Pocosin
Encyclopedia
Pocosin is a term for a type of palustrine
wetland
with deep, acidic, sandy, peat
soils. Groundwater
saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged drought
s. Pocosin soils are nutrient deficient (oligotroph
ic), especially in phosphorus
.
Pocosins occur in the Atlantic Coastal Plain
of North America
, occupying poorly drained higher ground between stream
s and floodplain
s. Seeps
cause the inundation. There are often perched water tables underlying pocosins.
Shrub
vegetation is common. Pocosins are sometimes called shrub bogs. Pond Pines (Pinus serotina) dominate pocosin forests, but Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) and Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) are also associated with pocosins. Additionally, pocosins are home to rare and threatened plant species including Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and sweet pitcher plant
(Sarracenia rubra).
A distinction is sometimes made between short pocosins, which have shorter trees (less than 20 feet (6.1 m)), deeper peat, and less soil nutrients, and tall pocosins, which have taller trees (greater than 20 feet (6.1 m)), shallow peat, and more soil nutrient. Where soil saturation is less frequent and peat depths shallower, pocosins transition into pine flatwoods
. A loose definition of "pocosin" can include all shrub and forest bog
s, as well as stands of Atlantic White Cypress
(Chamaecyparis thyoides) and Loblolly Pine on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. A stricter definition (promulgated by A. W. Kuchler) restricts pocosins to shrubby "short pocosins" and Pond Pine-forested "tall pocosins".
Pocosin ecosystem
s are fire-adapted (pyrophytic
). Pond Pines exhibit serotiny
, such that wildfire can create a pond pine seedbed in the soil. Wildfires in pocosins tend to be intense, sometimes burning deep into the peat, resulting in small lakes and ponds.
Wildfires occurring about once a decade tend to cause Pond Pines to dominate over other trees, and cane (Arundinaria
) rather than shrubs to dominate the understory
. More frequent fires result in a pyrophytic shrub understory. Annual fires prevent shrub growth and thin the Pond Pine forest cover, creating a flooded savanna
with grass, sedge, and herb groundcover.
The word pocosin comes from an Eastern Algonquian
word meaning "swamp-on-a-hill."
Palustrine
Palustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, tundra and floodplains...
wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
with deep, acidic, sandy, peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
soils. Groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
s. Pocosin soils are nutrient deficient (oligotroph
Oligotroph
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments...
ic), especially in phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
.
Pocosins occur in the Atlantic Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, occupying poorly drained higher ground between stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s and floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
s. Seeps
Seep (hydrology)
A Seep is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the earth's surface from an underground aquifer.-Description:Seeps are usually not of sufficient volume to be flowing beyond their above-ground location. They are part of the limnology-geomorphology system...
cause the inundation. There are often perched water tables underlying pocosins.
Shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
vegetation is common. Pocosins are sometimes called shrub bogs. Pond Pines (Pinus serotina) dominate pocosin forests, but Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) and Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) are also associated with pocosins. Additionally, pocosins are home to rare and threatened plant species including Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and sweet pitcher plant
Sarracenia rubra
Sarracenia rubra, also known as the Sweet pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World...
(Sarracenia rubra).
A distinction is sometimes made between short pocosins, which have shorter trees (less than 20 feet (6.1 m)), deeper peat, and less soil nutrients, and tall pocosins, which have taller trees (greater than 20 feet (6.1 m)), shallow peat, and more soil nutrient. Where soil saturation is less frequent and peat depths shallower, pocosins transition into pine flatwoods
Flatwoods
Flatwoods, Pineywoods, Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem refers to an ecological community in the Southeastern coastal plain of North America...
. A loose definition of "pocosin" can include all shrub and forest bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s, as well as stands of Atlantic White Cypress
Chamaecyparis thyoides
Chamaecyparis thyoides , is a species of Chamaecyparis, native to the Atlantic coast of North America from Maine south to Georgia, with a disjunct population on the Mexican Gulf coast from Florida to Mississippi...
(Chamaecyparis thyoides) and Loblolly Pine on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. A stricter definition (promulgated by A. W. Kuchler) restricts pocosins to shrubby "short pocosins" and Pond Pine-forested "tall pocosins".
Pocosin ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s are fire-adapted (pyrophytic
Pyrophyte
Pyrophytes are plants which have adapted to tolerate fire. "Pyrophyte" comes from the ancient Greek "pyros" and "phytos" .Fire acts favorably for some species. "Passive pyrophytes" resist the effects of fire, particularly when it passes over quickly, and hence can out-compete less resistant...
). Pond Pines exhibit serotiny
Serotiny
Serotiny is an ecological adaptation exhibited by some seed plants, in which seed release occurs in response to an environmental trigger, rather than spontaneously at seed maturation. The most common and best studied trigger is fire, and the term serotiny is often used to refer to this specific case...
, such that wildfire can create a pond pine seedbed in the soil. Wildfires in pocosins tend to be intense, sometimes burning deep into the peat, resulting in small lakes and ponds.
Wildfires occurring about once a decade tend to cause Pond Pines to dominate over other trees, and cane (Arundinaria
Arundinaria
Arundinaria, commonly known as the canes, is the sole genus of bamboo native to South Africa and eastern North America and the only temperate bamboo in North America. The genus is endemic to the eastern United States from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Ohio and Texas...
) rather than shrubs to dominate the understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
. More frequent fires result in a pyrophytic shrub understory. Annual fires prevent shrub growth and thin the Pond Pine forest cover, creating a flooded savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
with grass, sedge, and herb groundcover.
The word pocosin comes from an Eastern Algonquian
Eastern Algonquian languages
The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least seventeen languages collectively occupying the Atlantic coast of North America and adjacent inland areas, from the Canadian Maritime provinces to...
word meaning "swamp-on-a-hill."