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.
• Mid Story: None.
• 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.