Ecosystems
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Narrower Topics
Aquatic Ecosystems
Interaction of living organisms with the physical or chemical environment in a body of water.
Ecosystem Restoration
Process of reversing the degradation of ecosystems, such as landscapes, lakes and oceans to regain their ecological functionality; in other words, to improve the productivity and capacity of ecosystems to meet the needs of society.
Ecosystem Services
Benefits people and other organisms obtain from ecosystems; examples include: pure water and clean air, scenic landscapes, wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
Habitats
The natural environment where an organism, population or community lives, including biotic and abiotic factors.
Upland Pine Ecosystems
Upland pine communities are woodlands characterized by widely spaced longleaf pines with a sparse to moderate shrub layer, along with a dense, species-rich groundcover of grasses and herbs. Other plants commonly occurring in this community are turkey oak, bluejack oak, southern red oak, live oak, persimmon, gopher apple, and leadplant. Animal species include green treefrog, gopher tortoise, eastern fence lizard, red-bellied woodpecker, loggerhead shrike, cotton mouse, and fox squirrel.
Publications
Common Woody Plants of Florida Scrub Ecosystems
Lynn Proenza and Michael Andreu
The purpose of this fact sheet is to help identify a few of the more common woody plant species found in Florida’s scrub ecosystems. In the individual plant descriptions, words that appear in bold font are considered to be key field characteristics that will aid in identification of the species. This 14-page fact sheet was written by Lynn Proenza and Michael Andreu and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, October 2012. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr373
Florida Soil Series and Natural Community Associations
G. D. J. LaPierre, N. D. Medina-Irizarry, and M. G. Andreu
Soils often dictate the presence of different types of inherent natural communities. In this project we created a table that relates soil series to natural communities found in Florida. Correlation of soil series and natural communities was performed through the synthesis of land management plans, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) documentation of exemplary sites, along with the UC Davis Soil Resource Laboratory Soil Web Survey mapping information system (SoilWeb). The GPS coordinates and conservation site names of the selected locations for said soil series are also recorded in this table. Use of this table can help private landowners, land managers, and researchers detect current and former natural communities on sites.
Management Considerations for Prescribed Fires in Riparian Zones of Florida
Coleson F. Wrege, Santiago A. Casanova, andRaelene M. Crandall
Riparian zones connect a body of water and upland habitat and provide many ecosystem services. In many southeastern US ecosystems, prescribed fires are a management tool, yet little is known about how fire impacts the riparian zone. This publication relates research from the western United States to riparian zones in the southeastern United States, with emphasis on wetlands. It discusses fire behavior in relation to riparian zone vegetation, weather (particularly seasonality), and fire interactions with various water body types. It lists and defines relevant fire terms and considers various land management goals. To manage wetlands effectively, managers must understand their historical fire regimes and may need to develop specialized alternative burn plans. Riparian zones should be monitored and specific burn objectives developed within the larger upland pine savanna ecosystem to better understand how these ecotones are impacted by prescribed fire and vice versa.