Pocosin wetland status and owner type for North Carolina

Pocosins are a unique wetland type in the North Carolina coastal plain that provide valuable wildlife habitat and store large amounts of carbon in their peat soils. Many pocosins in North Carolina have been altered by drainage, land clearing, or plantation forestry. There is increasing interest in pocosin restoration, with some restoration projects on both public and private land already underway. To help identify opportunities for pocosin restoration and as a first step to improving estimates of carbon storage by pocosins, we created updated maps of pocosin status (vegetation and drainage) and owner type, building on the existing wetlands maps developed by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management in 1999.