FNAI COMMUNITY:

Xeric Hammock

STAGE DESCRIPTION

• Overstory: Closed canopy forest dominated by  mature hardwood trees primarily native oaks.  Hardwoods such as live oak, sand live oak, bluejack oak, laurel oak and water oak dominate with some magnolia, hickory and other species common.
• Mid Story: This system layer is sparse and dominated by sapling or larger size classes of  similar tree species, together with widely spaced saw palmetto clumps and other shrubs such as staggerbush, silkbay, red bay, and others.
• Ground Cover: Grass and herbaceous cover very sparse to non-existent.  Deer moss can dominate where mineral soil is exposed.
• Duff/Litter Layer: Some dead downed tree limbs and other small dead woody debris are common.  Oak leaf litter is the most common surface fuel.  Palmettos are in intermittent  patches (clumps) and harbor significant accumulations of dead palmetto thatch. 
• Soils: Deep, white, well-drained sands that originated from old dune systems.  Typical soil types include Blichton, Bonneau, Flemington, Fort Meade, Gainesville, Hernando, Mabel, Millhopper,