Southern coastal plain oak dome and hammock

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The Southern coastal plain oak dome and hammock is a forest type occurring in small patches in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. These forests consist of thick stands of evergreen oaks on shallow depressions or slight hills. They are distinct from their surrounding habitats, which are often woodlands dominated by longleaf pine. [1]

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Mesic hammocks

Mesic hammocks, also known as oak hammock, or cabbage palm hammock, grow on moist soils that are rarely flooded. There is typically a dense layer of leaf litter, and the sandy soils are relatively rich. Mesic hammocks in the central part of the Florida peninsula have a lower diversity of tree species than do those to the north and south, as the ranges of most deciduous hardwoods found in northern Florida do not extend south of about Orlando, and the ranges of the tropical hardwoods found in southern Florida do not extend as far north as Lake Okeechobee. [2] [3] Common species are southern live oak ( Quercus virginiana ), Pignut Hickory ( Carya glabra ), American Sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua ), sand laurel oak ( Quercus hemisphaerica ), and American persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana ). The understory is sparse, with trumpet creeper ( Campsis radicans ) and greenbrier ( Smilax spp). [1]

Cabbage palm-live oak hammocks

Cabbage palm-live oak hammocks, also known as prairie hammocks, are a sub-type of mesic hammocks composed principally of live oak and cabbage palm trees. They also occur in central and southern Florida in prairies and floodplains, on river levees, and on slopes between dry uplands and wetlands, and are the transition between subtropical and tropical forests releves. [4] [5]

Xeric hammocks

Xeric hammocks, also known as xeric forests, sand hammocks, live oak forests, oak woodlands, or oak hammocks, grow on old sand dunes that are very well drained. The most common canopy tree in xeric hammocks is the sand live oak, ( Quercus geminata ). Other species of scrub oak and pine are also found in xeric hammocks. Plants that are typical of scrub or sandhill communities, particularly palmetto, are found under the canopy. Xeric hammocks are somewhat resistant to fire, but a fire that becomes established in a hammock will destroy it. [6] [7] [8] [1]

The southern coastal plain upland hardwood forest has more diverse upland hardwood trees and tends to be found farther north. [1]

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<i>Quercus virginiana</i>

Quercus virginiana, also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. Many very large and old specimens of live oak can be found today in the Deep South region of the United States.

Northeastern coastal forests

The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont and coastal plain of seven states, extending from coastal southwestern Maine, southeastern New Hampshire, eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, southward through Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

Laurel forest

Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.

Myakka River State Park

Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located nine miles (14 km) east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of 37,000 acres (150 km2), making it one of the state's largest parks. It is also one of the oldest parks in the state. It was delineated in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. A small portion of the park was the gift of the family of Bertha Palmer to the state. The park is named after the Myakka River.

Big Talbot Island State Park

Big Talbot Island State Park is a state park in Florida, United States. It is located on Big Talbot Island, a coastal barrier island 20 miles east of downtown Jacksonville on A1A North and immediately north of Little Talbot Island State Park along the Atlantic coastal plain.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is a Florida State Park located near Palm Coast, Florida, along A1A. The park is most famous for its formal gardens, but it also preserves the original habitat of a northeast Florida barrier island.

Hammock (ecology) Ecosystem in Southeastern United States consisting of stands of trees, usually hardwood, that form an ecological island within a contrasting ecosystem

Hammock is a term used in the southeastern United States for stands of trees, usually hardwood, that form an ecological island in a contrasting ecosystem. Hammocks grow on elevated areas, often just a few inches high, surrounded by wetlands that are too wet to support them. The term hammock is also applied to stands of hardwood trees growing on slopes between wetlands and drier uplands supporting a mixed or coniferous forest. Types of hammocks found in the United States include tropical hardwood hammocks, temperate hardwood hammocks, and maritime or coastal hammocks. Hammocks are also often classified as hydric, mesic or xeric. The types are not exclusive, but often grade into each other.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.

Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests

The Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests are an ecoregion in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, in the Eastern United States. The ecoregion is located in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It covers an area of about 61,500 square miles (159,000 km2) in: northeast Alabama and Georgia, northwest South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and central West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and small extensions into Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.

Florida scrub Ecological region in Florida, US

Florida sand pine scrub is an endangered subtropical forest ecoregion found throughout Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by an evergreen xeromorphic plant community dominated by shrubs and dwarf oaks. Because the low-nutrient sandy soils do not retain moisture, the ecosystem is effectively an arid one. Wildfires infrequently occur in the Florida scrub. Most of the annual rainfall falls in summer. It is endangered by residential, commercial and agricultural development, with the largest remaining block in and around the Ocala National Forest. Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge also holds a high proportion of remaining scrub habitat, while the Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid contains about 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) of scrub habitat and sponsors biological research on it.

Tropical hardwood hammock Ecological region of Florida, US

Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin. Tropical hardwood hammocks are found in South Florida or the Everglades, with large concentrations on the Miami Rock Ridge, in the Florida Keys, along the northern shores of Florida Bay, and in the Pinecrest region of the Big Cypress Swamp.

South Florida rocklands Ecological region in Florida, US

The South Florida rocklands ecoregion, in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, occurs in southern Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States, where they would naturally cover an area of 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi). These forests form on limestone outcrops with very thin soil; the higher elevation separating them from other habitats such as coastal marshes and marl prairies. On mainland Florida, rocklands exist primarily on the Miami Rock Ridge, which extends from the Miami River south to Everglades National Park. South Florida rocklands are further divided into pine rocklands and rockland hammocks.

Middle Atlantic coastal forests

The Middle Atlantic coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forest mixed with patches of evergreen broadleaved forests along the coast of the southeastern United States.

Southeastern mixed forests

The Southeastern mixed forests are an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, in the lower portion of the Eastern United States.

<i>Quercus geminata</i>

Quercus geminata, commonly called sand live oak, is an evergreen oak tree native to the coastal regions of the subtropical southeastern United States, along the Atlantic Coast from southern Florida northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs.

Interior Low Plateaus

The Interior Low Plateaus are a physiographic region in eastern United States. It consists of a diverse landscape that extends from north Alabama across central Tennessee and Kentucky into southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its natural communities are a matrix of temperate forests, woodlands, and prairies.

Southeastern conifer forests

The Southeastern conifer forests are a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the southeastern United States. It is the largest conifer forest ecoregion east of the Mississippi River.

The southern coastal plain hydric hammock is a wetland hammock community found on the flat lowlands of the southern and outermost parts of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. These forests of evergreen and deciduous hardwood trees occur near the floodplains of spring-fed rivers with relatively constant flows, usually over limestone substrates. They are usually found on gentle slopes just above swamps, marshes or wet prairies. In places, they can form large areas of broad, shallow wetlands.

Gulf Hammock (wetlands) Wetlands area in Florida

Gulf Hammock is a wetlands area in the southern end of Levy County, Florida. It extends along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Cedar Key to the Withlacoochee River, and reaches several miles inland. Gulf Hammock includes the largest expanse of hydric hammock in Florida. The area is mostly uninhabited, with the area closest to the Gulf coast in a state park, and the inland areas primarily used for logging and hunting.

The upland hardwood forests of Florida are closed canopy forests dominated by deciduous and evergreen trees, and shrubs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Duever, Linda Conway (Summer 1998). "Mesic Hammock" (PDF). Palmetto. 8 (2): 4–5. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Mesic Temperate Hammock" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Mesic Temperate Hammock". Croc Docs - University of Florida Research and Education Center. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Hardwood Hammock Forest" (PDF). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Xeric Hammock" (PDF). Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Xeric Hammock". University of Florida: Ordway-Swisher Biological Station. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Woodland Habitat: Xeric Hammocks". Friends of the Enchanted Forest. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
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