Inventory and Analyses of Biological Communities in Southern Golden Gate Estates, A Watershed for the Ten Thousand Islands, Collier County, FL: Vascular Plant Communities
Burch JN, Yamataki H, Hendricks G. 2000. Inventory and Analyses of Biological Communities in Southern Golden Gate Estates, A Watershed for the Ten Thousand Islands, Collier County, FL: Vascular Plant Communities. Pages 47-54. In Cannizzaro PJ (ed): Proceedings of The Twenty Sixth Annual Conference on Ecosystems Restoration and Creation. Hillsborough Community College Institute of Florida Studies. May, 13-14, 1999. Plant City, Florida
South Golden Gate Estates, in southwestern Florida, is a large wetland that was permitted for development several years ago. The early stages of development (drainage canals and roads) and land sale were undertaken, so that the hydrology of the area has been changed. The State of Florida has begun acquiring properties here, and the South Florida Water Management District, with the U. S. D. A. Natural Resource Conservation Service, has begun hydrologic restoration of the area. Most of the area is dominated by mixed cypress forest and marl prairie. These communities are often inundated much of the year, but in the South Golden Gates Estates, substrates are seldom under water. Monitoring the progress of restoration will in part be accompanied by measuring changes in water levels and plant communities. This outlines the first information and data collected before restoration commences, and compares current conditions with detailed information gathered over 50 years ago. Substrates in the area are mostly wetlands soils, and are indicated with recent classifications. Since drainage, fire frequencies and areas burned have increased and some communities now support significant populations of exotic Brazilian peppers (Schinus terebinthifolius). Cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) appears to have proliferated, colonizing large areas. Vascular plant richness in most communities has remained similar to before drainage, but numbers of species that indicate wetland communities have decreased.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Burch, James; Yamataki, Howard; Hendricks, Greg
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Cypress, drainage system, hardwood hammock, hydric pine flatwoods, mesic pine flatwoods, Prairie, Wetland