A sandhill is a type of

ecological community In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, ...

or xeric

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

-maintained

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. It is not the same as a sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire) or more or less. Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as ca ...

and become more

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

dominated.

Entisol Entisols are soils defined in USDA soil taxonomy that do not show any profile development other than an A horizon. An entisol has no diagnostic horizons, and most are basically unaltered from their parent material, which can be unconsolidated sedi ...

s are the typical sandhill

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

, deep well-drained and nutrient poor. In

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, and to ...

, sandhills receive cm of

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

fall per year, just like the more hydric

s surrounding them. Sandhills are xeric because they have poor water holding capacity. Dominant vegetation includes longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris''), American turkey oak ('' Quercus laevis''), and wiregrass ('' Aristida stricta''). A number of rare animals are typical of this habitat including the gopher tortoise ('' Gopherus polyphemus''), red-cockaded woodpecker (''Picoides borealis''), Sherman's fox squirrel ('' Sciurus niger shermani''), and striped newt ('' Notophthalmus perstriatus'').

Invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

that are a problem on sandhills include Cogongrass (''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has al ...

''), camphor laurels (''

Cinnamomum camphora ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

''), and

Natal grass ''Melinis repens'' is a species of grass known by the common names rose Natal grass, Natal red top, or simply Natal grass. It is native to southern Africa and an introduced species, often considered a noxious weed, on other continents such as N ...

(''Melinis repens'').

References

External links

Fnai.org: Natural Communities Definitions for Florida
* {{Earth's landforms Wildfire ecology Dunes of the United States Plant communities of the Eastern United States Plant communities of Florida Natural history of Texas

See also

References

External links