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Pocosin is a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. Groundwater saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged . Pocosin soils are nutrient-deficient (), especially in phosphorus.Snyder, S. A. (1993). Pocosin. In: Fire Effects Information System, (Online). Fire Sciences Laboratory, United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
Pocosins occur in the southern portions of the Atlantic coastal plain of North America, spanning from southeastern Virginia, through North Carolina, and into South Carolina. The majority of pocosins are found in North Carolina.Rapid Assessment Reference Condition Model: Potential Natural Vegetation Group: Pocosin. n.p. (2005). PDF. 9 Oct. 2013. The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1984 to help preserve pocosin wetlands. The nearby Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge also protects pocosin habitat.
Shrub vegetation is common in a pocosin ecosystem. Pocosins are sometimes called shrub bogs. Pinus serotina ( Pinus serotina) dominate pocosin forests, but Pinus taeda ( Pinus taeda) and Pinus palustris ( Pinus palustris) are also associated with pocosins. Additionally, pocosins are home to rare and threatened plant species including Venus flytrap ( Dionaea muscipula) and Sarracenia rubra ( Sarracenia rubra).
A distinction is sometimes made between short pocosins, which have shorter trees (less than ), deeper peat, and fewer soil nutrients, and tall pocosins, which have taller trees (greater than ), shallow peat, and more nutrient-rich soil. (2025). 9780520959118, University of California Press. ISBN 9780520959118 Where soil saturation is less frequent and peat depths shallower, pocosins transition into pine flatwoods. A loose definition of "pocosin" can include all shrub and forest , as well as stands of Atlantic white cedar ( Chamaecyparis thyoides) and loblolly pine on the Atlantic coastal plain.
Pocosins are formed by the accumulation of organic matter, resembling black muck, that is built up over thousands of years. This accumulation of material causes the area to be highly acidic and nutrient-deficient. The thickness of the organic buildup varies depending on one's location within the pocosin. Near the edges the buildup can be several inches thick but toward the center it can be up to several feet thick. Vegetation on the pocosin varies throughout. At the edges more pond pine is found with an abundance of titi, zenobia (a shrub unique to pocosins), and greenbrier vines.Pocosin Wilderness. Wilderness, n.p. n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. Closer to the center, thin stunted trees are typically found and fewer shrubs and vines are present.Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. n.p. n.d. PDF. 9 Oct. 2013.
Pocosins are important to migratory birds due to the abundance of various types of berries.
Pocosin ecosystems are fire-adapted (Pyrophyte). Pond pines exhibit serotiny, such that wildfire can create a pond pine seedbed in the soil. Wildfires in pocosins tend to be intense, sometimes burning deep into the peat, resulting in small lakes and ponds.
Wildfires occurring about once a decade tend to cause pond pines to dominate over other trees, and cane ( Arundinaria) rather than shrubs to dominate the understory. More frequent fires result in a pyrophytic shrub understory. Annual fires prevent shrub growth and thin the pond pine forest cover, creating a flooded savanna with grass, sedge, and herb groundcover.
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