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This helps explain why the pine rocklands are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, many of which are endemic to Florida, south Florida, or the pine rockland itself. [5] It is characterized by an open canopy of South Florida slash pine ( Pinus elliotti var. densa ), a patchy subcanopy of palms and shrubs, and an extremely diverse ...
In South Florida, the pine rocklands can convert to a rockland hammock dominated by woody shrubs and invasive plants. Invasive species are a major management issue in the South. Many pine trees and native plants are adapted to fire, meaning they require fire disturbance to open their pine cones, germinate seeds, and cue other metabolic processes.
Only 10% of pine rocklands remain globally, with less than 2% existing in Miami-Dade outside Everglades National Park. Despite that frighteningly low number, the remaining forests continue to ...
When the organic layer is not consumed, recovery of tropical hardwood trees is rapid, and canopy closure can be achieved in 40 years or less. [11] Fire is a crucial element to the South Florida ecosystem. Without fire, hammock expansion into pine rocklands would occur only as a result of anthropogenic factors. [citation needed]
The most significant feature of the pine rockland ecosystem is the South Florida slash pine (Pinus elliotti var densa; also called Dade County pine) that reaches a height of 22 feet (6.7 m). Pine rockland communities require fire for maintenance; they have adapted to promote and resist fire at the same time. [50]
In the United States, tropical hardwood hammocks are found in southern Florida. Sub-types of hammocks in southern Florida include rockland hammocks on the Miami Rock Ridge and in the Big Cypress National Preserve, Keys rockland hammocks in the Florida Keys, coastal berm hammocks in the Florida Keys and along the north shore of Florida Bay, tree island hammocks in the Everglades, shell mound ...
Its natural habitat is areas of coastal hammocks and pine rocklands. [4] It is a small tree or shrub with thick evergreen leaves. It produces small yellow flowers throughout the year, and has large scaly fruits. [5] This species is divided into four well-marked subspecies, which show little geographic overlap. They are: [6]
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