Habitats

Plant Communities of Cool Springs

Longleaf Pine Savanna

The longleaf pine area at Cool Springs is listed with the North Carolina Natural Heritage Registry because of its ecological significance. This unique ecosystem has become rare in its range as only about three percent of its original acreage remains. The longleaf pine ecosystem is dependent on fire. Without fire, the longleaf pine and many other plants that grow along with it can’t survive. Some plants need fire to reduce competition, as in the longleaf pine, while others need it for seed production, like wiregrass. Numerous animals are also associated with this ecosystem, like the fox squirrel. Fox squirrels are larger than gray squirrels and therefore well adapted to deal with the larger cones of the longleaf pine.

Mixed Pine Hardwood

Mixed pine hardwood stands are often transitional stands. They will likely become either longleaf pine savanna or hardwood climax forests. Many of these stands at Cool Springs are located next to the swamp or are small islands surrounded by swamp. The tree species in these habitats are quite variable including loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, longleaf pine, pignut hickory, red maple, and numerous oaks. These stands can be very valuable for wildlife as they produce high quality foods and offer plenty of shelter.

Pocosin

Pocosins are typically wet pockets of dense vegetation located on the highest ground in the coastal plain. Well named, the word pocosin is believed to be a Native American word that translates to "swamp on a hill". The soils in pocosins are usually highly organic, meaning high concentrations of decaying plant and animal matter. Numerous tree species thrive in these conditions including black gum, red bay, sweet bay, loblolly bay and pond pine. Pocosins may also include Atlantic white cedar trees. Also known as juniper, Atlantic white cedar is a tree that has suffered declines. Less than ten percent of its original area remains in North Carolina. We’re lucky to have several stands of Atlantic white cedar at Cool Springs among our pocosins. Weyerhaeuser plans to maintain these Atlantic white cedar stands for conservation purposes.

Managed Pine Plantations

Three different species of trees have been planted in plantations at Cool Springs: slash pine, loblolly pine and longleaf pine. These managed pine plantations demonstrate forest industry practices used by Weyerhaeuser. Much goes into the management of a forest plantation, certainly more than just planting and harvesting. A wide variety of practices are used by Weyerhaeuser, such as site preparation, fertilizing and thinning. Practices such as these allow trees to grow larger in a shorter amount of time. Producing larger trees is important, as forests such as these are used to make products from two-by-fours to baby diapers to doughnuts.

Swamp

Much of Cool Springs is covered by swamp. The dominant trees in this swamp are bald cypress and water tupelo. As a result, this type of swamp is often called a cypress-tupelo swamp. Both of these trees have adapted to survive floods most of the year. The bald cypress has “knees” to help support the tree and also to supply oxygen to the roots. The water tupelo has a very broad lower trunk that spreads out to give greater stability in the water. A wide variety of plants are often found in these swamps, including swamp rose, lizard’s tail, duck potato, arrow arum and cardinal flower. Duckweed covers much of the water’s surface. Many birds use the swamp as an important breeding habitat. You’ll also find beavers, muskrats and a variety of reptiles and amphibians.