Hydroperiods of Cypress Domes in West-Central Florida, USA

Annual wetland hydroperiods, defined here as the number of days per calendar year that water levels exceed a specified depth, were assessed at various depths for 41 cypress dome wetlands in west-central Florida lacking substantial anthropogenic impacts on hydrology. The effects of data sampling frequency and length of data on hydroperiod calculations were also evaluated. On average, the cypress domes had at least some surface water present for approximately 215 to 325 days per year and were fully inundated for approximately 5 to 20 days. We find that approximately twice monthly water level data collection for ten years represents a minimum data sampling frequency and data length target for characterizing cypress dome hydroperiods. The results provide insights into how hydroperiods can vary in time and space while delineating typical baseline hydroperiod ranges for cypress domes in the west-central Florida study area. More broadly, and applicable to wetlands worldwide, the work underscores the need to contextualize hydroperiods relative to depth threshold and data collection characteristics in order to better understand hydroperiods within and between wetlands.