FNAI COMMUNITY:

Basin Swamp

STAGE DESCRIPTION

• Overstory: Closed canopy of blackgum, cypress, slash pine, red maple, swamp redbay, sweetbay magnolia, loblolly bay, and Virginia willow (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, 1990).
• Mid Story: Open to dense layer of fetterbush, laurel greenbrier, wax myrtle, titi, sphagum moss, and buttonbush (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, 1990).
• Ground Cover: Much of a basin swamp is covered with water.  On land, herbs and grasses that can withstand inundation for great length exist (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, 1990).
• Duff/Litter Layer: Organic duff can be several feet deep.  Litter is composed mostly of hardwood tree and woody vegetation debris (Ewel, 1990).
• Soils: Acidic, nutrient poor peat.  Usually inundated 200-300 days a year (Florida Natural Areas Inventory, 1990).  Typical soil types include Charlotte, Dorovan Thermic Variant, Pickney, Rutledge, and Samsula (Soil Conservation Society of America, 1987).