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Florida sand pine scrub is an endangered subtropical
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...
found throughout
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a soil texture, textur ...
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 shrubs and dwarf oaks. Because the low-nutrient sandy soils do not retain moisture, the ecosystem is effectively an
arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...
one.
Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s 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 The Ocala National Forest ls the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of northern Florida. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Ocala and southeast of Gainesville. The Ocala National ...
. 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 of scrub habitat and sponsors biological research on it.


Plant communities

There is a high level of
endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
in the flora and fauna, including an estimated 40 species of plants, 4 vertebrates and at least 46 species of
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
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 Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...
. Common plant species include sand live oak (''Quercus geminata''),
myrtle oak ''Quercus myrtifolia'', the myrtle oak, is a North American species of oak. It is native to the southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina). It is often found in coastal areas on sandy soils. It is ...
(''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''), 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'').


Longleaf pine sandhill

Florida longleaf pine sandhills are often found adjacent to the scrub. They consist of stands of
longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...
(''Pinus palustris'') on very well-drained, sandy hills. These stands are maintained by frequent fires. Turkey oak (''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 hammocks 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''). 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 marshes are highland
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es 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 ...
perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
s, 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 th ...
(''Nelumbo lutea''). Shallow areas submerged only during the wet season support more
grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in law ...
es, including
maidencane Maidencane is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Amphicarpum ''Amphicarpum'' (common name maidencane) is a genus of North American plants in the grass family, found only in the eastern United States. Description ''Amphicarpum ...
(''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 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 swamps 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 (''Podomys floridanus''), sand skink (''Neoseps reynoldsi''), bluetail mole skink (''Plestiodon egregius lividus''), Florida scrub lizard (''Sceloporus woodi''), Florida worm lizard (''Rhineura floridana''), and the
gopher tortoise The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provi ...
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 ...
.


See also

* List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)


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= Archbold Biological Station , 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