Florida Dry Prairie: Ecosystem Description

Dry prairies are large treeless areas located in Central Florida and are considered endemic to the state. Over 240 plant species have been documented in dry prairie (Orzell and Bridges 1999), but they are primarily dominated by low shrubs (e.g. saw palmento (Serenoa repens), runner oak (Querus minima), fetterbush (Lyonia lucida), grasses (e.g. wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana) and Schizachryium stoloniferum, and other herbaceous species (e.g. Rynchospora plumosa, Syngonanthus flavidulus). Dry prairies closely resemble pine flatwoods without the pine overstory (Abrahamson and Harnett 1990). In fact, dry prairie can be thought of as the endpoint along a forested to treeless continuum of flatwoods/savanna landscapes, in response to variation in the natural fire regime.

Once covering over 830,000 hectares of central Florida, currently there is an estimated 156,000 hectares of dry prairie left in the state (Shriver and Vickery 1999). Florida dry prairie is ranked as a globally imperiled community type (FNAI and FDNR 1990, Grossman et al. 1994, Weakley et al. 1996). Based upon DeSelm and Murdock (1993), Noss et al.(1995) considered ungrazed dry prairie of Florida as an endangered ecosystem (greater than 98 percent habitat loss and continued threat). Presently, dry prairies are restricted to the south central and west-central parts of Florida, primarily along the Kissimmee River and west of Lake Okeechobee. Two large areas of dry prairies can be found at Myakka River State Park (6500 ha) and Kissimmee Prairie State Preserve (12,000 ha) (Fitzgerald and Tanner 1992, Shriver and Vickery 1999).

Burrowing Owl

Dry prairies occur on low, flat topography with poorly drained acidic soil that is subject to flooding for a short duration after heavy summer rains. Dry prairies provide habitat for variety of threatened fauna including the Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi), the Audubon’s crested caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii), Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis), Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus), and burrowing owl (Speotyto cunicularia floridana). No federally listed plants are currently known for dry prairie, although Calypogon multiflorus, an orchid, is currently listed a state endangered species.

Although the reason for treelessness remains subject to debate, dry prairies are adjacent to pine flatwoods and scrubby hardwood ecotypes. If fire is kept out of dry prairie ecosystems trees from adjacent ecosystems will invade a dry prairie. The persistence of dry prairie has also been closely tied to cattle ranching that has existed in central and South Florida since European settlement.

For a complete description on five different natural community types of dry prairie, see the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan: Dry Prairie.