Identifying Important
Small Wetlands and Potential Sites
for Rare Species in the Southeast
3
Ken Taylor © NC Wildlife Resources Commission Gray’s lily (Lilium grayi).
The term “wetland” can have different
meanings in different contexts. For official
regulatory purposes, a wetland is defined as
“those areas that are inundated or saturated by
surface or groundwater for a frequency and
duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in
saturated soil condition.” In most areas of the
Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains, wet-
lands are commonly referred to as swamps,
marshes, bogs, wet flats, or bottomland hard-
wood forests.
The source of water (groundwater,
rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt) is the
most important factor in the development of
any wetland. The amount of water in an area
and the amount of time flooded conditions
persist determine the kind of wetland that
develops in an area. Hopefully, you will find
examples of the types of wetlands that occur
naturally in your region. These can then be
used as reference for restoration and
management (Appendix A).
The various wetland types located in the
Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain regions of
the Southeast harbor many rare plant and
animal species. Of the habitats mentioned in
Appendix B (rare plants and animals),
Southern Appalachian Bogs support more rare
species than all other types of wetlands
combined. The bog turtle, Clemmys
muhlenbergii, is found in 3 of the 6 wetland
types, and has been chosen as the prime
example to illustrate the need to identify
potential sites. It is a federally protected
species and there is great interest in its status,
distribution, and natural history. Many
agencies and organizations use the bog turtle
as the flagship species for wetland protection.
If a site has potential as bog turtle habitat, then
it is most likely potential habitat for other rare
species.
The following guidelines can easily be
modified to identify potential habit