fulvic acid complexes, which occur 

 naturally in the upland swamps, are washed 

 into the estuary durinq periods of high 

 local precipitation. Such water-qual itv 

 changes, associated with river flow and 

 local rainfall, affect the biological 

 organization of the bay system in terms of 

 primary productivity and food web 

 structure (Livingston ic)83b-d). 



'.S. BIOLOGICAL HABITATS 



The Aoalachicola drainage system as a 

 whole is an almost unbroken series of 

 natural habitats, which include upland 

 vegetation, swamps, marshes, and flood 

 plain wetlands. Much of the basin 

 vegetation has the appearance of a mature 

 forest because of rapid regrowth. Slash 

 and longleaf pine are abundant in upland 



areas. Although several municipalities 

 are located near or within the 

 Apalachicola and Chipola flood plains. 



none is a major urban center; there is 

 little industrialization in the basin. 

 The dimensions of the biological habitats 

 within the bay system and its associated 

 watershed (i.e., Franklin County) are 

 given in Tables 1 and ?. Aquatic areas, 

 together with forested and nonforested 

 wetlands, comprise about 42% of the total 

 area of Franklin County. As noted 

 previously, aquatic areas are dominated by 

 unvegetated soft-bottom substrates. 



2.5.1. Wetlands 



a. Bottomland hardwoods . The 

 Apalachicola flood plain (Figure 18) of 

 the upper river is relatively narrow 



a. 



o 



o 

 o 



I 



z> 



>- ^ 



I- "2 



5 ^ 



5 ^ 



1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 B79 1980 



1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1979 1979 1980 1981 1982 



O 



o 



cm 

 o 



_i 

 o 

 o 



< 



1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 



YEAR and MONTH 



« 140 





1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 ra78 1979 1980 1981 1982 



YEAR and MONTH 



Figure 16. Color (5-month moving 

 averages) at stations 1 and 5 in the 

 Apalachicola estuary taken monthly from 

 1972 through 1982. 



Figure 17. Turbidity (5-month moving 

 averages) at stations 1 and 5 in the 

 Apalachicola estuary taken monthly from 

 1972 through 1982. 



19 



