TEMPERATE HARDWOOD FORESTS
JASON KYLE 3RD PERIOD
Introduction
Temperate Hardwood Forest also known as hammocks are typically narrow bands of vegetation, only a few hundred meters wide, confined to slopes between upland sandhill/clayhill pinelands and bottomland forests. In Florida, the largest temperate hardwood communities occur near Brooksville, Gainesville, Ocala, and Naples (The Everglades).
Biotic Components
Plants
- American Basswood - Producer
- Ashe Magnolia - Producer
- Black Cherry - Producer
- Sassafras - Producer
- Dogwood - Producer
Mammals
- raccoon (Procyon lotor) - Consumer
- opossum (Didelphis virginiana) - Consumer
- southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) - Consumer
- gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - Consumer
- gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) - Consumer
- bobcat (Lynx rufus) - Consumer
- white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) - Consumer
- armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) - Consumer
- cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) - Consumer
- palm warbler (Dendroica palmarum) - Consumer
- chuck-will's widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) - Consumer
- bluejay (Cyanocitta cristata) - Consumer
- cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - Consumer
- great-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) - Consumer
- chickadee (Parus carolinensis) - Consumer
- rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) - Consumer
- turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) - Consumer
- summer tanager (Piranga rubra) - Consumer
- eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) - Consumer
- bluebird (Sialia sialis) - Consumer
- robin (Turdus migratorius) - Consumer
- mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) - Consumer
- tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor) - Consumer
- loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) - Consumer
- eastern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) - Consumer
- woodpeckers - Consumer
- wrens - Consumer
- owls - Consumer
Decomposers
- bacteria - Decomposers
- fungi - Decomposers
Endangered Species (Mammals)
Mammals:
- Florida panther (Felix ) - The Florida panther is smaller than some cougars in the West and has longer legs, smaller feet, and a shorter darker coat. In Cory described the coat as "more rufous or reddish brown" than more northern cats. need metric help Male panthers are larger than female panthers. They weigh from 45 - 72 kg (100 to 160 pounds); female panthers weigh between 30 - 45 kg (70 to 100 pounds). Panthers vary in height at the shoulder from 60 - 70 cm (24 to 28 inches) and measure from 1.8 - 2.2 m (6 to 7.2 feet) from nose to tip of the tail.
- Human Impacts - Florida panthers cross roads and highways and are hit by cars.
- Florida black bear (Ursus americanus ) - Florida black bears are typically large-bodied with shiny black fur, a light brown nose, and a short stubby tail. A white chest patch is also common in many but not all the bears. It is currently Florida's largest terrestrial mammal with an average male weight of 300 pounds (140 kg) and a few have grown above 500 pounds (230 kg). Females generally weigh less and on average are about 198 pounds (90 kg). Average adults have a length of between 4 feet (120 cm) and 6 feet (180 cm), and they also stand between 2.5 feet (76 cm) and 3.5 feet (110 cm) high at the shoulder.
- Human Impacts - However, with the region’s long growing season and the availability of garbage and other calorie-rich foods available to individuals foraging in human communities, bears can grow even larger. The largest bears on record in Florida are a 624-lb male killed on a county road in southwest Florida and a 400-lb female killed on a road in northwest Florida.
Endangered Species (Reptiles)
Reptiles:
- Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) - The eastern indigo snake has even blue-black dorsal and lateral scales, with some specimens having a reddish-orange to tan color on the throat, cheeks, and chin. This snake received its common name from the glossy iridescent ventral scales which can be seen as blackish-purple in bright light. This smooth-scaled snake is considered to be the longest native snake species in the United States.
- Human Impacts - Additional human population growth will increase the risk of direct mortality of the eastern indigo snake from property owners, domestic animals, and highway mortality. There are also human-altered habitats effecting them.
Abiotic Components
Hardwood Forests are terrestrial ecosystem. Florida hardwood hammocks are theoretically delineated according to soil moisture. Hammocks are often designated as Xeric - dry soil, Mesic - moderately moist soil, or Hydric - wet soil. Hardwood Hammocks get fresh water from the atmosphere a.k.a rain. The high temperature is 66° and the low is 23°. There is an average of 80 to 90% humidity. Wind events not only cause extensive damage to trees, but also affect many aspects of the disturbed forests including community structure, individual tree growth, tree regeneration, species diversity, and ecosystem function. Some hardwood forests are beginning to experience an uptick in sustained droughts due to climate change, which adversely affects the health of many species, such as birch and beech, according to the Forest Ecology Network. Hardwood hammocks get very little sunlight because of the tall canopy cover. Nutrients come from the soil in the ground in hardwood forests. Some major sources of pollution in hardwood hammocks are air, soil, and water.
Food Web
Classification of the Bobcat
- Domain: Eukaryote
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Family: Felidae
- Genus: Lynx
- Species: L. rufus
Evidence of Research
- http://webworldwonders.firn.edu/eco/upland/hammocks.html
- http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/florida_forestry_information/forest_resources/temperate_hardwood_forests.html
- http://w3.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/tempded.htm
- http://education.seattlepi.com/climate-change-affect-temperature-deciduous-forest-6755.html
- http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/pollution/
- http://www.floridapanthernet.org/index.php/handbook/history/physical_description/#.VyI4ZFWrTC0
- https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Florida-Panther.aspx
- http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152796/