Contributed Talk
Cara Rockwell
Florida International University Institute of Environment, Department of Earth & Environment, United States
Paulo Olivas
Florida International University Institute of Environment, Department of Earth & Environment, United States
Erick Revuelta
St John’s River Water Management District, United States
Courtney L. Angelo
National Park Service, United States
Alex Crow
The Institute for Regional Conservation, United States
Riley P. Fortier
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL, United States
Natalia Herrera-Blitman
Florida International University Department of Biological Sciences, United States
Tony Pernas
National Park Service, United States
Cesar Becerra
Florida International University Green Library Special Collections, United States
The Big Cypress Swamp was heavily logged for timber during the 20th century. The remnant cypress forests of Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) still harbor great potential for restoration of native plant communities and ecosystem services. Even so, studies in other regions with similar exploitation histories suggest that these efforts are often challenged by degraded forests’ shifts in species composition and forest structure, rendering them vulnerable to recurring disturbances. Between February-May 2021, we installed nineteen 25x25m vegetation plots across logged parcels of cypress strand and mixed swamp forest in the Gator Hook and Roberts Lake Strands to evaluate the status of the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) population. We also documented remnant cut stumps to assess the extent of historical logging intensity, as well as species composition. To complement the ground data, we conducted a geospatial analysis of historical aerial photographs to determine spatially explicit shifts in vegetation communities from 1940 (pre-logging intervention) until 2020. Results from both the ground survey and geospatial analysis indicate that logging intensity was high, leaving few commercially valuable stems. Despite the high grading that occurred in the sites, adult individuals of T. distichum were well represented across the sites in 2021, although seedlings and juvenile trees were less abundant. Indeed, mixed swamp species such as Annona glabra, Chrysobalanus icaco, Ficus aurea, and Fraxinus caroliniana, rather than bald cypress, dominate the mid-canopy stratum in the strands. Our geospatial vegetation community analysis demonstrates that most of the “pure” cypress strands present in 1940 have now shifted to other forest community types.