Natural Communities

Note: all links below are to pdf files (all files are less than 1MB).

HARDWOOD FORESTED UPLANDS - mesic or xeric forests dominated mainly by hardwood trees

• Slope Forest (G2?/S1)
  
• Upland Hardwood Forest (G5/S3)
  
• Dry Upland Hardwood Forest
• Mesic Hammock (G3/S3)
  
• Prairie Mesic Hammock
• Rockland Hammock (G2/S2)
  
• Thorn Scrub
• Xeric Hammock (G3/S3)
  

HIGH PINE and SCRUB - hills with mesic or xeric woodlands or shrublands; canopy, if present, open and consisting of pine or a mixture of pine and deciduous hardwoods.

• Upland Mixed Woodland (G2/S2)
  
• Upland Pine (G3/S2)
  
• Sandhill (G3/S2)
  
• Scrub (G2/S2)
  
• Rosemary Scrub
• Sand Pine Scrub

PINE FLATWOODS and DRY PRAIRIE – mesic or hydric pine woodland or mesic shrubland on flat sandy or limestone subtrates, may have a hard pan that impedes drainage.

• Wet Flatwoods (G4/S4)
  
• Cutthroat Grass Flatwoods
• Cabbage Palm Flatwoods
• Mesic Flatwoods (G4/S4)
  
• Scrubby Flatwoods (G2/S2?)
  
• Pine Rockland (G1/S1)
  
• Dry Prairie (G2/S2)
  

COASTAL UPLANDS – mesic or xeric communities restricted to barrier islands and near shore; woody or herbaceous vegetation; other communities may also occur in coastal environments.

• Beach Dune (G3/S2)
  
• Coastal Berm (G3/S2)
  
• Coastal Grassland (G3/S2)
  
• Coastal Strand (G3/S2)
  
• Maritime Hammock (G3/S2)
  
• Shell Mound (G2/S2)
  

SINKHOLES and OUTCROP COMMUNITIES – small extent communities in karst features or on exposed limestone.

• Upland Glade (G1/S1)
  
• Sinkhole (G2/S2)
  
• Limestone Outcrop (G2/S2)
  
• Keys Cactus Barren (G1/S1)
  

FRESHWATER NON-FORESTED WETLANDS – herbaceous or shrubby palustrine communities in floodplains or depressions; canopy trees, if present, very sparse and often stunted (includes low canopied sloughs).

• Prairies and Bogs– short hydroperiod; dominated by grasses, sedges, and/or titi.
  
• Seepage Slope (G2/S2)
  
• Wet Prairie (G2/S2)
  
• Cutthroat Seep
• Calcareous Wet Prairie
• Pitcherplant Prairie
• Marl Prairie (G3/S3)
  
• Shrub Bog (G4/S3)
  
• Marshes – long hydroperiod; dominated by grasses, sedges, broadleaf emergents, floating aquatics, or shrubs.
  
• Depression Marsh G4/S4)
  
• Basin Marsh (G4/S3)
  
• Lake Bottom
• Coastal Interdunal Swale (G3/S2)
  
• Floodplain Marsh (G3/S3)
  
• Freshwater Tidal Marsh
• Slough Marsh (G3?/S3?)
  
• Glades Marsh (G3/S3)
  
• Slough (G3/S3)
  
• Pond Apple Slough

FRESHWATER FORESTED WETLANDS – floodplains or depressions dominated by hydrophytic trees.

• Cypress/Tupelo – dominated entirely by cypress or tupelo, or these species important in the canopy; long hydroperiod.
  
• Dome Swamp (G4/S4)
  
• Gum Pond
• Stringer Swamp
• Basin Swamp (G4/S3)
  
• Strand Swamp (G2/S2)
  
• Floodplain Swamp (G4/S4)
  
• Freshwater Tidal Swamp
• Hardwood – dominated by a mix of hydrophytic hardwood trees; cypress or tupelo may be occasional or infrequent in the canopy; short hydroperiod.
  
• Baygall (G4/S4)
  
• Bay Swamp
• South Florida Bayhead
• Hydric Hammock (G4/S4)
  
• Coastal Hydric Hammock
• Prairie Hydric Hammock
• Bottomland Forest (G4/S3)
  
• Alluvial Forest (G4/S3)
  

MARINE AND ESTUARINE VEGETATED WETLANDS – intertidal or supratidal zone dominated by herbaceous or woody halophytic vascular plants; salinity >0.5 ppt.

• Salt Marsh (G5/S4)
  
• Salt Flat
• Mangrove Swamp (G5/S4)
  
• Buttonwood Forest
• Keys Tidal Rock Barren (G3/S3?)
  

PONDS AND LAKES (LACUSTRINE)

• *Clastic Upland Lake
• *Coastal Dune Lake
• *Coastal Rockland Lake
• *Flatwoods/Prairie/Marsh Lake
• *River Floodplain Lake
• *Swamp Lake
• *Sandhill Upland Lake
• *Sinkhole Lake

RIVERS AND STREAMS (RIVERINE)

• *Alluvial Stream
• *Blackwater Stream
• *Seepage Stream
• *Spring-run Stream

SUBTERRANEAN

• *Aquatic Cave
• *Terrestrial Cave

MARINE AND ESTUARINE

• Mineral Based
  
• *Consolidated Substrate
• *Unconsolidated Substrate
• Faunal Based
  
• *Coral Reef
• *Mollusk Reef
• *Octocoral Bed
• *Sponge Bed
• *Worm Reef
• Floral Based (mainly subtidal)
  
• *Algal Bed
• *Seagrass Bed
• Composite Substrate
  
• *Composite Substrate

*These concepts are unchanged from the 1990 Guide.