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Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element
<br />Forested wetlands
<br />The generalized category of forested wetlands includes several major habitat types. The common
<br />denominators of this ecological community are seasonal or permanent inundation and predominance
<br />of woody vegetation. Their species composition, ecology, and wildlife benefits vary with soil
<br />conditions, hydrology, and topography. Cypress swamps and Bayhead swamps are forested wetland
<br />community types found in Indian River County.
<br />The cypress swamp ecological community occurs along rivers and along the littoral shelf of lakes,
<br />sloughs and strands. This community may also be interspersed throughout other communities, such
<br />as flatwoods and sloughs. In Indian River County, cypress "domes" are found primarily west of
<br />Interstate 95, interspersed with flatwood and prairie communities in depressions and poorly defined
<br />drainageways. The diversity of trees is low in the cypress heads, with pond cypress being the
<br />dominant species. Other trees and plants that may be found in this community include red maple,
<br />coastal plain willow, black gum, buttonbush, wax myrtle, cinnamon fern, royal fern, Spanish moss,
<br />stiff -leafed wild pine, maidencane, and narrowleaf sawgrass.
<br />The substrate condition of cypress swamps is poorly drained, with water at or above ground level
<br />most of the year. Within this community, the low diversity of plant species is generally due to
<br />fluctuating water levels and low nutrient availability. As such, the cypress swamp plant community
<br />is sensitive to long term changes in the water level due to channelization, drainage, stabilization or
<br />impounding. Because natural regeneration of cypress requires fluctuation of water levels, flooding
<br />during the dry season prevents cypress trees from reproducing. Normally, water levels are highest in
<br />summer, and peak reproductivity occurs in early spring. Water availability is required to germinate
<br />cypress seeds; however, when seedlings start to grow, their tops must be maintained above water.
<br />The cypress swamp community plays an important role for wildlife, and is well suited for waterfowl
<br />and wading birds. Aquatic animals may also be found in large numbers. The permanent residents of
<br />cypress domes are few, but much of the wildlife of adjacent flatwoods and prairies depend on these
<br />ponds for breeding purposes. Species commonly associated with this community include deer, mink,
<br />raccoon, otter, barred owl, egrets, heron, pileated woodpecker, purple gallinule, prothonotary
<br />warbler, wood duck, wood stork, alligator, frogs, turtles, salamanders, and a variety of water snakes.
<br />The swamp hardwood ecological community is characterized by hardwoods, a high percentage of
<br />which are deciduous. Species composition in these areas is largely determined by the kind of soils
<br />that occur. Trees commonly associated with swamp hardwoods are red maple, black gum, water
<br />tupelo and cypress. Many of these areas in Florida were originally dominated by cypress, but when
<br />large cypress trees were cut out, other hardwoods became predominant.
<br />In conjunction with the Florida Division of Forestry, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation
<br />Service (MRCS) identifies approximately 6,500 acres of the oak -gum -cypress swamp hardwood
<br />Community Development Department Indian River County 54
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