Here’s a good view of the winter mosaic:
Can you see the hardwood hammock, pinelands, marl prairie, dwarf prairie, tall cypress, and marsh in the photograph below?
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| Can you see the palm trees? |
How long does the winter mosaic last?
Usually by March the cypress are fully greened out.
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| The mosaic is harder to see once it greens out in March |
But greener should not be confused with moister.
Spring also coincides with the swamps seasonal drought.
Ironically, the cypress sort of have a hand in the matter.
It’s the increased tug of transpiration of their roots on the water table below that dries the shallow aquifer further and further down to the point that, sometime in the spring, even the swamp’s natural fire breaks, i.e. cypress stands and domes, go dry.
