Publications

The 2021-2 survey conducted by the NCBP of the New Hope Creek corridor in Durham County included the Hollow Rock Nature Park but focused primarily on the floodplain habitats along the creek itself. An upland area located east of Pickett Road was noted, however, for the maturity of its stand and its somewhat unusual composition, with a large number of Shortleaf Pines and Post Oaks intermixed with Northern Shagbark Hickories and Florida Maples. In 2024, Steve Hall and Carol Tingley conducted a more detailed habitat analysis of this site in a project funded by the Durham Open Space Program. Although focused on the vegetation – surveyed over 61 randomly selected, 5m radius circular quadrats -- this project was conducted more as a habitat survey. Instead of recording structural features, including cover and dominance in the various strata, this survey evaluated species within a set of spatially overlapping habitats and based on the viability of their occurrences within the study area, qualities that could be applied to any taxon. The odd mixture of xerophytic and mesophytic species, and acidophilic and basophilic species was confirmed, with a number of species expected for the individual habitat types as found to be missing from the site. The ecosystem overall, however, appears to closely match the Mixed Moisture Hardpan Forest recently described by Mike Schafale in his 2012 revision of the Natural Communities of North Carolina. This site may, in fact, represent one of the largest and best developed examples of this type in the state.