KUCHLER TYPE
KUCHLER TYPE: Cypress savanna



KUCHLER-TYPE-NUMBER : 
K091

PHYSIOGNOMY : 
Open forest to savanna with needleleaf deciduous trees, some broadleaf
evergreen trees or shrubs.  Trees and shrubs also in groves surrounded
by open grasslands [31].


OCCURRENCE : 
Kuchler's description of cypress savanna is similar to Davis'
description [7] of cypress swamps in southern Florida.  Davis classified
southern Florida by physiographic regions and recognized four vegetation
types containing baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) or pondcypress (T. d.
var. nutans) in southern Florida.  Three of these correspond to
generally recognized types of stillwater cypress swamps in southern
Florida:  dwarf cypress savanna, cypress domes (also called cypress
heads or cypress ponds), and cypress strands [6,7,17].  In addition,
mixed swamps (also called mixed hardwood swamps or mixed swamp forests)
contain cypress, although cypress is usually not dominant [7,17].
Kuchler's description and species list for cypress savanna appears to
include the three cypress-dominated types.  Throughout this writeup,
where information pertains to all three types the term cypress swamp
will be used.  Where information is specific to a particular type, the
abovementioned type names will be used.

Kuchler's definition of cypress savanna appears to include cypress
domes, strands, and dwarf cypress savanna that occurs in southern
Florida in Big Cypress Swamp, Fakahatchee State Preserve, Corkscrew
Swamp Sanctuary, and Everglades National Park.  Cypress domes also occur
in Okefenokee Swamp and within pine flatwoods in northern Florida.
These domes are not on Kuchler's map of cypress savanna; whether this is
because of size or because he did not include them in the definition is
unknown.  This writeup will focus on cypress domes, strands, and dwarf
cypress savanna occurring in southern Florida.  The cypress domes
occuring in northern Florida and in Okefenokee Swamp are slightly
different from those described by Kuchler, but they contain many of the
same species and have similar ecological processes and are thus included
in this writeup [8,31].  Information derived from cypress domes
elsewhere will be included where it is deemed relevant since many of the
species and ecological processes appear to be similar.  This writeup
does not include cypress swamps on alluvial soils which occur over the
southeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain from the Carolinas to Louisiana.

STATES:

FL


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Janet Sullivan, November 1994


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1994. Cypress savanna. In: Remainder of Citation


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