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FNAI COMMUNITY: Mesic Flatwoods
STAGE DESCRIPTION
- Overstory: Open mixed age (clumped) overstory of mature yellow pine (slash, pond, or longleaf) with a canopy closure of 50% or less and tree height ranging from 3 - 60 feet.
- Ground Cover: Pyrhic native grasses dominate in coverage. Saw palmetto is short, in a vertical stem or short "gator-back" growth form and is less than 2 feet in height. Typical flatwoods shrub species such as gallberry, Lyonia and other ericacious species are much less dense in terms of cover dominance and are uniformly short - less than 2' in height. Other species such as runner oak, Andropogon grasses and a diversity of herbacious plants are commonly found in this structural stage's broad openings.
- Duff/Litter Layer: Very thin layer of pine needle litter and commonly sparse with mineral soil openings. Palmetto thatch buildup is minimal. Little to no dead downed woody debris.
- Soils: Grey mineral, typically poorly drained soils of the Myakka, Immokalee, or other flatwoods series.
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