Kevin Baylen

Professor Mehrdad Vaziri

EVR 4027 Wetland Environments

27 April 2019

Comprehensive Wetland Summary and Report

Wetlands are an essential part of an ecosystem, supporting the rich biodiversity that live

within its reach as well as playing a detrimental role in the water cycle. On a large scale,

wetlands are referred to as the “kidneys of the landscape,” for multiple reasons: they are the

downstream receivers of water and waste which come from both human and natural sources,

they stabilize water supplies and prevent flooding, they clean polluted waters, protect shorelines,

and they recharge groundwater with nutrients. Looking closer, wetlands themselves maintain a

very productive ecosystem, supporting extensive food chains, providing a unique habitat for a

large variety of plants and animals. Without wetlands, pollutants and waste would remain in the

environment and the land would not be replenished with nutrients, the vast array of wildlife and

biota would die off and the world would eventually lose its

ability to support life. It is important to know what wetlands

do for us, and the only way that conservation and restoration

efforts will be effective is if their importance is taught and

seen in person. Lettuce Lake Park is a close and easily

accessible wetland, so I decided to take this opportunity to

study the aspects of this environment in an effort to gain a

greater understanding the wetlands around me.

 Lettuce Lake Park is a plot of land to the east of the Hillsborough River, with a size of

about 240 acres. I visited this park on April 26th, 2019, and the weather was around 75-80

degrees Fahrenheit with a cloudy sky. I

walked along the entirety of the

boardwalk, the solid red line on the map

to the left, and observed the open water

of the Hillsborough River. There was a

large variety of hydrophytes present

close to the water, as well as further in

Map of Lettuce Lake Park land. The types of hydrophytes were

dispersed throughout the park, but the as I moved north on the boardwalk, I noticed denser

patches and more diversity in the biota. There were many bald cypress trees throughout, and

likewise, as I went deeper north, the age of the trees that I observed seemed to be older the

farther north they were. From these indications, it can be assumed that this wetland could be

receding, as the outskirts of the water decline, and the plant life along the periphery recess. Since

the entire ecosystem seems to be dependent on the water source of the Hillsborough River, this

wetland can be classified as a Riparian

Ecosystem. The photo to the left shows

evidence of the rich plant life that use the

nutrients provided by the Hillsborough

River. There are woody, floating,

submergent and emergent hydrophytes

visible along the river.

 At Lettuce Lake Park, I observed both hydrophytic

and halophytic vegetation, although there were more

abundant examples of the former. When I first entered the

park, there were a number of Serenoa repens, or saw

palmettos, shown to the right, along the pathways. As I

approached the water line, the number of these specimens

decreased, giving way to a much more hyrdrophyte dense

flora. Since the saw palmetto is a halophyte, this is to be

expected.

The most abundant of woody hydrophytes present on

the field were Taxodium distichum, more commonly known

as bald cypress. Specimen were observed most heavily right

along the edge of the river but could also be found as far as

along the paved road driving into the park. On the trees

further back from the

water, you could see water

marks reaching up their

buttressed trunks;

indication of a much higher water line prior to today. As I went

deeper into the wetland, the cypress trees I saw were increasing

taller and larger in diameter, evident from there old age, this

wetland has been present here for a long period time, most like

far before any humans have built around them. As the park was developed, the trees further on
the outskirts may have been destroyed and more have grown to fill their absence, which could

explain the smaller trees closer to human settlements.

Along with the woody species, were many

specimen of emergent hydrophytes, like the Pontederia

cordata, or pirckerelweed. Pickerelweed is an obligate

plant species and is found almost always in the natural

conditions of a wetland. In the instances that I found this

hydrophyte in the wetland, the pickerelweed had grown

in large masses all together, rather than having small

groups dispersed sporadically.

Moving on to the floating class of hydrophytes, there

were many occurrences of Eichhornia crassipes, or water

hyacinth. This plant is non-native to the area and can grow

up to three feet tall. They can easily be identified by their

dark green leave blades that are circular to elliptical in

shape. Although I did not find any that were flowering, they

can also be identified by their showy purple flowers that

bloom on a terminal spike. Like the pickerelweed found on

the site, the water hyacinth also mainly occurred in large clusters, and rarely occurred in smaller

individual pockets.
 Considering all of these specimens that I found on this park, having a large variety of

hydrophytic plant life with a few instances of halophytes, this environment meets the criteria in

this aspect to be classified as a wetland.

The hydrology of this wetland is affected by most of the normal hydrological processes:

precipitation, surface water, groundwater, and evotranspiration. The only process that the

wetland at Lettuce Lake Park does not exhibit is tides. Although the Hillsborough Bay, which the

river present in this area is connected to, has tides, there is minimal effect on the level of water

this far in land from the bay. I would have to do more in-depth research on site to determine this

wetland’s exact water budget, but based on the activity of the plant life, and how they propagate

toward the river, I would infer that the surface water which flows into and out from the

ecosystem from the river is the process that causes the most annual change in water.

Based on the photo, I hypothesize that the net

annual change in water is in the negatives. From the

point where I parked my car on site, roughly 500 feet

or 155 meters away from the shore of the river, I

immediately saw trees with water marks on their

trunks that reach about 1.5 to 2.5 feet above the

grounds. As well, there were many pneumatophores in

the same area, where it appeared that prior flooding of

the area had only occurred years in the past, or

perhaps, during heavy rainfall.

Other indicators of the hydrology on the site that I did not observe include mud cracks

and sediment deposition.

 I would categorize the regime of this wetland as permanently flooded. Evident by the

presence of the Hillsborough river, but outside of that, the assemblage of the vegetation, how

their numbers gravitate toward the river.

This wetland displayed plenty of evidence of having hydric soils. In the photo, which is

taken along the rivers shore, you can see the excessive moisture in the soil and an abundance of

organic matter. At this specific point

on the site, there was no smell to the

soil; a “rotten egg” smell would

indicate the reduction of sulfur,

although a soil that is very saturated

with water would be the conditions for

which reduction would occur. As

mentioned earlier, this photo also

shows that the soil has a thick layer of organic matter. Since this soil is right at the water’s edge,

it is completely saturated with water, which slows the decomposition of dead plants.

Other indicators of hydric soils which I was not able to observe include reddish or dark

colored mottles, which would be evidence of oxidation, or gleyed coloring below the surface

which would be an indication of reduction in anaerobic conditions.

Based on the indicators in the photo and other’s that I saw, this wetland does meet the

criteria for hydric soils, having soil which is saturated with water and high in organic matter.

Lettuce Lake Park contains the three components of a wetland: water, hydric soils, and

hydrophytes. The hydrology of the wetland is evident by the presence of the Hillsborough river,
which runs through the area. Additionally, water marks on the tree trunks and pneumatophores

far from the river’s reach show signs of possible intermittent flooding. There are dark soils along

the water’s edge which contain an abundance of decomposing plant matter. Also, the plant life is

comprised of both hydrophytes and halophyte, although hydrophytes do dominate, especially the

farther north along the river you go. Lettuce Lake Park is a freshwater wetland and flood plain.

This wetland is naturally occurring. This hypothesis is based primarily on the evident age

of the bald cypress trees that I observed. They would have to outdate the buildings on the park

itself, as well as the surrounding civilization. This wetland provides as a transformer for all the

water, nutrients, and litter that flow down this way from the Hillsborough river. The many debris

that find their way into this wetland are slowly degrade (if they are biodegradable) and the

nutrients goes into the water and soil, which the plant life of the area use to grow. The many

animals that I saw during my visit also use the nutrients present in this wetland. With the variety

of plant and animal life seen on the site, it is without doubt that this wetland provides essential

nutrients to the landscape, both within its own confines, as well as maintaining the litter that

come from outside its reach.