Guide to the vascular flora of the savannas and flatwoods of Shaken Creek Preserve and vicinity (Pender & Onslow counties, North Carolina, U.S.A.).

Shaken Creek Preserve ("SCP") is a 2,448 ha (6,050 ac) natural area in Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina (U.S.A). Best known for its high-quality longleaf pine savanna habitat, the site contains seven savanna or savanna-like plant community types (i.e., flatwoods or sandhills), three of which are globally critically imperiled (G1): Sandy Pine Savanna (Rush Featherling subtype), Wet Loamy Pine Savanna, and Very Wet Loamy Pine Savanna. SCP hosts three Federally Endangered plant species and six Federal Species of Concern. Formerly a private hunting club, the site was virtually unknown to scientists until the 1990s; consequently, few biological inventories of SCP have been conducted. In particular, no systematic floristic inventories of the species-rich savannas have been undertaken, despite the fact that floristic data is critical to the effective management of any natural area. The goals of this study were to (1) inventory the vascular flora of the savannas, flatwoods, and sandhill community types on site through the collection of voucher specimens; (2) provide a comprehensive checklist of the flora based on collections and reports made from the site and from the same or similar habitats in the vicinity (i.e., within 2 miles of SCP); and (3) create an illustrated guide based on the checklist. In order to increase the usefulness of the guide, taxa not currently known from SCP but collected or reported from the same or similar habitats within two miles of SCP, are included in the guide. Eighty-three families containing 450 taxa, including thirty-two Significantly Rare and thirty-eight Watch List taxa, were collected or reported from SCP; an additional seven families containing a total of 102 taxa, including eighteen Significantly Rare and seven Watch List taxa, were collected or reported from the vicinity. In total, ninety families containing 552 taxa, including fifty Significantly Rare and forty-five Watch List taxa, are treated in the guide. Dichotomous keys are provided to all vouchered or reported families, genera, and species. The following features are provided for all species and infraspecific taxa: flowering and fruiting phenology; synonymy with Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas, the Flora of North America, and Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States; relevant voucher information; and, for most taxa, line drawings and/or photographs. For taxa collected from SCP, community types in which the taxa occur and estimates of abundance on site are also provided.

Fate and transport of phosphate from an onsite wastewater system in Beaufort County, North Carolina.

The objectives for the study described in this article were to evaluate the fate and transport of onsite wastewater system (OWS)-derived phosphate from a residential system in Beaufort County, North Carolina, and to determine if current OWS setback regulations are sufficient to prevent elevated phosphate discharge to surface waters. Piezometers were installed in nests at different depths adjacent to drain-field trenches and up- and down-gradient of a residential OWS. Groundwater and septic effluent phosphate concentrations, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and electrical conductivity were monitored every two months from February 2011 to October 2011 (five times). The mean groundwater phosphate concentration beneath the OWS (3.05 +/- 0.74 mg/L) was not significantly different than septic effluent (2.97 +/- 0.76 mg/L) and was elevated relative to background groundwater (0.14 +/- 0.12 mg/L). Groundwater phosphate concentrations were inversely related (r2 = .83) to distance from the system. Onsite system setback regulations may have to be increased (>30 m) in some areas to ensure groundwater phosphate concentrations are reduced to background concentrations before discharge to surface waters.

Transport of E. coli in a sandy soil as impacted by depth to water table.

Septic systems are considered a source of groundwater contamination. In the study described in this article, the fate of microbes applied to a sandy loam soil from North Carolina coastal plain as impacted by water table depth was studied. Soil materials were packed to a depth of 65 cm in 17 columns (15-cm diameter), and a water table was established at 30, 45, and 60 cm depths using five replications. Each day, 200 mL of an artificial septic tank effluent inoculated with E. coli were applied to the top of each column, a 100-mL sample was collected at the water table level and analyzed for E. coli, and 100 mL was drained from the bottom to maintain the water table. Two columns were used as control and received 200 mL/day of sterilized effluent. Neither 30 nor 45 cm of unsaturated soil was adequate to attenuate bacterial contamination, while 60 cm of separation appeared to be sufficient. Little bacterial contamination moved with the water table when it was lowered from 30 to 60 cm.