Hammock Forest

As visitors move through this exhibit, they will experience a journey through different habitats as if they were traveling westward in the Florida panhandle. When visitors enter Northwest Florida, they are immersed in a hammock forest with a dramatic, highly detailed, 25-foot-high wrap-around mural. There are more than 50 different plants and animals for visitors to locate in this environment, from high in the trees to under logs on the forest floor. Jeff Gage photo

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FOCUS ON: Floodplains, Bluffs and Uplands

Hammocks are diverse hardwood forests. North Florida hammocks have the greatest number of tree and shrub species per acre of all temperate forests in the continental United States. They also provide homes for other plants and animals. Some of these species occur nowhere else in the world. People in Florida have long enjoyed hammocks as cool, shady, places for walks, picnics, and homesteads.

Organic matter, soil moisture, and slope determine the mix of plants. The hydric hammock is wet; the xeric hammock is dry; the mesic hammock is in-between.

Hydric Hammock Stacey Breheny photo	Mesic Hammock Richard Franz photo	Xeric Hammock Richard Franz photo

Floodplains are low areas along the edges of rivers and streams. The trees here slow floodwaters, which allows the water to seep into the ground. The plants also trap organic sediments that enrich the floodplain soils. Floodplain trees have special features to survive floods. Bald cypress and tupelo trees have buttressed bases and extensive root systems that support the trees against the force of floodwaters. Logging, land development, and pollution threaten floodplain forests.

Healthy floodplain forests:

• Prevent property damage caused by rushing flood waters

• Provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including endangered and threatened species

• Create rich soils by slowing flood waters and allowing nutrients to settle

• Purify water by filtering or absorbing pollutants and nutrients and removing silt and sediment

• Conserve water by slowing flood waters, enabling more to soak into the aquifer.

Bluffs are steeper banks along rivers and streams. Plants both hold the bluff together and break it apart by clinging to tumbled boulders and rocky edges.

Uplands are dominated by pine and oak species. Periodic, naturally occurring fires maintain the integrity of upland communities. Upland forests are frequently developed because they are not subject to flooding. Development can reduce the flow of clean, fresh water to the ecosystem.