Cypress DomesCypress dome depressional wetlands are generally round, closed or connected lows in the generally flat landscape. The soils are often, but not always, organic. When organic soils occur, they are thickest near the center of the wetland, which usually has the longest period of inundation. These wetlands typically have a wet meadow zone (Stewart and Kantrud 1971) immediately down slope of the upland wetland boundary. The boundary is often marked with a ring of saw palmetto. The wet meadow has the shortest period of inundation and in dry years may be saturated only to the soil surface. This zone is also the first to be invaded by upland species as a result of drainage. Cypress domes are often destroyed during clearing of upland vegetation around the wetland. The cypress zone is inside the wet meadow zone and would correspond to the shallow marsh zone. This zone is dominated by pond cypress with little understory vegetation and is nearly always inundated for several months during the year. Some cypress domes have a deep marsh zone inside the cypress zone. This zone is open of tree canopy giving the wetland a doughnut appearance. The deep marsh, when present, has the longest period of inundation. GuidebooksNoble, C. V., Evans, R., McGuire, M., Trott, K., Davis, M., and Clairain, E. J., Jr. (2004). "A Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessing Wetland Functions of Depressional Wetlands in Peninsular Florida," ERDC/EL TR-04-3, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg.
Web Date: October 1997 |
