Tropical Hardwood Hammocks Florida

Historically tropical hardwood hammocks were found as far north as cape canaveral on florida s east coast and up to the mouth of the manatee river on the west coast.

Tropical hardwood hammocks florida.

To walk into a hardwood hammock is to walk through a shady tropical forest. Historically tropical hardwood hammocks were found as far north as cape canaveral on florida s east coast and up to the mouth of the manatee river on the west coast. Tropical hardwood hammocks are found along both coasts of south florida as well as throughout the everglades and florida keys. Hardwoods are broad leaved trees that grow well in the everglades.

In most of the southeast including the florida panhandle the trees in temperate hardwood hammocks are primarily evergreen. A hardwood hammock is a habitat that is found on higher elevations making it like the pinelands a dry habitat. Tropical hardwood hammocks occur only in south florida and are characterized by trees and shrubs on the northern edge of a range that extends southward into the caribbean. However development pressure associated with growth of the south florida human population has resulted in the conversion of many of these forests to urban and agricul tural uses.

Tropical hardwood hammocks are found nearly throughout the southern half of south florida with large concentrations in miami dade county on the miami rock ridge in miami dade and monroe counties in the florida keys and along the northern shores of florida bay and in the pinecrest region of the big cypress swamp. However development pressure associated with growth of the south florida human population has resulted in the conversion of many of these forests to urban and agricultural uses. Habitat loss primarily from development has left only small patches of tropical hardwood hammocks throughout coastal south florida the everglades and the keys. Tropical hardwood hammocks were once found as far north as cape canaveral on florida s atlantic coast and tampa bay on the state s gulf coast.

These communities are rare along coastal uplands south of a line from about vero beach on the atlantic coast to sarasota on the gulf coast. In the northern portion of the everglades hammocks are dominated by trees of temperate origin including the live oak quercus virginiana and the hackberry celtis laevigata. Hardwood hammocks in northern florida peninsula have a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees and hardwood hammocks in southern florida north of the everglades have a mixture of evergreen and tropical trees.