Restoration of a Southern Appalachian Mountain Bog: Phase I. Reed Canary Grass Removal

Mountain bogs are among the most unique and important wetlands in the Southern Appalachian Region. These geographically isolated, nonalluvial wetlands support substantial floristic diversity including regional disjuncts or relict species, as well as local endemics and a host of otherwise rare or protected plant species such as the federally endangered bunched arrowhead (Sagittaria fasiculata) and mountain sweet pitcher plant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii). In North Carolina alone, this habitat type is known to support at least 134 plants considered to be significantly rare.

There are 126 sites in North Carolina designated as mountain bogs, but recent work by Wichmann (2009) indicates that these could represent at least 12 different natural community types. Although comprehensive mapping has not been completed, the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program (NCPCP) can document about 526 ha of mountain bog habitat persisting in various states of composition and condition, with estimates as high as 1,800 ha (USFWS 1999). These sites range from about 0.1 ha to just over 90 ha in size (NCPCP, unpub. data). While the historic extent cannot be quantified, it is widely believed that substantial declines have occurred and that pressures, such as fragmentation, modified hydrologic regimes, encroaching development, and invasive species, continue to threaten even the protected bogs. The fate of unprotected bogs is dire. In one case, a large factory (eventually a Superfund site) was built in the core of a bog, dissecting the fringes with roads, ditches, and even a railroad spur line.

Given their rarity and uniqueness, it is not surprising that conservation of the remaining examples of this habitat has become a high priority. Half of the known bog sites and about 75% of the total bog area known in North Carolina are under some form of protection or conservation. The unique diversity of these bogs, the constant pressures they face, and the sparse literature, especially that concerned with bog management, inspire us to share our early experiences restoring one partially protected bog site: Bat Fork Bog Plant Conservation Preserve.

The preserve is located in Henderson County, about five minutes from downtown Hendersonville, within the Upper French Broad River Basin. The site is bounded by Mud Creek, a headwater tributary of the French Broad River, which flows roughly north from springs at higher elevations to Hendersonville, where it is joined by the waters of Bat Fork. In the early part of the twentieth century extensive ditching, channel straightening, and draining occurred throughout Henderson County. Much of the impacted wetland was cleared for agriculture and grazing. The Mud Creek drainage, including Bat Fork and its other tributaries, is now subjected to agricultural land or suburban or urban development and suffers from poor water quality.

Figure 1.

The swamp/forest/bog complex, Bat Fork Bog, Henderson County, North Carolina.

Photo by Tom Baugh

In 1996, Bat Fork Bog Plant Conservation Preserve may have been the first Southern Appalachian Bog purchased by the state of North Carolina (using funds provided by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund) specifically to protect this rare habitat type and its component plant species. The 6.8 ha preserve is a mere fraction of a much larger wetland complex that has been substantially altered over time. About half of the preserve could be considered a remnant bog where vegetation has apparently never been completely removed and elements of "natural" forest remain (Figure 1). This area is dominated by an overstory of red maple (Acer rubrum), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and swamp tupelo (Nyssa biflora), with an understory including black chokeberry (Photinia melanocarpa), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), swamp doghobble (Leucothoe racemosa), northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin), and possumhaw (Viburnum nudum). The other half of the preserve consists of an open, seasonally wet meadow with a monoculture of the invasive reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), and several ditches in the southeast corner also dominated by reed canary grass. Plants of special concern within the preserve are Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum ssp. stewardsonii), swamp pink (Helonias bullata), Canada lily (Lilium...