Hydric Pine Flatwoods

Hydric pine flatwoods are unique to South Florida, and provide essential forested habitat for wildlife including Florida black bear (Ursus americanus jloridanus), Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi), wood stork (Mycteria americana), red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Everglade snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus), Big Cypress fox squirrel (Sciurus niger avicennia), Sherman's fox squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani), Bachman's sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis), bobcat (Lynx rufus), swallow-tailed kite (Elanoidesforficatus), Florida weasel (Mustelafrenata peninsulae), limpkin (Aramus guarauna), northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), southeastern kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus) eastern American kestrel (Falco s. sparverius), Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis), and 900 native plant species including at least 80 rare and endemic plant species. This habitat seasonally functions as both a wetland and an upland. The relatively predictable nature of this hydrologic transformation allows for an abundant diversity of plant life, including both wetland and upland annuals, and supports a diverse invertebrate fauna and, as a result, a diverse vertebrate fauna. The hydric pine flatwoods of South Florida are a distinct habitat in dynamic equilibrium between drought and flood, that is regularly and predictably perturbed by fire and water. The alteration between upland and wetland conditions allows for both upland and wetland plant species to utilize the same habitat through temporal displacement. The latitudinal range of hydric pine flatwoods provides a wide range of microclimates that result in tropical floral components in the south, and temperate-dominated understory in the north and frost-prone interior sites, increasing the overall plant diversity in the understory. As a result the hydric pine flatwoods have the highest plant species diversity of any habitat in South Florida. South Florida pine flatwoods are among the least protected habitats by current distribution of public lands, with only 9 percent protected. If hydric pine flatwoods are not protected, this unique South Florida habitat will be converted to urban, suburban, and agricultural development within a relatively short time period. Regionally, the loss of hydric pine flatwoods habitats of South Florida will critically affect the biodiversity and endemic flora and fauna of South Florida.

Hydric Pine Flatwoods

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