Solidago pulchra

Distinct species.

Endemic to the southeastern area of the coastal plain of North Carolina, Solidago pulchra is locally common to the wetland savannas. However, current threats include suppression of natural fire regime and alteration and destruction of habitat for silvicultural and agricultural purposes.

HISTORIC RANGE: Historic records of Solidago pulchra, a species endemic to North Carolina, are documented for (year last seen follows in parentheses): Bladen (n.d., circa 1898), Brunswick (1935, 1941, 1948, 1979), Carteret (1964, 1975, 1976), New Hanover (1867, 1888), Onslow (1938, 1957), and Pender (1939, 1948, 1964) counties (LeBlond 1993, NCNHP 1993). These reports are in part from xeric to hydric pine savannas and flatwoods, sometimes at the pocosin edge. Some of the historic records describe disturbance in the savannas, including bulldozing and fire plowlines (NCNHP 1993). CURRENT RANGE: Surveys in 1991-93 by and for personnel of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program and North Carolina Vegetation Survey have shown that Solidago pulchra is a frequent component of high-quality, frequently burned, moist to wet pine savannas of the Outer Coastal Plain of southeast North Carolina. Current notable occurrences are located in Brunswick, Carteret, Onslow, and Pender counties (Weakley 1993b). Smaller occurrences are known from Jones County and the NEA Bog Complex Natural Area on Fort Bragg Military Reservation in Cumberland County (TNC 1991-93, NCNHP 1993). Since extant occurrences have only been discovered recently (1987-92), it is likely that the increase in number of element occurrences for this species can be attributed to surveys of new areas, rather than to an expansion in species range (NCNHP 1993). Still, S. pulchra appears to be quite numerous within its very limited range (Weakley 1993b).

Twenty-two occurrences. One occurrence of Solidago pulchra is located in the Nature Conservancy-owned Big Island Savanna within the Green Swamp Preserve (Brunswick County) and one in the (at least partially) Nature Conservancy-owned portion of the Lanier Quarry Savanna Preserve (Pender County). Eighteen populations of this endemic species occur on federally owned property, six at the Camp LeJeune Marine Base (Onslow County), one on Fort Bragg Military Reservation, and the remaining eleven in Croatan National Forest (Carteret and Craven counties). The other two populations occur within the privately owned Boiling Springs Lake wetland complex (Brunswick County). The Green Swamp Nature Preserve contains 15,722 acres which are Nature Conservancy-owned, while 65 acres within the Lanier Quarry Preserve are owned by The Nature Conservancy.

(1) Suppression of fire will promote rapid invasion by shrubs that outcompete rare herbaceous species for sunlight and nutrients (McIver 1981, LeBlond 1991b). In the particularly moist pine savanna-pocosin ecotone, fire must occur minimally every three to five years to prevent woody species from invading (Weakley 1991). Prescribed burning not timed to the reproductive cycle of the species could prevent or reduce its reproductive success (Sutter 1991). (2) Pinestraw raking poses a triple threat of chemical damage (site preparation for harvesting includes spraying with potentially harmful herbicides), physical destruction (plants can be directly impacted by the tractors pulling harrows to rake the pinestraw), and fire exclusion (the removal of fuel can actually prevent even a low intensity fire from occurring) (Weakley 1991). (3) Excessive trampling by visitors, especially in less stable moist areas like the pine savanna-pocosin ecotone, or other habitat disturbance resulting from firewood cutting and insectivorous plant harvest, can negatively impact the rare plant species (McIver 1981). (4) Digging of fire plowlines to suppress wildfires could physically impact the rare plant species or cause damage to the topography and hydrologic patterns of the associated wetland (McIver 1981, LeBlond 1991b). The savanna-pocosin ecotone where Solidago pulchra often occurs is especially likely to be targeted by this threat, since foresters often locate fire lines at the boundary between the longleaf pine uplands and the pond pine pocosins (Weakley 1991). This zone is also perhaps the most vulnerable to fire line disturbance, since it harbors a highly diverse herbaceous layer within a narrow band on the circumference of the pocosin (Weakley 1991). (5) Heavy equipment, whether used for fire suppression, in troop activities on military bases, or for harvesting of woody and herbaceous species, could impact the rare species directly or cause damage to the hydrology and topography of the associated wetland (McIver 1981, Weakley 1991, LeBlond 1991b). (6) Ditching, damming, filling, or otherwise altering the topography and hydrologic pattern of the wetland could impact the rare species and its habitat (McIver 1981, LeBlond 1991b). Protection areas especially vulnerable to wetland alterations are those whose boundaries do not encompass the entire wetland and adequate buffer. For instance, at the TNC-owned Green Swamp Preserve, a portion of the wetland occurs outside the northern border of The Nature Conservancy's property. A bordering landowner to the north has constructed a drainage canal along the northern Green Swamp Preserve property line. While no effects are anticipated on the water table due to the low permeability of peat soils, the ditch may impact surface and subsurface flow into the swamp (McIver 1981). (7) In artificially maintained, open, wet savannas, such as roadsides and powerline rights-of-way, mowing which is not restricted to the dormant period of the species and its community (December to March) may interfere with its reproductive cycle. Road maintenance, such as ditching and scraping, and road widening could physically impact the rare species and its wetland habitat at roadside sites (LeBlond 1991b). (8) Any conversion of the natural savanna habitat and surrounding buffer areas, whether for development, agriculture, silviculture, roadways, or other purposes, should be avoided. Removal of natural vegetative cover can promote the invasion of weedy species and contribute to degradation of wetlands through siltation and chemical runoff (Weakley 1991).