On a recent job we replicated flotants in open cisterns used to manage stormwater, primarily using driftwood to create a substrate for soil + plants to hold onto. Dr. Thomas' mention of the change from floating marsh to swamp forest as woody plants root and take over reminds me of a recent trip to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, in South Carolina just above Savannah, GA. Shown in the photo below, cattails are involved in transforming this freshwater pond into a maritime forest -- as cattails fall, they fill in the swamp's depression and build soil as they break down.
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| White Ibis rookery. Scarlet Ibis are in the area as well but are more easily found around the Savannah Wildlife Refuge to the southwest. |
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| mama gator, about 11' long. We counted 12 young gators in the area, each about 30" long - swimming, basking, and resting in the shade. Note Typha (cattail) colonizing exposed mud. |
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| About 2/3 of the Pinckney refuge is comprised of salt marsh and tidal creeks, where Ibis can be found eating. |