Hammock (ecology)

Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them. Hammocks are distinctive in that they are formed gradually over thousands of years rising in a wet area through the deposits of their own decomposing organic material. As a result they typically have a large and diverse density of various forms of plant and animal life. They appear as teardrop-shaped islands shaped by the flow of water in the middle of the slough. Many tropical species such as mahogany ("Swietenia mahogoni"), gumbo limbo ("Bursera simaruba"), and cocoplum ("Chrysobalanus icaco") grow alongside the more familiar temperate species of live oak ("Quercus virginiana"), red maple ("Acer rubum"), and hackberry ("Celtis laevigata").

Because of their slight elevation, hammocks rarely flood. Acids from decaying plants dissolve the limestone around each tree island, creating a natural moat that protects the hammock plants from fire. Shaded from the sun by the tall trees, ferns and airplants thrive in the moisture-laden air inside the hammock.

Hammocks are one of the habitats found in the Florida Everglades.

References

[http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/habitats.htm Everglades National Park Habitats page (public domain)]

[http://www.csc.noaa.gov/id/DNR_Final_1_report_December.pdf An Ecological Characterization of Coastal Hammock Islands in South Carolina]