LACLAIRE: UPLAND TEMPORARY POND VEGETATION IN FLORIDA


 The objective of this study was to provide information on the vegetative
community of upland temporary ponds in north and north-central Florida. Little
information is available on the species composition and distribution in these
wetlands. Plant community structure was investigated with the goal of formulating
some generalizations about the pond habitat which could be used to identify the
type temporary pond used for breeding by the gopher frog and/or the striped newt.
To fulfill the study objective the following questions were asked:

 1) What plant species characterize each pond basin?
 2) How similar is the vegetation of each site to each other?
 3) Does the vegetation reflect a pattern of structure, association, spatial shift,
 or zonation?
 4) Since considerable attention has been focused on wetland designation
 criteria, does the vegetation of each pond correspond to a wetland index
 value indicative of wetland?
 5) What is the effect of hydrology on species richness, diversity, and
 distribution?


 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


 I thank Kenneth S. Clough, Richard (Dick) Franz, C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., and Lora Smith for field
assistance; Cary Norquist and Sidney McDaniel for plant identification; Robert L. Jones for computer
assistance; and an anonymous reviewer whose comments significantly improved the manuscript. I am
especially grateful to Dick Franz for encouragement and support. This work was undertaken in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the University of Florida.