| Summary: | Barrier islands include some of the most endangered and fragmented ecosystems on the Atlantic coast, providing critical habitat for many species, including some that are threatened and endangered. As the vast majority of these islands have been developed for human usage study and protection of the few remaining undeveloped and undisturbed islands is critical. This study was undertaken in order to characterize the vascular plant communities on Bird Island, an uninhabited, undeveloped barrier island on the border of North and South Carolina, with the objectives of a thorough survey of flora, vegetation, and environment, classification of plant communities, and multivariate analysis of vegetation and environmental data. A floristic inventory of the island and its associated marshes was conducted during the growing season (May-November) of 2002 and 2003. One hundred four 100m² plots were inventoried for vegetation and environment using protocols developed by the Carolina Vegetation Survey. Plant communities were identified according to the National Vegetation Classification, the Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina, and the Carolina Vegetation Survey. Interpretation of vegetation patterns was based on multivariate analysis of vegetation and environmental data. Ninety-one vascular plant species in 35 families, including 4 exotic species, were distributed across 12 communities. Communities on Bird Island appear to be distinctive when compared to those described for other barrier islands in the region. Additionally, the vegetation survey on Bird Island revealed suitable habitat for the federally listed Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus); an important dune-building annual of the North American Atlantic coast. Surveys of the late 1980s and early 1990s documented small populations of Seabeach amaranth on Bird Island, but our work found no indication of a population in either 2002 or 2003. Seabeach amaranth's existence range-wide is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, herbivory, and ...
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