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The pine rocklands are a critically imperiled ecosystem located in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Cuba.Its location in south Florida and throughout the Caribbean Archipelago straddles the southern and northern ends of the temperate and tropical flora ranges, respectively. [4]
There are 23 federally protected imperiled species that call pine rocklands home, including the tiny, iridescent green Miami tiger beetle, which is found nowhere else on Earth, and the Florida ...
The coastal ridge was traditionally a component of the endangered pine rocklands, which grew upon the length of the ridge. [7] The environmental community consisted of a large and continuous expanse of South Florida slash pines (Pinus elliottii var. densa), which was interspersed by tropical hardwood hammocks. [8]
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]
Prior to urban development of the South Florida region, pine rocklands covered approximately 161,660 acres (654.2 km 2) in Miami-Dade County. Within Everglades National Park, 19,840 acres (80.3 km 2 ) of pine forests are protected, but outside the park, 1,780 acres (7.2 km 2 ) of pine communities remained as of 1990, averaging 12.1 acres ...
The same year, several tropical storms struck South Florida, prompting the construction of 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canals, sending water unwanted by farmers and residents to the ocean. [82] The park protects the last stands of pine rockland in Florida.
Hardwood hammocks in the Big Cypress region provide important habitat for the Florida panther. The eastern indigo snake is found in tropical hardwood hammocks throughout South Florida, as well as other communities such as sandhill and scrub. The Key deer is restricted to pine rocklands and tropical hardwood hammocks on Big Pine Key.
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