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 A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or the ...

plant community dominated by

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s 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 (about ) 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 The Archbold Biological Station (ABS) is a research institute with a surrounding estate near Lake Placid, Florida, USA. It includes an extensive area of Florida scrub, a scientifically interesting and highly threatened ecosystem. It was establ ...

near Lake Placid contains about of scrub habitat and sponsors biological research on it.

Plant communities

There is a high level of endemism in the flora and fauna, including an estimated 40 species of plants, 4 vertebrates and at least 46 species of arthropod found nowhere else.

Florida peninsula inland scrub

Florida peninsula inland scrub is the plant community for which this ecoregion is named. Clumps of sand pines (''Pinus clausa'') constitute the canopy. Common plant species include

sand live oak ''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 alo ...

(''Quercus geminata''), myrtle oak (''Q. myrtifolia''), sandhill oak (''Q. inopina''),

Chapman oak ''Quercus chapmanii'', commonly referred to as the Chapman oak, is a species of oak that grows in the southeastern United States. Description ''Quercus chapmanii'' is a shrub or small tree occasionally reaching a height of 6 meters (20 feet) but ...

(''Q. chapmanii''), Florida rosemary (''Ceratiola ericoides''), scrub palmetto (''Sabal etonia''),

saw palmetto ''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus ''Serenoa''. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around . It is endemic to the subtropical and tropical Southeastern United S ...

(''Serenoa repens''), garberia (''Garberia heterophylla''), fetterbush lyonia (''Lyonia lucida''), rusty staggerbush (''L. ferruginea''), cup lichens (''Cladonia'' spp.), scrub holly (''Ilex opaca'' var. ''arenicola''),

American olive ''Cartrema americana'', commonly called American olive, wild olive, or devilwood, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to southeastern North America, in the United States from Virginia to Texas, and in Mexico from Nuevo León south to Oax ...

(''Osmanthus americanus'' var. ''megacarpus''), flag-pawpaw (''Asimina obovata''), silk bay (''Persea humilis''), Adam's needle (''Yucca filamentosa''), and

eastern prickly pear ''Opuntia humifusa'', commonly known as the devil's-tongue, Eastern prickly pear or Indian fig, is a cactus of the genus ''Opuntia'' present in parts of the eastern United States. Description As is the case in other ''Opuntia'' species, the gr ...

(''Opuntia humifusa''). Florida scrub jay (4156613199)

Longleaf pine sandhill

Florida longleaf pine sandhills are often found adjacent to the scrub. They consist of stands of longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') on very well-drained, sandy hills. These stands are maintained by frequent fires.

Turkey oak Turkey oak is a common name for several species of oaks and may refer to: *''Quercus cerris'', native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor *''Quercus laevis ''Quercus laevis'', the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is nat ...

(''Quercus laevis'') is common in the understory and pineland threeawn (''Aristida stricta'') makes up the ground layer.

Oak dome and hammock

The

southern coastal plain oak dome and hammock The Southern coastal plain oak dome and hammock is a forest type occurring in small patches in Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. These forests consist of thick stands of evergreen oaks on shallow depressions or sligh ...

s occur as thick stands of evergreen oaks in small patches on shallow depressions or slight hills. These forests are distinct from their surrounding habitats, which are often dominated by longleaf pine. On mesic sites, common species are southern live oak (''Quercus virginiana''), sand laurel oak (''Q. hemisphaerica''), and

American persimmon ''Diospyros virginiana'' is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon, common persimmon, eastern persimmon, simmon, possumwood, possum apples, or sugar plum. It ranges from southern Connecticut to Florida, and west to Texas, ...

(''Diospyros virginiana''). The understory is sparse, with

trumpet creeper ''Campsis radicans'', the trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper (also known in North America as cow itch vine or hummingbird vine), is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to the eastern United States, ...

(''Campsis radicans'') and greenbriers (''Smilax'' spp). On xeric sites, common species are sand live oak (''Quercus geminata''), southern live oak (''Q. virginiana''), longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris''), pineland threeawn (''Aristida stricta''), and southern dawnflower (''Stylisma humistrata'').

Highlands freshwater marsh

Floridian highlands freshwater marsh The Floridian highlands freshwater marsh is a wetland community found on the Florida peninsula. These are upland marshes occurring in shallow peat-filled valleys, the basins of dried lakes, and the borders of existing lakes. The vegetation mosaic i ...

es are highland marshes found in shallow peat-filled valleys, the basins of dried lakes, and the borders of existing lakes. The vegetation mosaic includes a range of mostly herbaceous plant communities, varying based on water depth. Deep water supports various submerged and floating plants. Meter-deep water supports emergent

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial plants, typically in dense, monospecific stands, such as bulrush (''Typha latifolia''),

pickerelweed ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

(''Pontederia cordata''), and

American lotus ''Nelumbo lutea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name ''Nelumbo lutea'' Willd. is the c ...

(''Nelumbo lutea''). Shallow areas submerged only during the wet season support more grasses, including maidencane (''Panicum hemitomon'') and

southern cutgrass ''Leersia hexandra'' is a species of grass known by the common names southern cutgrass, clubhead cutgrass, and swamp rice grass.

(''Leersia hexandra'').

Subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

and drainage pattern changes make these habitats shift and change over time. Soils can be mucky, loamy, or sandy, but they are generally above permeable subsoils that create standing water much of the year. These marshes may also be called meadows or prairies.

Nonriverine basin swamp

Southern coastal plain nonriverine basin swamp Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

s occur in large, seasonally-flooded depressions away from rivers. Sites are often forested in trees such as bald cypress (''Taxodium distichum''),

swamp tupelo ''Nyssa biflora'', commonly referred to as the swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum is a species of tupelo that lives in wetland habitats. Swamp tupelo grows chiefly in the coastal plains from Delaware, eastern Maryland, and southeastern Virginia, s ...

(''Nyssa biflora''), and sometimes slash pine (''Pinus elliottii''). Characteristic shrubs include buckwheat tree (''Cliftonia monophylla''), swamp cyrilla (''Cyrilla racemiflora''), laurelleaf greenbrier (''Smilax laurifolia''), and fetterbush lyonia (''Lyonia lucida'').

Animals

Notable animals of the Florida scrub include the Florida scrub jay (''Aphelocoma coerulescens''), the endemic

Florida mouse The Florida Mouse (''Podomys floridanus'') is a species of rodent in the Cricetidae family. It is the only species in the genus ''Podomys''. It is found only in the United States. Its natural habitat is temperate grassland. It is threatened by ...

(''Podomys floridanus''), sand skink (''Neoseps reynoldsi''), bluetail mole skink (''Plestiodon egregius lividus''), Florida scrub lizard (''Sceloporus woodi''),

Florida worm lizard ''Rhineura floridana'', known Common name, commonly as the Florida worm lizard, graveyard snake,:fr:Coleman Jett Goin, Goin CJ, Olive Lynda Bown Goin, Goin OB, :de:George Robert Zug, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. ...

(''Rhineura floridana''), and the gopher tortoise which is an important

keystone species A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaini ...

Notes

External links

* {{cite web , first=N. D. , last=Deyrup , author2=Wilson, C. B. , year=2000 , title=Discovering Florida Scrub: Exploring science in a native ecosystem , publisher=

, url=http://www.archbold-station.org/discoveringflscrub/ , access-date=2007-03-05 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202173423/http://www.archbold-station.org/discoveringflscrub/ , archive-date=2007-02-02

External links

Archbold Station.org: An introduction to Florida scrub
Temperate coniferous forests of the United States Ecoregions of Florida Forests of Florida * * Nearctic ecoregions

Plant communities

Florida peninsula inland scrub

Longleaf pine sandhill

Oak dome and hammock

Highlands freshwater marsh

Nonriverine basin swamp

Animals

See also

Notes

External links

External links