Sandhill
Encyclopedia
A sandhill is a type of ecological community
or xeric wildfire
-maintained ecosystem
. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession
and become more oak
dominated.
Entisol
s are the typical sandhill soil
, deep well-drained and nutrient poor. In Florida
, sandhills receive 130 cm (51.2 in) cm of rain
fall per year, just like the more hydric ecosystem
s surrounding them. Sandhills are xeric because they have poor water holding capacity.
Dominant vegetation includes Longleaf Pine
(Pinus palustris), American Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis), and Wiregrass (Aristida stricta
). A number of rare animals are typical of this habitat including the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus
), Red-cockaded Woodpecker
(Picoides borealis), Sherman's Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani
), and Striped Newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus
). Invasive species
that are a problem on sandhills include Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), Camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora), and Natal grass (Melinis repens).
Community (ecology)
In ecology, a community is an assemblage of two or more populations of different species occupying the same geographical area. The term community has a variety of uses...
or xeric wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
-maintained ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession
Ecological succession
Ecological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
and become more oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
dominated.
Entisol
Entisol
In USA soil taxonomy, Entisols are defined as soils that do not show any profile development other than an A horizon. An Entisol has no diagnostic horizons, and most are basically unaltered from their parent material, which can be unconsolidated sediment or rock...
s are the typical sandhill soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
, deep well-drained and nutrient poor. In Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, sandhills receive 130 cm (51.2 in) cm of rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
fall per year, just like the more hydric ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s surrounding them. Sandhills are xeric because they have poor water holding capacity.
Dominant vegetation includes Longleaf Pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
(Pinus palustris), American Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis), and Wiregrass (Aristida stricta
Aristida stricta
Aristida stricta is a warm-season grass, native to North America, that dominates understory vegetation in sandhills and flatwoods coastal plain ecosystems of the Southeastern United States...
). A number of rare animals are typical of this habitat including the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus
Gopherus polyphemus
The gopher tortoise is a species of the Gopherus genus native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for 360 other animal species...
), Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a woodpecker found in southeastern North America.- Description :About the size of the Northern Cardinal, it is approximately 8.5 in. long, with a wingspan of about 14 in. and a weight of about 1.5 ounces...
(Picoides borealis), Sherman's Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani
Fox Squirrel
The fox squirrel is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America...
), and Striped Newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus
Notophthalmus perstriatus
Notophthalmus perstriatus, commonly known as the Striped Newt, is a species of aquatic salamander that is native to the Southeastern United States...
). Invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
that are a problem on sandhills include Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), Camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora), and Natal grass (Melinis repens).
See also
- FlatwoodsFlatwoodsFlatwoods, Pineywoods, Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem refers to an ecological community in the Southeastern coastal plain of North America...
, another ecological community in the coastal plain of North America - Nebraska Sand HillsSand Hills (Nebraska)The Sand Hills, often written Sandhills, is a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska, covering just over one quarter of the state...
- Monahans Sandhills State ParkMonahans Sandhills State ParkThe Monahans Sandhills State Park is a state park located in Ward County and Winkler County, Texas. The closest major town is Monahans, Texas, and the closest limited-access highway ingress is Exit 86 on Interstate 20.-Features:...