» Big Bend Scenic Highway - Forest

Forest Trail Natural History
These are some of the types of habitat you will sec while visiting the Forest Trail of the Big Bend Scenic Byway.

Hardwood and Mixed Pine-Hardwood Forests
Mixed hardwood-pine forest and hardwood hammocks and forests include many combinations of plant species, but they all have in common a moderate amount of moisture and practically never burn. In the northern Florida Panhandle some of these communities can contain at least as many species of trees in the overstory (the tallest layer of trees) as Appalachian forests, and even more species of midstory trees and shrubs. Some have among the highest numbers of tree species of any forest type in the eastern United States.

These communities have served as refuges for northern plant species during eras when glaciers expanded and the climate was much colder. When the planet warmed up again, some plants expanded their ranges back north into the mountains. Thus it's not surprising that North Florida boasts the southernmost occurrences of a number of plant species. Other species in North Florida mixed forests and hammocks are "disjunct," that is. they have two or more populations separated by great distances. They also have "endemic" plant and animal species (that is, they are found nowhere else in the world) such as the Torreya tree, the Florida Yew, and the Fire-Backed Crayfish.

The mix of species changes over time. Pine may dominate in young stands, while in older stands hardwoods take over. The soil is rich in organic matter and usually has a thick topping of decaying leaves on the surface, which helps to hold moisture and provides nourishment for the fine roots of trees and
shrubs. The trees form a nearly solid canopy, so very little light reaches the forest floor. It's shady and humid in the summer when all the trees are fully leafed out.

Sandhills
A noteworthy characteristic of the Forest Trail of the Big Bend Scenic Byway, running through the Apalachicola National Forest, are sandhills, which resemble dunes along a beach. Indeed, some geologists believe these sandhills are in fact remnants of beach dunes, while others maintain that they were once offshore sandbars. In any case they were probably formed in the geologic eras when sea levels rose and fell, and much of what is now Florida was under water.

Despite their dry, hoi, and sandy soils, the sandhills are of high ecological value. At ground level there is a breathtaking variety of grasses and non-woody flowering plants. Their native Longleaf Pine, Wiregrass, and Turkey Oak ecosystems are largely intact, and provide habitat for Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, Pine Snakes, Gopher Frogs, and countless other animals and plants that have been lost in areas to the north where the more fertile soils led settlers to clear fields for farming.

Small ponds and lakes abound in the Panhandle sandhills and sustain as many as 30 species of frogs, salamanders, and turtles, including the world's best populations of ihc Striped Newt and Gopher Tortoise as well as numerous species of fish such as the Banded and Golden Topminnows.

The dominant tree of thesandhills is the Longleaf Pine, which has adapted amazingly to Florida's dry spells and thunderstorm season in late spring and summer. Prior to human management of forest lands through prescribed fire, wildfires caused by lightning were a frequent characteristic of the sandhills ecosystem.

Longleaf seedlings exist in a "grass stage" for several years, at which time they resemble dense clumps of grass that can easily withstand low-density fires. Appearances are deceiving, however, since the seedlings at this stage are developing very large root systems. The roots collect water and nutrients thai prepare the seedling for a sudden spurt of growth, sometimes as much as six feet in one year. This spurt raises the tree bud quickly above the height at which it is most vulnerable 10 fire. As the tree matures its thick bark provides further protection from fire. Indeed, ihe Longleaf Pine depends on fire for propagation, since lire removes dense vegetation

 Forest Animals and plants