BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 38 PT. I(3)


rings of different species and vegetative types can occur in temporary ponds as
band-like divisions related to hydrology and slope (Lippert and Jameson 1964;
Weller 1979). A typical pattern of zonation in a temporary pond has several
discrete components, depending on soil moisture and the extent of flooding in the
basin. The center of a flooded pond often contains floating-leaved plants. This
inner zone is typically surrounded by vegetation with submerged roots growing in
wet edges. Extending out from this zone, in damp ground surrounding the wet
areas, is a band of tall and short emergents, such as sedges, rushes, and grasses.
Other grasses and composites occur in drier margins of the ponds followed lastly
by water-tolerant shrubs or trees in transitional zones (Lippert and Jameson 1964;
Weller 1979; Kushlan 1990; LaClaire and Franz 1991). The bands of vegetation
move back and forth across the pond basin in a reflection of changing soil moisture
conditions (LaClaire and Franz 1991).
 The wetland plants occurring in these basins have evolved adaptations to
alternating wet/dry periods and often require this cycle of inundation/drawdown for
their survival (van der Valk 1981). In other words, periodic water level changes,
including periodic drought, are required for maintenance of the temporary pond
plant community. The magnitude and frequency of the water level changes can be
perceived as gradients of a normal environment along which the different wetland
plants are distributed (Gopal 1986).
 Basic information on the vegetation of temporary ponds in south and west-
central Florida is available from several studies (Huffman 1982; Abrahamson et al.
1984; Botts and Cowell 1988), but a detailed description of the vegetation of
temporary ponds in north and north-central Florida previously has been lacking.
An overview of freshwater marshes in Florida was written by Kushlan (1990). He
described zones of vegetation, determined by hydroperiod, elevation, and water
depth, as typical of large highland marshes (central ridge of Florida) and flatwoods
marshes (pine flatwoods). The zonation and species composition within these
marshes have similarities to temporary ponds. Species in common with temporary
ponds are described below. Nymphaea sp. Occurred in deep water centers with
Panicum hemitomon on higher ground, intermixed with Leersia hexandra, Juncus
sp., Polygonum sp., and Lachnanthes caroliniana. Farther upslope, Rhynchospora
inundata, R. tracyi (flatwoods marsh), and Eleocharis sp. occurred. The
uppermost zone of the flatwoods marsh, which completely dried-out each year,
supported a wet prairie association with a variable species composition dominated
by Hypericum fasciculatum, Amphicarpum muhlenbergianum, Panicum abscissum,
and Xyris spp.. Flatwoods marsh terminated abruptly in a border of woody
vegetation containing Serenoa repens, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Salix sp.,
Fraxinus sp., Ilex glabra, Lyonia sp., and slash pine (Pinus elliottii), or dry prairie.
Panicum hemitomon marshes dominated the higher ground on sandy substrates
and typically had a Sphagnum mat. Andropogon spp. and Spartina bakeri were
also mentioned as occurring in some marsh associations.