Ecology of South Florida (EVR 3013) LECTURE 16

UPLAND COMUNITIES I
PINE FLATWOODS

Hello, Tampa! We're coming, coming, coming without fail,
We're pushing, pushing, pushing through The Tamiami Trail!
Drilling, blasting, dredging, piling up the road bed, stopping for nothing,
Every day or two moving camp to keep up with the drill and the dredge
--- here goes the Tamiami Trail.
In about one month it will reach Pinecrest, that sight for sore eyes,
A beautiful pine ridge lying in the midst of the long, level meadow lands
--- the first high ground suitable for a townsite west of Miami on the trail.
Then the prices of town lots will soar.
Now you can buy them at your own
price at auction.
W.J. Willingham [in Fernald and Purdum 1992]

HANDOUTS: 1. Species List for Pine Flatwoods: Plants, Animals

I. PHYSICAL FEATURES

A. Distribution

1. Topography

Low flat topography, relatively poorly-drained, acidic sandy soils, sometimes underlain by organic matter

2. Area

Most extensive terrestrial ecosystem in Florida, occur throughout the se coastal plain, occupy 50% of Florida's land area. Most extensive community in south Florida except for freshwater marsh, i.e. the Everglades

3. Geology

Occupies old, flat shallow marine deposits

B. Physical Attributes

Low relief, flat, low runoff

C. Soils

1. Composition

Poorly drained, fine-textured sands, low clay om, low CEC, often contain a spodic horizon and sometimes a clay hardpan

2. Origin

Establishment of a modern pine flora around 5000 YPB may have enhanced spodosol formation, acid from litter aids leaching

D. Hydrology

Poor permeability results in standing water, litter decreases evaporation

II. PLANTS

A. Physiognomy

relativly open overstory of pine, an extensive shrub layer and a variable often sparse herbaceous layer.

B. Canopy

1. Composition

Dominated by slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa)

2. Size

Canopy may reach 30 m but often stunted because of underlying hardpan

3. Density

Density varies considerably from tens of trees to 5,000+ per hectare.

C. Shrubs

Shrubs vary considerably, shrub canopy ranges from 0.5-2m tall, often discontinuous or multi-layered.

D. Herb layer

May be sparse or absent

E. Related communities

1. Dry prairies

Dry prairies are similar except they lack a pine overstory

2. Scrub

Scrubby flatwoods are an ecotone between flatwoods and scrub - shrub layer has more scrubby oaks and fewer herbs.

3. Pine rocklands

In Dade, on Miami limestone.

F. Endemics, exotics and diversity

1. Endemic species

2. Exotics




3. Diversity

marine waters   5
mangrove   13
salt marsh   23
dry prairie   69
scrub   76
coastal strand and dune   115
marsh   119
wet prairie   172
freshwater swamps   188
disturbed   250
dry pineland   303
hammocks   306
seasonally wet pineland   361



G. Plant species list for pine flatwoods and dry prairies

1. Trees

S. Fla. Slash pine   Pinus elliottii var. densa
Cabbage palm   Sabal palmetto [state tree]
Live oak   Quercus virginiana
Sand live oak   Quercus geminata
Melaleucaex   Melaleuca quinquenervia
   
   

2. Shrubs

Saw palmetto   Serenoa repens
Gallberry   Ilex glabra
St. John's Wort   Hypericum fasciculatum
Rusty Lyonia   Lyonia ferruginea
Wax myrtle   Myrica cerifera
Brazilian pepperex   Schinus terebinthifolius
   
   

3. Vines

Muscadine grape   Vitis rotundifolia
   
   

4. Herbs

Broom sedge   Andropogon virginicus
Wire grass   Aristida stricta
Tickseed   Coreopsis leavenworthii [state wildflower]
   
   

5. Aquatic Herbs

Saw grass   Cladium mariscus
White-topped sedge   Rhynchospora colorata


III. ANIMALS

A. Density

Animal density often low, particularly birds and mammals

B. Keystone

Pine Bark beetle (Ips spp.) may be a keystone animal

C. Animal species list for pine flatwoods and dry prairies

1. Mammals

Florida panther   Felis concolor ssp. coryi
White-tailed deer   Odocoileus virginanus
Gray fox   Urocyon cineroargenteus
Black bear   Ursus americanus
   
   

2. Reptiles and amphibians

Oak toad   Bufo quercicus
Black racer   Coluber constrictor
Eastern diamondback rattle snake   Crotalus adamanteus
Southeastern five-lined skink   Eumeces inexpectatus
Eastern hognose snake   Heterodon platyrhinos
Box turtle   Terrapene carolina
   
   

3. Birds

common flicker   Colaptes auratus
Northern bobwhite   Colinus virginianus
pine warble   Dendroica pinus
Red-bellied woodpecker   Melanerpes carolinus
Morning dove   Zenaida macroura
For superscript by species name: C = commercially exploited, SSC = species of special concern, T = threatened. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission listings. EX = exotic.

IV. ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES

A. Fire

1. Resistance

S. Fla. Slash pine is among the most fire tolerant pines, exceeded in tolerance only by long-leaf pine, grass-stage very fire resistant

2. Flammability

Saw palmetto and wire grass highly flammable, promote fire

3. Dependence

Cutthroat grass, broom sedge and wire grass do not flower without fire

4. Frequency

Ideal fire frequency is once every 4 to 7 years; range managers recommend 2-year burn cycle

5. Effects

From Ewel et al.
  1. Physical-chemical environment
  2. Dry matter accumulation
  3. Plant community composition
  4. Wildlife habitat and populations
  5. Insects, parasites and fungi
  6. Miscellaneous effects

B. Nutrient cycling

1. N & P

Soils often have low nitrogen and phosphorous levels

2. Decomposition

Decomposition slow (ca. 15% per year) perhaps due to acidity of soil

3. Closed System

Nutrient cycling in managed systems is closed

4. Crown

Most nutrients tied up in crown - needles make up 7% of biomass of slash pine but contain 30-37% of N, P, and K

5. Ca

Saw palmetto readily takes up calcium

C. Productivity (g C m-2 yr-1)

1. Mangrove swamp   3000
2. Disturbed cove forest   2400
3. Tropical rainforest   2200
4. Tropical dry forest   1600
5. Mixed mesophytic forest   1500
6. Old field   1210
7. Temperate deciduous forest   1200
8. Savanna   900
9. PINE FLATWOOD   860
10. Boreal forest    800
11. Cultivated land   600
12. Oak-hickory forest   600
13. Cypress swamp   528
14. Dwarf cypress   268
15. Desert   90


D. Succession

1. Fire

Fire maintains the species composition of pine flatwoods

2. Fire Suppression

In the absence of fire, hardwood species generally invade. Pines do not regenerate in their own shade

3. Soil changes

Successional changes lead to changes in the soil, oaks for example can penetrate the hardpan of spodosols, invasion of bay head species can increase soil organic matter content

4. Successional Patterns

a. wet sites, high clay
cypress - mixed swamp
b. calcareous soils
cabbage palm hammocks
c. sandy soils
hammocks
d. sandy poor drainage
bayheads

V. HUMAN EFFECTS

A. Pre-Colombian

1. aboriginal burning

2. hunting

3. little clearing for agriculture

B. 18th and 19th century

1. timber use

a. lumber
b. pulp
c. naval stores

2. hunting

3. limited clearing for agriculture and settlement

C. 20th century

1. increased clearing for agricultural and residential development

2. increased drainage

3. decreased fire frequency

D. Dade County Pine

The early homes in Dade County were built of Dade County pine. It is so dense, so resistant to decay, and so hard that when dry a special steel nail must be used or holes bored to receive nails. The heartwood is resistant to termite attack, and many of the homes of fifty years or more of age are still in good condition today. During World War II, 'everything that would make a two-by-four' was cut except for a few isolated patches in the park. The owner of a local sawmill operating in 1952 told me that in the virgin stands of Dade County pine many trees were 2 feet in diameter and as much as 90 feet tall.

Craighead 1971

E. Naval stores

1. gum

tapping living trees and collecting resin

2. wood

derived from oleoresin obtained by extraction from stumps of old-growth pines

3. sulfate

by-products of pulping process used for manufacture of paints, varnishes, paper sizing, adhesives, inks and coatings
Pine flatwood Succession Diagram
Back to start,  Back to lecture 10,  11,  12,  13,  14 &15,  On to lecture 17,  18,  19

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