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Cypress, wet prairie, and pine flatwoods

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has an excellent 2.25 mile system of raised boardwalks that slice through pine flatwoods, wet prairie, pond cypress, and bald cypress habitats. This sanctuary is located near Naples, Florida. Major drivers of this system include several interrelated factors including: elevation, water, nutrients, and fire. The QTVR panorama below illustrates three distinct plant communities (pine flatwoods, wet prairie, and pond cypress) and two distinct ecotones. Ecotones are areas where two distinct communities meet. These ecotones have relatively sharp transitions while many are often gradual.

This is a great place for seeing wildlife, old growth bald cypress trees, etc. One thing that always surprises me about this place is how few mosquitoes are around even though you're in the middle of a swamp... A major reason for this is the presence of mosquito eating fish (Gambusia spp.). However, many small fish relish mosquito larvae...

QTVR (right)- Moving from left to right are pond cypress, wet prairie, and pine flatwoods. Pan over to see the small prescribed burn area behind the Naturalist guide.

This is an interactive panorama represented as a QuickTime VR movie. Click and drag the mouse to pan and tilt the view. Depress the shift and control keys to zoom in or zoom out.

The bald cypress (Taxodium distichum, left) wrapped in a strangler fig (Ficus aurea) is a true giant of this swamp. Specimens in the reserve are enormous. This represents one of the few old growth stands of bald cypress that have never been cut down. Strangler fig is typical in tropical forest and is nearing its range limit.

Pond cypress is a natural transition community between bald cypress forest and the wet prairie/pine flatwood. Pond cypress are smaller than bald cypress commonly found in the deeper portions of the swamp. Although stunted in growth some of these trees are over 100 years old. Cypress trees often form cypress knees (pneumatophore- a type of aerial root) which some beleive helps with the uptake of oxygen, like with the black mangroves. Others beleive they function more help support the cypress trees in the swamp.

Wet prairie is dominated bygrasses, sedges, and rushes. It is flooded for shorter durations than the other wetland habitats. It is slightly lower in elevation than pine flatwoods. The combination of nutrient-poor soils, fire, and flooding help keep this grass-dominated prairie from becoming a pine flatwood or a cypress swamp.

Pine flatwoods (right) are dominated by southern slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa), cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto), and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). They occur at a slightly higher elevation and are more dry. They are also shaped by periodic fires and most of the vegetation is adapted to fire. The forest remains relatively open because of the prescribed burning program in effect at the sanctuary.