Forest Type
SAF 102: Baldcypress-water-tupelo, 60 acres
Description
The Little Wambaw Swamp is an example of the
generalized forest type described as "creek
swamp." As a headwater area for several creeks,
it is not subject to flooding by inundation
as are river bottom alluvial swamps, but serves
as a collecting basin from surrounding pine
uplands. There are no well-defined waterways
through this type of swamp, and floodwaters
gradually move toward various outlets before
becoming creeks.
The forest cover is a relatively uniform stand
dominated by swamp tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var.
biflora) with a strong admixture of baldcypress
(Taxodium distichum), and scattered water tupelo
(Nyssa aquatica). The stand's swamp tupelo are
exceptionally fine examples of this species.
Diameter range from 20 to 30 inches, not an
excessive size for old growth timber, but these
trees have very good form and are unusually
tall; many have 80 feet of merchantable bole.
Bald cypress are less numerous than swamp tupelo
but are larger in diameter (20 to 40 inches)
and generally taller. One veteran measured 60
inches in diameter eight feet above the ground
in 1964. The water tupelo are much like the
swamp tupelo, although their form is not quite
as good. Diameters at breat height may run larger
due to their characteristically greater butt
swell. A few red maple (Acer rubrum) of intermediate
crown class are present in the main canopy.
Because of the poor drainage, flood conditions
are the rule rather than the exception, but
water depths rarely average more than 16 inches.
The swamp is close enough to the Atlantic Ocean
to have the rather humid oceanic climate typical
of the South Carolina low country. Precipitation
is heaviest during the summer and averages about
50 inches a year, with a 280 day growing season.
Daily average temperatures are approximately
81 degrees for July and 50 degrees for January.
Location
Charleston County, South Carolina, within
Francis Marion National Forest.
Access
From Awendaw Road No. 217 (Whilden Rd.) to
Murrell Spurr Road, Forest Service No. 222.
For information contact
Wambaw District Ranger
McClellanville, South Carolina
803-887-3258
or
Southeastern Forest Experiment Station
Ashville, North Carolina 28802 |
