Fringe Wetlands in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds: Landscape Position, Fringe Swamp Structure, and Response to Rising Sea Level

摘要

The forested wetlands that border Albemarle Sound and its tributaries are largely undescribed and their ecological importance is not well known. The purpose of this study was to assess the locations, quality, and species composition of wetland forests in a zone that is influenced by water level fluctuations in the sound. The zone appears to be up to 200 meters wide. Surveys showed changes in tree species from shoreline to the swamp interior. The forest actually begins in the water beyond the shoreline where cypress trees were stranded as a result of erosion and differential loss of other species. Moving into the forest, a slightly elevated storm levee is first encountered before the sequence eventually grades back into the lower-lying swamps of black gum and red maple. Information about these wetlands is important from several perspectives. First, they represent a resource of unquantified abundance whose shoreline position makes them potentially important habitat for fish and wildlife.