Species Richness of Cypress Dome Vegetation in West-Central Florida, USA

Abstract

Cypress domes are relatively small forested depressional wetlands common in the southeastern United States. The vegetative species richness of cypress domes is quantified using 15 years of annual vegetation data for 41 relatively unimpacted cypress domes in west-central Florida. Wetland species richness was normally distributed, with a median of 73 species and standard deviation of 16 species. Across the sample, 396 species representing 204 genera and 92 families were observed, with the jackknife estimator predicting a species richness of 516, much higher than previous observed or predicted values for cypress domes. Using a bootstrapping technique, the effects of increasing the sampled number of years and wetlands on species richness estimates were assessed, with fewer years or wetlands resulting in considerably lower estimates of richness. The results demonstrate the major contribution of cypress domes to regional biodiversity and the value of long-term monitoring at multiple wetlands.