Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F154XA012FL
Wet Rich Forests And Woodlands
Last updated: 2/21/2024
Accessed: 11/13/2024
General information
Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 154X–South-Central Florida Ridge
MLRA 154 is entirely in Peninsular Florida, and contains 8,285 square miles. The landscape of MLRA 154 is characterized by a series of parallel, prominent sandy ridges of Pleistocene marine origin, including the Brooksville and Mount Dora Ridges. These North to South oriented parallel ridges are interspersed with more low lying physiographic provinces, including: upland hills, plains, valleys and gaps (Puri and Vernon 1964). The extreme western portion of the MLRA consists of thin belt of coastal lowlands and marshlands.
Many of the soils of MLRA 154 are Pleistocene or Holocene sands that are underlain with older, loamy Pliocene marine sediments (Cypresshead formation) or the clayey Miocene marine sediments (Hawthorne formation). A combination of marine depositional events and the dissolution of underlying limestone (karst geology) is responsible for surficial topography throughout Peninsular Florida.
Classification relationships
All portions of the geographical range of this site falls under the following ecological / land classifications including:
-Environmental Protection Agency’s Level 3 and 4 Ecoregions of Florida: 75 Southern Coastal Plain; 75c Central Florida Ridges and Uplands (Griffith, G. E., Omernik, J. M., & Pierson, S. M., 2013)
-Florida Natural Area Inventory, 2010 Edition: Mesic Flatwoods, Wet Flatwoods, Mesic Hammock, and Hydric Hammock (FNAI, 2010)
Ecological site concept
Wet Rich Forests and Woodlands occur in lowland and nearly level landscapes (slopes < 2%) on very deep, poorly drained soils with loamy or clayey subsoils. Soils include very deep, poorly drained, sandy over clayey or clayey, high base saturation map units (Eaton, Emeralda, Eureka, Eureka Variant, Meggett, Paisley series). Also included are very deep, poorly drained, sandy over loamy map units (Goldhead, Hicoria, Pelham series). This site is extensively mapped in the Central Valley, Tsala Apopka Plain, and Western Valley physiographic units.
Shallow seasonal high water table and available soil moisture, coupled with high soil fertility influence the distribution and composition of native vegetation of this site.
Associated sites
F154XA004FL |
Moist Sandy Pine-Hardwood Woodlands These sites occur on higher landscape positions with better drainage classes |
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F154XA005FL |
Poorly Drained Upland Pine-Hardwood Forests These sites occur on slightly higher landforms with similar drainage classes |
F154XA007FL |
Moist Sandy Wet-Mesic Flatwoods These sites occur on similar landforms with similar drainage classes |
F154XA008FL |
Moist Sandy Scrubby Flatwoods These sites occur on higher landscape positions with better drainage classes |
F154XA011FL |
Wet Lithic Flatwoods And Hammocks These sites occur on similar landforms with similar drainage classes, but will have lithic contact within 152cm |
Similar sites
F154XA007FL |
Moist Sandy Wet-Mesic Flatwoods These sites will occur on similar landforms with similar drainage classes, but will have lithic contact deeper than 152 cm with low subsoil clay content, affecting the types and amounts of vegetation grown |
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Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Pinus elliottii |
---|---|
Shrub |
(1) Quercus laurifolia |
Herbaceous |
Not specified |
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