Characteristics

Hardwood Community Characteristics

dense, closed canopy; increased organic matter from leaf litter; cool, humid, low wind, low light on floor and subcanopy; moist soil mix of clay, sand, and silt; near water table; less acidic than pine; rare/absent fire; large hardwood trees and shrubs

Upland Mixed Woodland Characteristics

transition between wet hardwood and dry pine communities; partially closed canopy; dry, loamy soil with less clay and more sand; occasional fire; Common species: Quercus falcata, white hickory

Upland Hardwood Forests Characteristics

Dense, deciduous, and diverse canopy, near limestone bedrock and water table, northern species present, mesic, nutrient rich, sandy, more clay soils, Common species: Magnolia grandiflora, Carya glabra, Acer floridanum

Mesic Hammock Characteristics

dominated by Quercus virginiana and Sabel palmetto, sandy soil, replaces historic pine in absence of fire

Xeric Hammock

dry sandhill, more dry adapted oaks and evergreen hardwoods

Hydric hammock

Evergreen, closed canopy of oaks and palms, sparse understory of ferns and grasses, low, wet soil close to limestone and water table, occasionally floods, common species: swamp laurel, Quercus virginiana, sabal palmetto, Juniperus virginiana, Acer rubrum

Alluvial Forest

river floodplains and terraces, flooded for portion for growing season, sand and river sediment soil, Common species: water hickory, Betula nigra, Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana

Upland Pine Community Characteristics

above water table; dry, sandier, acidic soil; long leaf pine thrives; fire controlled open habitats; warm and humid

Sandhills Characteristics

high elevation on ridges or sand dunes; far from water table; well drained sandy, dry, infertile soil; dominated by long leaf pine; frequent mild fires; common species: Pinus palustris, shrub oaks, grasses

Scrub Characteristics

high elevation on ridges or sand dunes; far from water table; well drained sandy, dry, infertile soil; infrequent, hot fires; no longleaf pine; reduced shrubby woody vegetation; common species: Pinus clausa, shrub rosemary, shrub oaks

Flatwood Characteristics

poorly drained silty/sandy soil with underlying clay layer and/or organic matter, richer in nutrients, varies from wet to dry to waterlogged, frequent mild fires, common species: Pinus elliotti, Serenoa repens, Vaccinium spp

Nonforested Wetlands

Bogs, prairies, marshes

Bogs/prairies characteristics

on seepage slopes or flat low areas surrounded by fire-controlled pine, soil saturated by water sandy soil with silt, clay, and organic matter mixed in

prairie

herbaceous species, carnivorous species, orchids, sedges, and other semi aquatic plants

bog

denser organic matter and less fire; woody shrub plants: swamp titi and sphagnum moss

Freshwater marshes

longer flooding; form in depressions, wider basins, and floodplains of rivers; frequent to occasional fire; herbaceous; high amount of peat in soil; river sediments if within river floodplain; Common species: semi aquatic grasses Pontederia cordata, Sagittarius lancifolia, Saururus cernuus

depression marshes

in sinkholes and seepage slope prairies within pine flatwoods, frequent fire; common species: Pitcher plants, orchids, sundews

Basin marshes

low areas atop sediment, collect rain, less fire

Forested Wetlands

hydrophyics trees; wet, silty, organic soils with peat/clay that drain poorly; sinkhole depressions or wider basins close to water table; flooded for portions of the year

Cypress

Tupelo Swamps

cypress dome

sinkhole depression where tallest trees are in center

Baygall

base of pine flatwood seepage slopes along river channels; shallow; poor drainage; clsoed canopy; thick, woddy vegetation; common species: sweetbay, loblolly bay, gallberry, magnolia virginiana