An ecological analysis of pocosin wetlands development with management recommendations

Pocosins--oligotrophic freshwater evergreen shrub bogs once covering nearly one million hectares on the North Carolina coastal plain--were developed by blocked drainage and peat accumulation over the last 10,000 years. Extensive drainage for agriculture, forestry and peat mining reduced the natural wetland area to 281,000 hectares by 1980. This development has resulted in (1) a shift of hydrologic output from evapotranspiration to runoff, (2) significant increases in carbon flux and phosphorus output, and (3) reduction in habitat for rare and endangered biota, while dramatically increasing the economic value of these lands. General management guidelines are suggested which are based on a balanced view of the resource problem (i.e., ecological, economic and ethical guidelines). © 1982 Society of Wetland Scientists.

Duke Scholars

Author Curtis J. Richardson Environmental Sciences and Policy