each community type occupying well-connected units covering large expanses of the floodplain. Due to the combined ecological integrity of the floodplain, rare species, such as the Cerulean Warbler, are found there that are now rare-to-absent over most of the rest of the Coastal Plain. For the same reasons, many species typical of floodplains more generally reach their greatest abundance along the Lower Roanoke River. This inventory, funded by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund and by the Albemarle- Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, focused particularly on the rich alluvial habitats located in the upper part of the floodplain. In addition to updating previous North Carolina Natural Heritage Program inventories conducted in this area, this survey also covered species that have been poorly represented in past inventories, especially animals (mainly insects) associated with brownwater habitats. A landscape-focused component was also included. This component complements our traditional approach centered on individual sites and Natural Heritage Elements, focusing more on the interconnections between sites and how well species are able to move freely about large areas in the entire floodplain of the Lower Roanoke. Part I identifies and briefly describes 31 of the most significant natural areas in the floodplain with emphasis placed on sites that are not included within the boundaries of existing natural areas. This section also documents all natural communities and rare species of plants and animals – Natural Heritage Elements – associated with the floodplain. The individual sites are rated based on these Elements, both in terms of their contribution to protecting individual Elements within the state, and in terms of the combined conservation value represented by all Elements found within a given site. Part II describes the results of the landscape assessment. Again, specific areas are described and evaluated in terms of their conservation significance, but in this section relative to their landscape integrity, i.e., how well they are functioning to support species’ movements. As in Part I, the presence of individual species recorded during the inventory is used in this evaluation. A total of 12 landscape units were evaluated, representing 11 different habitat types. Both parts of this inventory are intended to provide guidance for land use decisions by county governments, conservation and land management organizations, and private landowners. Conservation measures that include both individual sites as well as natural connections between sites would enhance the protection of the rich biodiversity of the Lower Roanoke River Floodplain. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of individuals and agencies contributed to the planning, progress, and completion of this inventory. Jame Amoroso of the N.C. Natural Heritage Program contacted landowners for permission to survey their lands, prior to the visitation of the private tracts for the inventory. The Program’s John Finnegan assisted with production of maps for this report. Janine Nicholson, Linda Rudd, Jame Amoroso, and Misty Buchanan reviewed the draft report and maps and assisted in the production of the final copy. Buchanan also assisted with some field work, as did Laura Gadd Robinson and Judy Ratcliffe, also with the Program. James Hawhee, of the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, assisted on one field visit and provided the Program with a number of photographs. Several staff members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission were helpful in the project. Andrew Mynatt, a wildlife forester based at the Tillery Depot, assisted with many of the field visits, including providing and piloting a boat on several water-based site visits. Dale Davis at the Williamston office provided critical access to several of the Wildlife tracts in the lower part of the floodplain. Chuck Peoples, the director of The Nature Conservancy’s Roanoke River office, was helpful in many ways. He provided shapefiles of that organization’s landholdings, plus their target areas for protection. He assisted with access to several sites, and he piloted a boat along the river that assisted identification of important tracts along the upper quarter of the floodplain. Jean Richter, Superintendent of the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge, assisted LeGrand with access information about several of the tracts on the refuge. Dr. J. Bolling Sullivan, a consulting entomologist, joined us on several of the moth sampling trips and contributed greatly to the list of species we recorded, adding several species that had not been previously recorded in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. J. Merrill Lynch, Parker Backstrom, and Jeff Lepore also assisted on one of the moth sampling trips. Lynch provided lodging for that visit and Lepore provided his mercury vapor set-ups for that evening’s field work. For snail identifications, we wish to thank Amy Van Devender, particularly for her help in identifying a rare species of Succinea we found in Bertie County. The inventory could not have been conducted without the assistance of the many landowners who allowed access to visit their lands in the floodplain. The region’s natural heritage would not have been adequately or accurately portrayed in this document without inclusion of numerous private lands that were allowed visitation. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I. Inventory of Significant Natural Heritage Areas ................................................................ 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 3 Inventory Preparation and Landowner Contact .......................................................................... 3 Field Surveys .............................................................................................................................. 3 Evaluation of Site Significance ................................................................................................... 4 Element Representational Value ............................................................................................................................ 5 Element Collective Value ...................................................................................................................................... 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA ..................................................................................... 8 General Overview ....................................................................................................................... 8 Topography and Physiography ................................................................................................. 10 General Vegetation ................................................................................................................... 10 Summary Of Results ..................................................................................................................... 13 Natural Areas ............................................................................................................................ 13 Natural Communities ................................................................................................................ 18 General Comments .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Wetland Communities ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Terrestrial Communities ...................................................................................................................................... 28 Flora .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................