What is a hardwood hammock in Florida?
Hardwood Hammock. A hardwood hammock is a habitat that is found on higher elevations, making it (like the pinelands) a dry habitat. To walk into a hardwood hammock is to walk through a shady tropical forest. Hardwoods are broad leaved trees that grow well in the Everglades.
What is a hammock forest?
Tropical hardwood hammock is a closed canopy forest, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin.
What does it mean to walk into a hardwood hammock?
To walk into a hardwood hammock is to walk through a shady tropical forest. Hardwoods are broad leaved trees that grow well in the Everglades. If you were to look straight up, you might have trouble seeing the sun and sky because of all the trees growing close together.
Where do hammocks come from?
Although tropical hardwood hammocks tend to be located in patches across the landscape, they compose part of a complex mosaic of communities including mangroves, coastal marshes and prairies, freshwater swamps, and pinelands.
What is a hardwood hammock?
What are the evidences for the existence of a hammock?
What do tree branches do to hammocks?
Why did the wolves come to the Hammock?
Why do collectors remove snails from hammocks?
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What is a hardwood hammock forest?
A hardwood hammock is a dense stand of broad-leafed trees that grow on a natural rise of only a few inches in elevation. Hammocks can be found nestled in most all other Everglades ecosystems. In the deeper sloughs and marshes, the seasonal flow of water helps give these hammocks a distinct aerial teardrop shape.
What animals live in the hardwood hammock?
ResourcesCommon SpeciesSpeciesEastern indigo snake*Drymarchon couperiFlorida brown snakeStoreria dekayi victaFlorida Keys mole skinkEumeces egregius egregiusFlorida leafwing butterflyAnaea troglodyta floridalis20 more rows
Do hardwood hammocks need fire?
Although fire is a necessary characteristic of other forest communities in South Florida, the hardwood hammock is intolerant of fire. The sparse understory, dense shade of the canopy, and permeating moisture of a hammock helps to insulate them from fire.
What plants live in hardwood hammocks?
Oaks, wild tamarind, cabbage palms, maple, and saw palmetto are often found in this habitat. The densest part of a hardwood hammock is in the canopy overhead, making it hard for plants at ground level to find enough light to grow. This makes these habitats easy to explore on the ground.
What does hammock mean in Florida?
Glossary terms on page: hammock: area that is often higher than the surrounding land with humus rich soil and hardwood trees including oaks, sweetgums, hickories, and palms.
What kind of tree is a hammock?
Scrub-derived hammocks typically include myrtle oak (Quercus myrtifolia) and Chapman's oak (Quercus chapmanii), while sandhill-derived hammocks include turkey oak (Quercus laevis) and bluejack oak (Quercus incana).
What is a mesic hammock?
Mesic temperate hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by evergreen tree species of temperate affinities, primarily live oak and cabbage palms, that are naturally protected from fire because of their position in the landscape.
What is an oak hammock?
Hammocks are well-developed evergreen hardwood and palm forests, which grow on soils that are rarely inundated. They often occur as “islands” of high ground within wetland habitats. Soils are sandy and mixed with organic matter from leaf litter.
What does hammock mean in the Keys?
South Florida forests are known as “hammocks,” which is derived from a Native American word meaning “shade tree.” Walking into a hammock in the Florida Keys, you will see many tree trunks, and if you don't know the trees by their bark, you will have to look up to find leaves to identify them.
Is Florida Bay in the Gulf of Mexico?
Florida Bay, triangular-shaped shallow body of water between the Gulf of Mexico and Biscayne Bay at the southern end of Florida, U.S. The bay, which covers about 850 square miles (2,200 square km), is partially sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean on the south and east by the Florida Keys.
How many ecosystems are in Florida?
Florida has more than eighty distinct ecosystems, which are home to many different plant and animal species.
What is the dominant canopy tree in South Florida swamps?
The South Florida slash pine is the dominant canopy tree in south Florida. Mesic flatwoods are found statewide, except extreme southern peninsula and the Keys, and are the most widespread biological community in Florida.
Which is an example of a hardwood tree?
Examples of hardwood trees: Oak. Maple. Hickory.
What is an oak hammock?
Hammocks are well-developed evergreen hardwood and palm forests, which grow on soils that are rarely inundated. They often occur as “islands” of high ground within wetland habitats. Soils are sandy and mixed with organic matter from leaf litter.
What makes Pine Rocklands unique?
Typical features common to pine rocklands are; very little soil substrate, limestone ground, and frequent fire occurrence. The rocky ground has produced plants and animals that have adapted to very little soil.
How does Sawgrass help the Everglades?
Although sawgrass in the Everglades can harm the human hand, it is essential to life in the Everglades in many ways. Not only is it efficient at utilizing nutrients to sustain the health of its surrounding environment, but as it decays, it creates a healthy, organic soil called peat.
Ecosystems: Hardwood Hammock - National Park Service
NPS photo. A hardwood hammock is a dense stand of broad-leafed trees that grow on a natural rise of only a few inches in elevation. Hammocks can be found nestled in most all other Everglades ecosystems.
Ecology of Everglades National Park | U.S. Geological Survey
A great white heron sits atop a mangrove at Boggy Key, a Florida Key island. Coastal lowlands (coastal prairies) are located between Florida Bay’s tidal mud flats and drier land, and are well-drained regions with shrubby, salt-tolerant vegetation.
What is a hammock ecosystem?
Ecosystems: Hardwood Hammock. A hardwood hammock is a dense stand of broad-leafed trees that grow on a natural rise of only a few inches in elevation. Hammocks can be found nestled in most all other Everglades ecosystems.
Why do hammocks rarely flood?
This diverse assemblage of plant life supports an equally diverse array of wildlife. Because of their slight elevation , hammocks rarely flood. Acids from decaying plants dissolve the limestone around each tree island, creating a natural moat that protects the hammock plants from fire.
Where are hammocks located?
The tropical hardwood hammock is located in an area of slightly higher elevation than the surrounding wetland and is characterized by hardwood forests of broad-leaved evergreen trees and shrubs. These areas are scattered throughout the Everglades, and the dense, vine-entangled tropical hardwood hammock looks like a tiny islands dotting ...
What is a hammock?
The tropical hardwood hammock is a self-maintaining community that usually remains untouched by fire or flood. These islands can support more than 20 species of tropical trees, shrubs, and vines, and provide critical habitat for numerous animals. Trees: Paurotis/Everglades Palm, Gumbo Limbo, Satinleaf, Strangler Fig, Royal Palm, Paradise Tree, ...
Where are royal palm trees found?
ROYAL PALM - Royal Palm trees are common in nearly every Florida tropical hammock. They are native to Florida and are commercially important to the landscaping industry in the coastal South. Roystonea is the genus name of eleven species of palms which includes royal palm. The royal palm is native to the Caribbean Islands, ...
Where is the royal palm native to?
The royal palm is native to the Caribbean Islands, and the adjacent coasts of Florida, Central and South America. It is one of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms in tropical and subtropical regions and considered by many to be the most beautiful palm in the world.
Where are tropical hardwood hammocks found?
Tropical hardwood hammocks are found in South Florida or the Everglades, with large concentrations on the Miami Rock Ridge, in the Florida Keys, along the northern shores of Florida Bay, and in the Pinecrest region of the Big Cypress Swamp . Tropical hardwood hammocks are habitat for a few endemic plants and are critical habitat for many West ...
What is the habitat of tropical hardwood hammocks?
Tropical hardwood hammocks are habitat for a few endemic plants and are critical habitat for many West Indian plant species when the northernmost portions of their ranges extend into South Florida. Tropical hardwood hammocks also provide important habitat for many species of wildlife, including nine federally listed species.
What are the different types of hammocks?
Five major types of hammocks are: Rockland hammock "islands" on limestone substrate in or on the edges of pine rockland or marl prairie communities on the Miami Rock Ridge and in Big Cypress National Preserve. Keys rockland hammock on limestone substrate, making up the dominant forest type in the Florida Keys.
What is a hammock in Florida?
While few plant species are endemic to tropical hardwood hammocks, hammocks are critical habitat for West Indian species where the northernmost portions of their ranges extend into South Florida . The canopy height of tropical hardwood hammocks varies according to substrate and climate. On the Miami Rock Ridge, a mature hammock will have a closed canopy at 18 m (59 ft) or less, while those on the Florida Keys have a canopy 9 to 12 m (30 to 39 ft) tall. The tropical hardwood hammock shrub and herb layer is sparse, mostly consisting of seedlings and saplings of canopy and subcanopy trees and shrubs.
How has the water table affected hammocks?
Tropical hardwood hammock has been affected by both reductions and increases in the mean water table. On the Miami Rock Ridge, the average water table has dropped by several feet since the beginning of the century. In contrast, hammocks in the South Florida Water Management District Water Conservation Areas have been flooded within the last few decades, and many hardwood trees have been destroyed by high water.
Where can I find hammocks in Florida?
Large areas of tropical hardwood hammocks are found in Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park, throughout the Florida Keys, and in Big Cypress National Preserve. Tropical hardwood hammocks also persist in small preserves along the Atlantic coastal strip from Miami-Dade County north to Martin County.
Where is the hammock trail?
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Mahogany Hammock Trail, an accessible tropical hardwood hammock in Everglades National Park. Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin.
What is a hardwood hammock?
A hardwood hammock is a habitat that is found on higher elevations, making it (like the pinelands) a dry habitat. To walk into a hardwood hammock is to walk through a shady tropical forest. Hardwoods are broad leaved trees that grow well in the Everglades.
What are the evidences for the existence of a hammock?
Archeologists have found evidence of their presence based on artifacts such as pottery pieces and shell tools found in these hammocks.
What do tree branches do to hammocks?
These tree branches help keep the hammocks shady and cool.
Why did the wolves come to the Hammock?
They came in search of the Jewel of the Hammock, something that can be very hard to spot.
Why do collectors remove snails from hammocks?
Collectors used to remove the snails from the hardwood hammock so they could add shells to their collection, however this drastically reduced the population of tree snails making it harder to find the snails .
