A Survey and Inventory of the Plant Communities in the Raccoon Point Area, Big Cypress National Preserve
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Material Information

Title:
A Survey and Inventory of the Plant Communities in the Raccoon Point Area, Big Cypress National Preserve Report T-665
Creator:
South Florida Natural Resources Center/South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park
Lance H. Gunderson
Lloyd L. Loope
Place of Publication:
Homestead
Florida
Publisher:
National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Publication Date:

Notes

Abstract:
The Raccoon Point area is one of five 50 km study areas in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The study areas are used to establish a baseline inventory of the plant communities of the Preserve. The Raccoon Point area is a mosaic of upland south Florida slash pine forests and lower elevation pondcypress forests (McPherson 1973). The pine forests in this study area are unique in the Preserve because no evidence of logging is present (Patterson and Robertson 1981). The older pine trees support a significant population of Red-cockaded woodpeckers, Picoides borealis, a species on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "endangered" list (Patterson and Robertson 198 1). Information on the current conditions of the plant communities in this area is necessary for prudent resource management of habitat for endangered species, as well as to preserve native systems. Many groups now utilize the area, each with activities that affect ecological patterns. Seasonal hunting and associated burning practices may have alte~ed the timing and frequency of fire (Duever et al. 1979, Taylor 1980) in the pine and cypress forests. Also, development of oil production is ongoing at the time of this writing. Hopefully, preliminary information on plant species composition in relation to elevational, edaphic and hydrologic patterns will be utilized in reclaiming disturbed sites when oil extraction activities are completed. Three objectives were sought in this inventory: 1) Map the current spatial distribution of the plant communities, 2) Quantitatively inventory the spatially dominant plant communities, 3) Establish preliminary correlations between species composition and environmental parameters of elevation, soils and hydrologic pattern. ( English )
Issuing Body:
SuDoc number: I 29.95: T-665

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Holding Location:
South Florida Natural Resource Center
Rights Management:
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