South Florida rocklands
Encyclopedia
The South Florida rocklands ecoregion
, in the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Biome
, occurring in southern Florida
and the Florida Keys
in the United States
, where they would naturally cover an area of 2100 km² (810.8 sq mi). These forests form on limestone
outcrop
pings with very thin soil
; the higher elevation separating them from other habitats such as coastal marsh
es and marl
prairie
s. On mainland Florida, rocklands exist primarily on the Miami Rock Ridge
, which extends from the Miami River
south to Everglades National Park
. South Florida rocklands are further divided into pine rocklands and rockland hammocks
.
). Beneath this canopy lies a rich understory
composed of grasses
, sedges
, palms
, vine
s, and shrub
s of temperate
and tropical
origin, such as Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus
), Coontie (Zamia integrifolia
), Fivepetal Leaf-flower (Phyllanthus
pentaphyllus), Florida Bluestem (Andropogon
floridanus), Florida Clover Ash (Tetrazygia
bicolor
), Florida Keys Noseburn (Tragia
saxicola), Pineland Snakeherb (Dyschoriste
angusta), Pineland Spurge (Euphorbia pinetorum), Silver Bluestem (Bothriochloa
saccharoides), and Beyrich Threeawn (Aristida
beyrichiana). The pine rockland community is South Florida’s most floristically diverse plant community and includes several endemic species. A subclimatic
community, pine rocklands have depended on wildfire
to keep them from transitioning into hardwood hammocks.
trees to become dominant, nearly all of which are tropical
in origin. Natural firebreak
s include exposed limestone
cliff
s and solution sinkhole
s. Canopy species include Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba
), Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca
), Pigeonplum (Coccoloba diversifolia), Florida Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea
), False Mastic (Sideroxylon foetidissimum
), Willow Bustic (Dipholis salicifolia
), Short-leaf Fig (Ficus citrifolia
), False Tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum
), West Indian Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni
), and Pepperleaf Sweetwood (Licaria
triandra). Epiphyte
s that grow in the canopy include Spanish moss
(Tillandsia usneoides) and Ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata
). Plants such as Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum
), Inkwood (Exothea paniculata), Lancewood (Nectandra
coriacea), marlberry (Ardisia
escallonoides), Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum
), Satinleaf (Chrysophyllum
oliviforme), White Stopper (Eugenia
axillaris), Shiny Oysterwood (Gymnanthes lucida
), and Pale Lidflower (Calyptranthes pallens) grow in the understory
. Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), a temperate
species, can be found on hammock margins.
was the first area to be impacted by development. The clearing of large tracts for development have now reduced the pine rocklands to about 20000 acre (80.9 km²), most of which are now protected inside the Everglades National Park
. Wildfire suppression has resulted in many formerly pine rockland properties transitioning to hammock or becoming invaded by non-native invasive species
, causing a net loss of biodiversity and the extinction or near extinction of several plant species.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
, in the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....
Biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
, occurring in southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where they would naturally cover an area of 2100 km² (810.8 sq mi). These forests form on limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
pings with very thin soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
; the higher elevation separating them from other habitats such as coastal marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es and marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
s. On mainland Florida, rocklands exist primarily on the Miami Rock Ridge
Miami Rock Ridge
The Miami Rock Ridge is a continuous limestone outcropping which formerly encompassed a large extent of far southern Florida, including portions of the Everglades ecosystem...
, which extends from the Miami River
Miami River (Florida)
The Miami River is a river in the United States state of Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through the Downtown and the city of Miami. The long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
south to Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
. South Florida rocklands are further divided into pine rocklands and rockland hammocks
Hammock (ecology)
Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them. Hammocks are distinctive in that they are formed gradually over thousands of years rising in a wet area through the deposits of...
.
Pine rockland
The pine rockland community canopy is dominated almost exclusively by South Florida Slash Pine (Pinus elliotti var. densaSlash Pine
Pinus elliottii, commonly known as the Slash Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, from southern South Carolina west to southeastern Louisiana, and south to the Florida Keys....
). Beneath this canopy lies a rich understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
composed of grasses
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
, sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
, palms
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
, vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
s, and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s of temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
and tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
origin, such as Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus
Andropogon virginicus
Andropogon virginicus is a species of grass known by several common names, including broomsedge bluestem and yellowsedge bluestem. It is native to the southeastern United States and as far north as the Great Lakes. It is known as an introduced species in California and Hawaii, where it is...
), Coontie (Zamia integrifolia
Zamia integrifolia
Zamia integrifolia is a small, tough, woody cycad native to the southeast United States , the Bahamas and the Caribbean south to Grand Cayman and Puerto Rico ....
), Fivepetal Leaf-flower (Phyllanthus
Phyllanthus
Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number species in this genus vary widely, from 750 to 1200. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, climbers, floating aquatics, and...
pentaphyllus), Florida Bluestem (Andropogon
Andropogon
Andropogon is a genus of grasses. Andropogon gerardii, big bluestem, is the official state grass of Illinois.Broomsedge is found along the eastern United States...
floridanus), Florida Clover Ash (Tetrazygia
Tetrazygia
Tetrazygia is a genus of plant in family Melastomataceae.Species include:* Tetrazygia albicans, Triana* Tetrazygia bicolor* Tetrazygia elegans, Urban...
bicolor
Tetrazygia bicolor
Tetrazygia bicolor is a species flowering plant in the glory bush family, Melastomataceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States and the Caribbean. Common names include Florida Tetrazygia and West Indian Lilac.T. bicolor is a shrub that reaches a height of...
), Florida Keys Noseburn (Tragia
Tragia
Tragia is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It comprises about one hundred species found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Plants in this genus are sometimes known as noseburns....
saxicola), Pineland Snakeherb (Dyschoriste
Dyschoriste
Dyschoriste is a genus of flowering plants in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as snakeherb.-Selected species:*Dyschoriste angusta Small – Pineland Snakeherb...
angusta), Pineland Spurge (Euphorbia pinetorum), Silver Bluestem (Bothriochloa
Bothriochloa
Bothriochloa is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family. There are about 70 species found in tropical to warm temperate areas worldwide. They are often called beardgrass or bluestem.Species include:* Bothriochloa alta – tall beardgrass...
saccharoides), and Beyrich Threeawn (Aristida
Three-awn
The three-awns are the grass genus Aristida, distinguished by having three awns on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species, found worldwide, often in arid warm regions...
beyrichiana). The pine rockland community is South Florida’s most floristically diverse plant community and includes several endemic species. A subclimatic
Ecological succession
Ecological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
community, pine rocklands have depended on wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
to keep them from transitioning into hardwood hammocks.
Rockland hammock
Rockland hammocks form on regions of rockland where a lack of fire has allowed hardwoodHardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
trees to become dominant, nearly all of which are tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
in origin. Natural firebreak
Firebreak
A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...
s include exposed limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s and solution sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s. Canopy species include Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba
Bursera simaruba
Bursera simaruba, commonly known as the Gumbo-limbo, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas from the southeasternmost United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil and Venezuela...
), Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca
Simarouba glauca
Simarouba glauca is a species of flowering tree that is native to Florida in the United States, southern Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Antilles. Common names include Paradise Tree, Aceituno, and Bitterwood. Its seeds produce an edible oil. The tree is well suited for warm, humid,...
), Pigeonplum (Coccoloba diversifolia), Florida Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea
Ficus aurea
Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig , golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama...
), False Mastic (Sideroxylon foetidissimum
Sideroxylon foetidissimum
Sideroxylon foetidissimum, commonly known as False Mastic, is a species of flowering plant in the chicle family, Sapotaceae. It is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, and northern Central America.-External links:...
), Willow Bustic (Dipholis salicifolia
Dipholis salicifolia
Dipholis salicifolia, commonly called willow bustic or White Bully, is a species of flowering plant native to Florida, the West Indies and Central America. It was previously considered a member of the genus Sideroxylon, with the binomial Sideroxylon salicifolium...
), Short-leaf Fig (Ficus citrifolia
Ficus citrifolia
Ficus citrifolia, also known as the Shortleaf Fig, Giant Bearded Fig or Wild Banyantree, is a species of banyan native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America south to Paraguay...
), False Tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum
Lysiloma latisiliquum
Lysiloma latisiliquum, commonly known as False Tamarind, is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, southern Mexico, and northern Central America....
), West Indian Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni
Swietenia mahagoni
Swietenia mahagoni, commonly known as the West Indies Mahogany, is a species of Swietenia native to southern Florida, USA, The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. It is the species from which the original mahogany wood was produced....
), and Pepperleaf Sweetwood (Licaria
Licaria
Licaria is a flowering plant genus in the family Lauraceae, endemic of Central America and South America. It is a Neotropical genus with near of 40 species.-Overview:...
triandra). Epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s that grow in the canopy include Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....
(Tillandsia usneoides) and Ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata
Tillandsia recurvata
Tillandsia recurvata, commonly known as Ball Moss, is a flowering plant that grows upon larger host plants. It grows well in areas with low light, little airflow, and high humidity, which is commonly provided by southern shade trees, often the Southern Live Oak...
). Plants such as Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum
Krugiodendron ferreum
Krugiodendron ferreum, commonly known as the Black Ironwood or Leadwood, is a species of tree in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It is found in southern Florida, throughout the Caribbean and from southern Mexico to Honduras...
), Inkwood (Exothea paniculata), Lancewood (Nectandra
Nectandra
Nectandra is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae.-Overview:Plants from this genus have been used in the treatment of several clinical disorders in humans. It has been demonstrated that Nectandra plants have potential analgesic, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, energetic and hypotensive activities...
coriacea), marlberry (Ardisia
Ardisia
Ardisia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrsinaceae , native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, Asia, and Australasia...
escallonoides), Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum
Metopium toxiferum
Metopium toxiferum is a species of flowering tree in the cashew or sumac family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to the American neotropics...
), Satinleaf (Chrysophyllum
Chrysophyllum
Chrysophyllum is a genus of about 70-80 species of tropical trees, growing rapidly to 10–20 m or more in height. The genus is native to tropical regions throughout the world, with the greatest number of species in northern South America. One species, C...
oliviforme), White Stopper (Eugenia
Eugenia
Eugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the...
axillaris), Shiny Oysterwood (Gymnanthes lucida
Gymnanthes lucida
Gymnanthes lucida, commonly known as Shiny Oysterwood, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. It is a tree, reaching a height of ....
), and Pale Lidflower (Calyptranthes pallens) grow in the understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
. Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), a temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
species, can be found on hammock margins.
Conservation
Because of its high elevation, the Miami Rock RidgeMiami Rock Ridge
The Miami Rock Ridge is a continuous limestone outcropping which formerly encompassed a large extent of far southern Florida, including portions of the Everglades ecosystem...
was the first area to be impacted by development. The clearing of large tracts for development have now reduced the pine rocklands to about 20000 acre (80.9 km²), most of which are now protected inside the Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
. Wildfire suppression has resulted in many formerly pine rockland properties transitioning to hammock or becoming invaded by non-native invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
, causing a net loss of biodiversity and the extinction or near extinction of several plant species.
See also
- List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)
- Bahamian dry forestsBahamian dry forestsThe Bahamian dry forests are a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, covering an area of . They are found on much of the northern Bahamas, including Andros, Abaco, and Grand Bahama, where they are known as coppices...
- Bahamian pineyards