Barrier Islands
Barrier islands are sand deposits of recent geologic origin.
Here in Northwest Florida, the Barrier Islands are comprised of almost pure milky quartz, leading some to claim they are the whitest sand beaches in the world.
The sands have their origin in the piedmont, delivered to the Gulf by rivers, and reworked wind and waves.
The "washing" of the sand results in it being "well-sorted", or of uniform grain size.
The same process that gave us these clean washed sands also keeps the islands "moving" by a constant give and take from erosion and redistribution of sand.
The redistribution of the sands by wind gives us dunes, which are colonized by plants that catch and stabilize the sand like Sea Oats and Bitter Panicum.
Low areas between the dunes where the sand is blown away down to the ground water are called swales, and here we find some distinctive wetland plants like Red Root and the carnivorous Sundews.
The sand on the barrier islands have very low amounts of nutrients, do not retain water well, and are in general not shaded by large plants, creating a desert-like or xeric (hot-dry) environment.
Many of the xeric-adapted plants found here (xerophytes) are also found inland in sandy dry habitats like the pine sand hills.
However, the biggest factor determining the distribution of plants is salt.
Salt comes from droplets thrown in the air by the surf, there is salt in much of the groundwater, and major storms (gales and hurricanes) flood parts of the island with salt water.
Plants out on the beach and foredunes have the greatest salt tolerance
Plant diversity increases as one walks into the island and protection of the back dune or secondary dune field area and into patches of maritime forest along the Sound and Bay side.
The surf zone where the waves crash on the beach make a unique habitat.
We find some species of animals adapted to this high energy home that are found nowhere else, like the Coquina surf clams (Donax variabilis) and mole crabs (Emerita talpoida; locally called sand fleas).
Both of these organsisms filter food out of the water as it washes up and down the surf zone.
Mole crabs (at right) use their antennae as filters.
Coquina are amazingly fast diggers, pullling themselves back into the sand as the water rushes over them.
Many fish, like Florida Pompano, hang out in the deep trough that is formed by the returning water to eat the animals washed out of the surf zone sand.
Sandpipers and other small shorebirds also feed on the animals in this part of the beach.
The incoming tide carries material up onto the beach and leaves it behind as a tide or wrack line (left).
All kinds of stuff is found here (including our trash), and it is used as a cafeteria by many of the barrier island birds and animals.
Only a couple of animals are resident on the beach itself, ghost crabs (Ocypode quadata; above) and beach fleas, and they both burrow into the sand to survive.
The Ghost crab to the right is carrying out a ball of sand while digging a burrow.
Most of the animal life on the islands is found in the secondary dune field, maritime forests, and back bay marshes where they can find water and escape the harsh conditions of the beach.
Many, like the raccoon and fox, will patrol the wrack line at night as part of their "rounds".
Primary Dunes are large sand piles built up from sand blowing off the beach.
Sea rocket , Sea Oats ,Seaside elder, and Bitter Panicum are the major dune building plants that capture and hold blown sand,and grow to keep above an enlarging sand pile.
Sea rocket (Cakile constricta), Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata), Seaside elder (Iva imbricata), Bitter Panicum (Panicum amarum)
The secondary dune field is an intriguing mix of open bare sandy areas and patches of vegetation in and around wind built sand dunes.
The scouring effects of storm water surges can be seen, as well as the continual effects of the wind.
The "patches" of vegetation can be as small as tiny plants in the open sand like the Lachnocaulon minus (only 2 inches tall) shown at left, to broad vegetated areas seen above.
Resident animals like the Six Lined Race Runner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus,below) take cover and find food in these vegetated "islands" in the sand.
Other species, like the Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus, below), are transient visitors resting on the island during their Spring and Fall migrations across the Gulf of Mexico.
Swales are wetlands formed where the wind has scoured out the sand down to the water table or below.
Here we find some typical freshwater wetland species, although the touch of salt in the air leads to some unique community assemblages.
Salt Sculpting of plants reflects the salt spray from the surf zone carried inland on the wind.
Trees and shrubs in the secondary dune field have a characteristic aerodynamic appearance from the wind-borne salt constant killing new growth.
Some trees and shrubs in this area are completely enclosed by dunes, with only the outer parts of the branches sticking out above the sand.
A Maritime Forest is sometimes found along the back side of the barrier island in the shelter of the secondary dune field.
Live Oak, Myrtle Oak, and Sand Live Oak mixed with Slash Pine make up the canopy of these woodlands.
Back Bay/Sound shore can have fringing marshes or periodic cuspate spits that form points of land enclosing lagoons and salt marshes, as in this view of Big Sabine Point.
This photo was taken from the crest of the last secondary dune looking north to Santa Rosa Sound.
Leave your footprints only (a guide to tracks in the sand)
Barrier Island Plant Species
=============================
A study of the recovery of plant species on the Gulf Islands National Seashore's Fort Pickens area after Hurricanes ERIN and OPAL (1995) resulted comprehensive database of the plant species found there (descriptions and images).
SEARCHABLE by keywords that are descriptive of the plant type (habitat, flower color and season, leaf and stem type, etc.).
Plant Species
Beach & Fore Dune
=================
Sea Oats-Uniola paniculata
Bitter Panicum-Panicum amarum
Sea Rocket-Cakile constricta
Seaside Elder-Iva imbricata
Primary & Secondary Dunes
==========================
Sea Oats-Uniola paniculata
Bitter Panicum-Panicum amarum
Woody Goldenrod-Chrysoma pauciflosculosa
Salt Meadow Hay-Spartina patens
Pennywort-Hydrocotyle bonariensis
Blue Stem-Schizachyrium maritinum
Secondary Dunes & Maritime forest
==================================
Beach Rosemary-Ceratiola ericoides
Sand Live Oak-Quercus geminata
Myrtle Oak-Quercus myrtifolia
Magnolia-Magnolia grandiflora
Sweet Bay Magnolia-Magnolia virginiana
Yaupon-Ilex vomitoria
Slash Pine-Pinus elliottii
Fetter Bush-Lyonia lucida
Saw Palmetto-Serenoa repens
Swales (dune blowouts)
=======================
Redroot-Lachnanthes caroliniana
Rushes and Sedges--spp.
Sundew-Drosera capillaris
Animal Species
=================
Surf Zone
==========
Coquina Surf Clam-Donax variabilis
Augers-Terebra spp.
Moles crabs-Emerita talpoida
Shorebirds-several genera & species
Wrack line & Beach
==================
Beach Flea-Talorchestia sp.
Ghost Crab-Ocypode quadratus
Least Tern (nesting)-Sterna albifrons
Shorebirds-several genera & species
Seagulls-several general & species
Loggerhead Sea Turtle-Caretta caretta caretta
Dunes, ponds, & Back Bay
=========================
Raccoon-Procyon lotor
Fox-Vulpes vulpes
Skunk-Mephitis mephitis
Oppossum-Didelphis virginiana
Otter-Lutra canadensis
Santa Rosa Beach Mouse-Peromyscus polionotus leucocephalis
Ribbon Snake-Thamnophis s.
sauritus
Six Lined Race Runner-Cnemidophorous sexlineatus
Diamondback Rattlesnake-Crotalus adamanteus
Banded Water Snake-Nerodia fasciata fasciata
Monarch Butterfly-Danaus plexippus
Fishes in Swale Pools
=======================
Sheepshead minnow-Cyprinodon variegatus
Mosquitofish-Gambusia affinis
++++++ End - End Barrier Islands
Salt Marshes
The salt marsh at Big Lagoon State Park consists of a tidal creek (bottom of photo) that enters a lagoon surrounded by expanses of black needle rush (Juncus roemarianus) and Salt marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora).
Marshes are part of a larger category of wetlands: partially or periodically submerged lands where the water table is near or above the soil surface.
This saturation of the soil causes the sediment to be anaerobic with oxidized to reduced chemical gradients (e.
g.
sulfate to sulfide) with depth.
Wetlands in general have very low relief (little vertical elevation change) and very little or no wave energy.
Water that flows into tidal marshes by creeks and bayous floods out over the marsh surface where the water reaches zero velocity and particles can sediment out onto the marsh surface.
This acts as a natural filtration system and adds organic and nutrient-rich particulate matter to the marsh system.
Tidal saltmarshes are influenced from the sea by both salt water and by the ebb and flow of tides.
Tidal marshes are affected by Spring-Neap tidal cycles, with the landward extent of the marsh determined by the highest high tides occurring in the spring part of the cycle.
In addition to anaerobic sediments, salt is a strong force in determining what plants and animals are found in a tidal saltmarsh.
Very few plants can deal with both abiotic factors at once, so that salt marshes have very low species diversity.
Along the Gulf coast, salt marshes are dominated by Black Needle Rush, Juncus roemarianus, forming extensive monotypic (single species) stands.
Spartina alterniflora, or saltmarsh cordgrass, tends to dominate tidal marshes along the East coast of the US, and is found sporadically along the gulf coast, but again in monotypic patches with little mixing with Juncus roemarianus.
These plants have different strategies for dealing with salt.
Juncus transports the salt to the cells out on the tips of the plant that then become hard and needle-like.
Spartina has salt glands that actively secret the salt out onto the leaf surfaces.
Despite the low diversity, salt marshes are among the most productive plant communities known.
Spartina and Juncus are both emergent plants, meaning they can have their roots in the water, but their leaves are in the air.
Marshes have a tremendous amount of surface area on the stems of the vegetation within the tidal zone.
Like most submerged surfaces, these are coated with "aufwuchs", or a fouling community comprised of microalgae, bacteria, protozoa and very small metazoans.
The aufwuchs accentuate the filtration effect by trapping particles of the water as is moves between the marsh vegetation.
In addition, there are filter feeding organisms (mussels, barnacles, oysters, bryozoans, etc.
) that also act to remove particles from the water flooding over the marsh surface.
Because the sediment of the marsh is anaerobic, combined with high production of plant biomass, plant material and organic particles trapped by the marsh do not completely decompose, but become compacted into a peat.
Very little of the plant production is directly consumed by herbivores.
Most is consumed after the plant dies and it becomes broken up into fine particles known as detritus Many organisms that consume detrital particles do so not so much for the particle itself, but for the microorganisms that "enrich" the particles.
There are both resident and transient fishes and crustaceans in the salt marsh.
Many transients come into the marsh as juveniles and use the marsh's surface as a protective refuge from predators as they grow.
This "nursery" function is important for many of our commercially important seafood species.
Other transients include larger predators that come into the marsh with the tide to feed along the marsh edges on the smaller organisms that venture too far from the protection of the marsh grasses.
Many of the resident organisms feed on the aufwuchs, like the periwinkle, olive nerite, grass shrimp, hermit crabs and amphipods.
Fiddler crabs like sandy patches in the marsh where they can come out into the air at low tide to feed on microalgae growing on the sand.
During high tide, they stay in their burrows to avoid being eaten.
Blue and gulf crabs are one of the major predators on the marsh, crushing the shells of many species to eat them, catching small fishes, and eating dead animals.
Trails used by marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) through the marsh vegetation are usually obvious.
Fecal remains, or "scat", provide good indicators of the diet of these organisms.
S.
aquaticus is a herbivore, and the round, compact pellets (0.
5-1.
0 cm) from this organism are dominated by cellulose.
Scat from P.
lotor reflects its omnivorous diet, containing animal (shells, but mostly unidentifiable stuff) and vegetable remains.
Note the seeds of Serona repens that are passed after eating the fruits.
This method of seed dispersal is called zoochory.
Predation often has profound effects on the distribution of species.
P.
lotor is also an avid consumer of mollusks, like Blue and Gulf crabs that forage on the marsh at high tide.
Note that the distribution of salt marsh mussels (Guekensia demissa) is largely restricted to the root mats between the stems of marsh vegetation (try to get one out with your fingers!), but empty shells and shell fragments are found on the marsh surface.
What would you hypothesize to happen to the distribution of G.
demissa if we put predator exclusion cages out on the marsh? Also note that the periwinkles Littorina irrorata are mostly restricted to the stems of marsh plants.
This species will climb the stems as the tide comes in to stay out of the water and avoid predators.
Shell damage on these snails indicates their predation risk.
Dominant Species
Plants
======
Black Needle Rush-Juncus roemarianus
Salt Marsh Cordgrass-Spartina alterniflora
Saltwort-Salicornia perennis
Salt Meadow Hay-Spartina patens
Saltgrass-Distichylis spicata
Cattail (brackish species)*-Typha angustifolia
Seaside Elder*-Iva imbricata
Wax Myrtle*-Myrica certifera
Yaupon Holly*-Ilex vomitoria
Palmetto*-Serenoa repens
* Found in low salinity marshes or where fresh groundwater reduces soil salinity.
**Found at transition to or border of upland: low root tolerance for saturated sediment.
Animals
=======
Molluscs
========
Periwinkles-Littorina irrorata
Olive nerite-Neritina reclivata
Salt Marsh Mussel-Guekensia demissa
Oyster-Crassostrea virginica
Crown Conch-Melangena
Crustaceans
===========
Fiddler crabs (4 spp)-Uca spp
Square Back Crab-Sesarma reticulatum
Amphipods-Gammarus sp.
Green Striped Hermit Crab-Clibanarius vittatus
Gulf Crab-Calinectes similis
Blue Crab-Calinectes sapidus
Grass Shrimp-Palaemonetes spp.
Fishes
=======
Long-nosed Killifish-Fundulus similis
Bayou Killifish-Fundulus pulvereus
Diamond Killifish-Adinia xenica
Sheepshead minnow-Cyprinodon variegatus
Sailfin Molly-Poecilia latipinna
Mosquito fish-Gambusia affinis
Tidewater Silverside-Menidia berylina
Clown Goby Stiped Mullet-Mugil cephalus
Spot-Leostomus xanthuris
Birds
=====
Rails-Rallus spp
Seaside Sparrow-Ammospiza maritima
Redwing Blackbird-Agelaius phoeniceus
Great Blue Heron-Ardea herodias
Green Heron-Butoroides virescens
Belted Kingfisher-Megaceryle alcyon
Mammals
=======
Raccoon-Procyon lotor
Salt Marsh Rabbit-Sylvilagus aquaticus
++++++ End - SaltMarsh
Dominant Seagrass Organisms-Seagrasses
Seagrass meadows share many of the same ecological functions as saltmarshes, but these habitats are completely submerged.
Like saltmarshes, seagrass meadows have very high productivity.
Organisms in seagrass communities use the seagrasses directly, and also use the dead plant material (detritus) as a food source.
Perhaps the greatest benefit to many organisms is the complex physical habitat provided by submerged grasses that provides a refuge from predation and a forage area for juvenile and adults of many species.
Like marshes, seagrass meadows have a trem++++++ End - ous amount of surface area and reduced water velocity between grass blades that facilitates physical and biological filtration of suspended material in the overlying water.
Organisms like commercial brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus; left) use the grass beds as both nursery and feeding areas.
Some fish, like the Atlantic needlefish (Strongylura marina; above) and spotted sea trout (Cynoscion nebulosa) hover over and around the grass beds looking for smaller organisms to eat.
In Santa Rosa Sound, FL, extensive seagrass meadows are predominantly comprised of the flowering plants Halodule wrightii (Cuban Shoal Grass) and Thalassia testudinum (Turtle Grass).
Both of these plants have rhizomes (under"ground" stems) and roots in anaerobic sediments.
The blades or leaves of the plants extend out and above the sediment from nodes on the horizontal rhizomes.
Thick intermeshed mats of rhizomes are typical in a mature seagrass bed, stabilizing the bottom.
Thalassia testudinum leaves washed up during the winter on Range Point, Santa Rosa Sound.
Thalassia (thal-ass-ee-a) testudinum has flat tape-like leaves.
It is at the northern limit of its range in Santa Rosa Sound, and it is deciduous here, losing its leaves when water temperatures drop in winter.
Thick piles of shed Thalassia blades are common on area beaches in the winter.
Thalassia will not tolerate any air exposure in Santa Rosa Sound, and so it does not occur as close into shore as Halodule.
Its shoreward distribution is mostly controlled by the lowest low tides that occur in winter.
As a result, there is a band of pure Halodule close to shore, and mixed Halodule and Thalassia out further to a depth of 6-8 feet.
Beyond that depth, light penetration to the bottom is reduced beyond the needs of both plants.
Halodule (hal-oo-do-lee) wrightii has thin rounded blades.
This grass is relatively hardy, and is known as a pioneer species in bare sediment habitats.
In Santa Rosa Sound the landward distribution of this species is limited by mean low water, but it does tolerate limited air exposure and low temperature associated with shallow water.
A third species commonly found is Ruppia maritima (Widgeon Grass).
This grass has upright branched stems, and does not form the dense web of underground rhizomes, as do the other two species.
Ruppia tolerates wide ranges of salinity and temperature, and is a very prolific grass, dispersing widely and spreading fast where it gains a foot hold.
Seagrasses are sensitive to water quality, and are endangered worldwide.
Increased turbidity is the biggest problem, limiting photosynthetic ability of the plants by limiting light penetration.
Increases in erosion increase suspended mineral particles.
Increased nutrients result in increased phytoplankton growth that limits light penetration, and also increases the growth of epiphytes (aufwuchs) on grass blades and macroalage growth (Chondria, Gracilaria) that competes with seagrasses for light.
Nutrients in the sediment are good for seagrass growth; nutrients in the water column are not.
Nutrient/turbidity effects swamp most toxin effects (i.
e.
herbicides), but as with most stresses, effects are cumulative and often synergistic (sum of separate effects less than combined effect)
Seagrasses are also affected by physical damage.
Dredging and filling activities have taken their toll on many grass beds.
Prop scars from boat traffic in shallow areas leave 1 to 2 foot wide bare strips where the rhizomes have been removed.
These take 3-5 years to heal, and so cumulative damage often occurs.
Anchoring will also rip up rhizomes.
Shading from piers will inhibit growth just as water turbidity does.
Seagrasses are also subject to bio-perturbation, or the digging activities of aquatic organisms.
Skates dig pits looking for food, and crabs dig up rhizomes in burrowing for shelter.
Dominant Seagrass Organisms
Plants
=======
Turtle Grass-Thalassia testudinum
Cuban Shoal Grass-Halodule wrightii
Widgeon Grass-Ruppia maritima
Crustaceans
============
Amphipods-Gammarus sp.
Green Striped Hermit Crab-Clibanarius vittatus
Blue Crab-Calinectes sapidus
Spider Crab-Lubinia emarginata
Mud Crab-spp
Grass Shrimp-Palaemonetes sp.
Broken Back Shrimp-Hippolyte sp.
White Shrimp-Penaeus setifers
Pink Shrimp-Penaeus duorarum
Brown Shrimp-Penaeus aztecus
Snapping Shrimp-Alepheus heterochaelis
Coelenterates
=============
Hydroids
Molluscs
===========
Crown Conch-Melongena corona
Oyster-Crassostrea virginica
Bay Scallop-Argopecten irradians
Lightning Whelk-Busycon contrarium
Mud Snail-Ilyanassa obseleta
Oyster Drill-Urosalpinx cinerea
Fishes
=======
Goby-spp.
Pinfish-Lagodon rhomboides (up to 90% of biomass)
Pipefish-Syngnathus scovelli
Toadfish-Opsanus beta
Bay Anchovy-Anchoa mitchelli
Silverside-Menidia berylina.
Killifish-spp
Spotted Seatrout-Cynoscion nebulosus
Red Fish (drum)-Sciaenops ocellatus
Croaker-Micropogonias undulatus
Spot-Leiostomous xanthurus
Needlefish-Strongylura marina
Ladyfish-Elops sarus
Striped Burrfish-Chilomycterus schoepfi
++++++ End - SeaGrasses
Dominant Species-Tidal Marshes & Flooded Woodlands
Freshwater Marsh and Woodland Swamp
Marshes are part of a larger category of wetlands: partially or periodically submerged lands where the water table is near or above the soil surface.
This saturation of the soil causes the sediment to be anaerobic, with oxidized to reduced chemical gradients with depth.
Wetlands in general have very low relief (little vertical elevation change) and very little or no wave energy.
Water that flows into marshes and swamps from rivers, creeks and bayous, floods out over the marsh surface where the water slows and particles can sediment out onto the marsh surface.
Larger debris (detritus & synthetic trash) is also filtered out by trees and plants as storm waters flood wetlands.
This natural filtration system adds organic particulate matter to the system.
Organic matter deposited in marshes and swamps from the filtration effect and from resident plant growth tends to accumulate there due to the lack of oxygen.
Although there are lots of bacteria in wetland sediments, they cannot "burn up" the organic matter for energy with oxygen and convert to into carbon dioxide.
Accumulated organic material will compact over long periods of time and form a peat, and eventually coal and oil deposits.
Along rivers there are flat reaches in the valleys cut by the rivers over long periods of time.
These flat areas are the flood plain of the river, locally are vegetated with either marsh plants or cypress, cedar & tupelo trees.
Preserving the flood plains of rivers ensures that the filtration process will occur during periods of high water, and helps to maintain water quality in downstream habitats.
The wetland tree species have adapted to living in standing water and unstable anaerobic sediments by having their trunks "buttressed" for support and sending up "knees", parts of their roots, above the flood level for breathing air.
Tupelo have special air breathing tissue seen as white spots on their knees called lenticels.
In salt marshes, there is a clear demarcation between the wetland and upland due to the inhibitory effects of salt on most plants.
In freshwater wetlands, the transition or ecotone between wetland and upland is not as clear.
Regulatory agencies use both physical properties (soil chemistry/appearance) and biological properties (plant species distributions) to "delineate" (determine the boundaries of) wetlands.
Wetlands Delineation:
I.By Soils
Hydric Soils: Water saturated, anaerobic, reduced chemicals (sulfide, methane), black color (FeS).
Wetland soils do not have to be organic-rich (Histosols) peat and muck, although they tend to develop that sediment type over time from organic material accumulation.
Some wetlands have a mineral soil (<20-35% organic).
In areas where the water table fluctuates a lot, gleys (greenish coloration) and mottles (red) are found in the mineral soil, indicating that the soil has alternated between anaerobic (water saturated wetland) to aerobic chemistry.
aerobic chemistry (the region above the water table is called the vadose zone) .
II.By Plants
The adaptations of plants to wetland soils are used to indicate the extent of water saturated conditions, as the plants will provide an "average" view where wetland boundaries change.
Those plants that cannot tolerate wetland soils will be eliminated wherever these conditions occur.
Some plants have become so well adapted to wetland soil conditions that they are not naturally found anywhere else, or are only rarely found outside of wetlands.
These plants are categorized as being Obligate.
Some of these plants, like cypress, will do fine if planted and tended in upland sites, but naturally they are restricted to wetland soils, and so are the most useful in determining wetland boundaries.
Other plants can tolerate wetland conditions, but also do well in upland sites.
These are categorized as being Facultative, and give us no clear distinction for wetland boundaries.
An in between category of Facultative Wet is used for those plants that are most abundant in wetlands, but also are regularly found in upland conditions.
Hydrophytes are plants for which there is no question as to their wetland status.
They are regularly found in standing water as either Submerged (SAV=submerged aquatic vegetation), or emergent (roots/stems in the water, upper parts in the air) vegetation.
Hydrophytes (submerged or emergent)
====================================
Coontail-Ceratophyllum
Yellow Water Lilly-spp.
Pickerel Weed-Pontederia cordata
Bull Tongue-Sagitaria lancifolia
Arrow Arum-Peltandra virginica
Sawgrass-Cladium jamaicensis
Cattail (narrow)-Typha domingensis
Cattail (broadleaved)-T.
latifolia
Sawgrass-Cladium jamaicense
Big cordgrass-Spartina cynosuroides
Phramites-Phragmites australis
Obligate Wet
===========
Bald Cypress-Taxodium distichum
White Cedar-Chamaecyparis thyoides
Water Tupelo-Nyssa biflora
Royal Fern-Osmunda regalis
Never Wet-Orontium aquaticum
Sphagnum Moss-Sphagnum spp.
Liverworts
Pitcher plant-Sarracenia purpurea
Water Sundew-Drosera intermeadia
Butterwort-Pinguicula lutea
Faculatative Wet
================
Red Titi-Cyrilla racemiflora
Black Titi-Cliftonia monophylla
Azalea-Azalea spp.
Tulip Poplar-Liriodendrom tulipifera
Red Maple-Acer rubrum
Florida Anise-Illicium floridanum
Chain Fern-Woodwardia virginica
Cinnimon Fern-Osmunda cinnamomea
Faculatative/Other:
====================
Sweet Bay Magnolia-Magnolia virginiana
Southern Magnolia-Magnolia grandiflora
Slash Pine-Pinus elliotii
Red Bay-Persea borbonia
Blueberry-Vaccinium spp.
Fetterbush-Lyonia lucida
+++++++++++++++End Tidal Marshes
Pinelands
The left picture is a Long leaf pine forest in Blackwater State Forest.
These rolling hills of clay and sand are part of the remaining Long-leaf Pine savannas in the Southeastern US.
In the Blackwater State Forest, these lands are actively managed with pre-scribed burning to maintain them in their natural state.
The understory appears to be dominated by Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) and Gallberry (Ilex glabra), but actually may contain hundreds of plants species.
Some pinelands, like the "flatwoods" on Fairpoint Peninsula (right), have a similar species composition, but can have slash pine (Pinus elliotii) replacing Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) where they grade into Wet Prairies
The Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass Community once covered over 70 million acres in the south, but there remains only 2.
5 to 3 million acres.
Only 3,000 of those acres represent old growth forest.
These habitats are xerophytic and fire dependent.
Unlike the hardwood forest, very little organic humus accumulates.
Often the bare mineral soil is exposed.
A mature longleaf pine forest has an open canopy that allows sunlight to flood the forest floor.
Consequently, although the species richness of the canopy is low (only 1!), more than 200 species of herbaceous plants and grasses can be found on the forest floor.
Spring-summer lightning season fires or prescribed burning are required to maintain this habitat type.
Fire suppression and fragmentation has led to a great deal of this habitat becoming hardwood forest.
Much of what is left is actively managed with prescribed burning.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris ) is a long-lived tree, reaching 350-500 years.
The seeds require bare mineral soil for germination, and none survive in a seed bank.
Initial growth has been described as a "Grass" stage, which can persist for 3-15 years during which dense needles protect apical bud from fire and insects.
During this time the plant develops a deep taproot for water and food storage.
Gallberry, or Inkberry (Ilex glabra), is abundant and can form thickets in the understory.
This allows the plant to shoot up rapidly, without branches, to above ground fire height.
These sub canopy trees may remain in a suppressed state for long periods if a suitable growth gap is unavailable.
Mature long leaf pine supported a tremendous timber industry (which has contributed to its demise).
The old growth wood was/is highly desirable for its strength, weight and rot-resistance due to resin saturation (called heart-pine).
Red Cockaded Woodpeckers, Picoides borealis , are an example of a species that is dependent on the old growth trees.
This woodpecker requires the older trees that have sufficient heartwood in which to carve out a cavity.
In paticular they seek out trees with heart rot from a fungal species.
Younger trees with greater amounts of sapwood will flood a cavity with sap making it unusable.
Red Cockaded Woodpecker nesting trees are obvious from the copious white crystallized sap on the bark.
The birds actively peck into the sapwood around their nest holes so that the sap runs down the tree to inhibit snakes from reaching their nests.
The birds exist in ìclustersî of males with a single breeding pair.
The sibling males are ìhelpersî aiding with egg incubation and feeding of the young until they head off to start their own family cluster.
Females leave in search of males to establish a new family group.
Thus a lack of suitable nest cavity trees will limit population growth and dispersal.
Wiregrass, Aristida stricta, seen in the above photos, is also a lived species.
Bunches of this perennial grass can be older than the long leaf pines that tower above it.
The bunches expand in diameter with age.
In some cases remnant Wiregrass can indicate forest communities that were once long leaf pine habitat.
For seed production a 2-4 week window for spring fire is required.
Otherwise about 1% seed viability occurs and seed dispersal is poor.
Because it is long-lived, it can afford to wait for the right kind of fire to produce viable seeds.
Response to spring fire is dramatic, with prolific growth making a sea of waist to chest high grass that turns golden yellow in the fall.
Scrub Oaks are found as part of the groundcover/understory in these forests.
They are killed down to the roots after a fire, but grow back into low thickets between fires.
Like wiregrass, their seed production (acorns) is stimulated by fire, producing food for wildlife.
Single individuals may cover an acre with an extensive root system and many shoots/trees.
Gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus , are considered a keystone species in these habitats, with about 40 species known to be commensals, some obligate, in using tortoise burrows for shelter.
One tortoise may have multiple burrows, providing cool moist habitat in an other wise dry environ.
Plants
=======
Long Leaf Pine-Pinus palustris
Turkey Oak-Quercus laevis
Runner Oaks-Quercus pumila, Q.
minima
Blackjack oak-Q.
marilandica
Bluejack oak-Q.
incana
Gopher apple-Licania michauxii
Wiregrass-Aristida stricta
Yaupon-Ilex vomitoria
Saw palmetto-Serona repens
Gallberry-Ilex glabra
Broomsedge-Andropogon spp.
Bracken fern-Pteridium aquilinum
Ground huckleberries-Gaylussacia spp.
Blueberry-Vaccinium spp.
Blackberry-Rubus cuneifolius
Birds
=====
Red cockaded woodpecker-Picoides borealis
Red tailed hawk-Buteo Jamaicensis
Great horned owl-Bubo virginianus
Bobwhite-Colinus virgnianus
Bachmanís sparrow-Aimophila aestivalis
Amhibians/Reptiles
==================
Gopher frog-Rana areolata
Eastern tiger salamander-Ambyostoma tigrinum
Eastern spade foot toad-Scaphiopus holbrookii
Gopher tortoise-Gopherus polyphemus
Pygmy rattlesnake-Sistrurus militarius barbouri
Diamondback rattlesnake-Crotalus adamanteus
Florida pine snake-Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus
Indigo snake-Drymarchon corais
Redtailed skink-Eumeces egregius
Six Lined racerunner-Cnemidophorus sexlineatus
Southern fence lizard-Sceloporus undulatus
Mammals
==========
Fox squirrel-Sciurus niger
Pocket gopher-Geomys pinetus
Old field mouse-Peromyscus polionotus
Cotton mouse-P.
gossypinus
Short-tailed shrew-Blarina brevicauda
Mole-Scalopus aquaticus
Least shrew-Cryptodus parva
Cotton rat-Sigmodon hispidus
Cottontail rabbit-Sylvilagus floridanus
Florida black bear-Ursus americanus floridanus
++++++ End - Pinelands
Upland Hardwood Forest
Upland hardwoods on the Baars-Firestone Nature Trail, UWF campus, located in a gradient between pine sandhill and swamp forest of the Escambia River and its tributaries.
An Io moth caterpillar (Automeris io) munches on Live Oak Leaves.
These caterpillars have poison in the branched app++++++ End - ages along its back that cause massive swelling and pain on contact.
On the campus of the University of West Florida,
there is remnant pine sandhill that has not seen fire in many years, hardwoods along hillsides and ravines, and swamp forest along the flood plain of Thompson Bayou, Ferry Pass Bayou and the Escambia River.
The hardwood forests here are referred to as "mixed mesophytic", meaning moderate in moisture level, between Xerophytic (like the pine sand hill: dry), and Hydrophytic (like the swamp forest: wet).
The mixed part comes from a mixture of deciduous trees like tulip poplar, Beech, Hickory, and Sparkleberry, and evergreen trees like Spruce Pine, Live Oak, Laurel Oak, and Magnolia.
One of the dominant physical characteristics of hardwood forests is the stratification.
The largest mature trees form a canopy at the top of the forest where they get maximum light exposure.
Saplings of canopy trees are often found in a suppressed state under the canopy because of shading, but can rapidly respond to light gaps resulting from the death of a canopy tree.
In the next level of stratification are the understory trees.
These species are shade tolerant, existing on filtered light (Dogwood, Magnolia, Sparkleberry).
Understory shrubs are found below these trees, and are even more shade tolerant (Elliots Blueberry, Florida Anise).
On The forest floor are found the ground cover plants that exist on very low light levels (Partridge Berry, Reindeer Moss, Ferns).
As much as 95% of the light hitting the canopy is filtered out by the time it reaches the forest floor.
Vines and Epiphytes form a special category of plants mechanically dependent on the large trees to reach the canopy (Lianas, Briar, Grape)
In an undisturbed forest (at equilibrium), nutrient availability is dependent on mineralization of detritus (dead plant material) on the forest floor
Less than 5% of annual production consumed by herbivores, the rest falls to the forest floor where it is subject to mechanical and biological breakdown.
On the forest floor there is a thick organic layer over the mineral soil with a gradient from "litter" (whole leaves/branches) on top to broken fragments over a felt-like mat of intertwined roots and fungi (mycorrhizae and saprophytes).
Most of the plant roots in the forest are in this layer on top of the mineral soil (A horizon).
That is why clearing forest land usually kills any trees that are left: most of the feeder roots are destroyed.
It is in this organic layer that mineralization of fallen leaves and twigs occurs, returning the nutrients to the living plants in a tight recyling.
Dominant Plant Species:
Large Trees
===========
Live Oak-Quercus virginiana
Laurel Oak-Quercus hemispherica
Southern Red Oak-Quercus falcata falcata
Water Oak-Quercus nigra
Spruce Pine-Pinus glabra
Magnolia-Magnolia grandiflora
Beech-Fagus grandifolia
Tulip Poplar-Liriodendron tulipifera
Hickory-Carya spp.
Understory
=============
Sparkleberry-Vaccinnia arboreum
Wild Blueberry-Vaccinnia elliotii
Shadbush-Amelanchier arborea
Dogwood-Cornis florida
Yaupon-Ilex vomitoria
Redbay-Persea borbonia
Hawthorn-Crateagus spp.
Vines
=====
Green Briar-Smilax spp.
Muscadine Grape-Vitis rotundifolia
Carolina Jasmine-Gelsemium sempervirens
Blackberry-Rubus sp.
Trumpet vine-Bignonia
Poison Ivy-Toxidendron spp.
Forest floor
============
Saw Palmetto-Serona repens
Partrige Berry-Mitchella repens
False Reindeer Lichen-Cladonia sp.
Mosses
======
Bracken Fern-Pteridium aquilinum
Mammals
===========
Gray Squirrel-Scirius carolinensis
Opossum-Didelphis virginiana
Raccoon-Procyon lotor
Striped Skunk-Mephitis mephitis
Whitetailed deer-Odocoileus virginianus
Reptiles
========
Eastern Glass Lizard-Ophisaurus ventralis
Green Anole-Anolis carolinensis
Five-lined Skink-Eumeces fasciatus
Southern Black Racer-Coluber constrictor priapus
Insects
========
White Marked Tussock Moth-Orgyia leucostigma
Polyphemus Moth-Antherea polyphemus
++++++ End -
Upland Hardwood Forest
Home
