RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

 Flood Analysis of Study Sites 



Twenty years of hydrologic data were used for all sites except 

 sites 4, 5, and 14. Sites 4 and 5 had a 19-year hydrologic record, and 

 site 14 had a 12-year record. Calculations of change in water surface 

 elevation between the gauging station and site was necessary for sites 

 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 12, and 17. All other sites were adjacent to the gauging 

 station and did not require adjustments. Hydrologic analyses of sites 

 11 and 12 at the Apalachicola River were verified using information from 

 another study (Leitman, Sohm, and Franklin 1984) . 



The hydrologic records for all sites were analyzed by season for 

 five-year increments. In all cases, variation in flow through time was 

 determined to be within normal seasonal and annual fluctuations. There- 

 fore, it was assumed that the hydrologic record reflected normal condi- 

 tions (i.e., no major drainage projects during the period of record had 

 significantly impacted the plant community structure) . 



The hydrologic data also were analyzed to determine annual flood 

 frequency and duration for each site. The boundaries between Zones 2 

 and 3 and between Zones 3 and 4 are flooded virtually every year 

 (Table 2). The boundary between Zones 4 and 5 is flooded at least every 

 other year, and the boundary between Zones 5 and 6 is flooded from once 



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