Can rewatering reverse the effects of regional drainage on forest communities of the Big Cypress Swamp?

The impact of five years of rewatering on a desiccated forested wetland within the Everglades Big Cypress Swamp was investigated. It was found that rewatering generally resulted in a shift in species composition along a hydrological gradient. This was particularly evident in the seedling and herbaceous layer of the cypress domes, the most hydric community studied, where obligate and facultative wetland species had their highest species richness. Overall there were no detectable differences in the number of non-indigenous species in rewatered compared to reference sites. Results from this short-term study showed that rewatering may potentially reverse the trend of increasing coverage by non-obligate wetland plants that have established in the past century as a result of regional desiccation.