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Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element
<br />found. Typical understory plants include myrtle staggerbush, hog plum, prickly -pear cactus,
<br />muscarine grape, sand spikemoss, and several lichens. Many scrub plant species are considered
<br />"Potentially Endangered" by state or federal agencies.
<br />Scrubby flatwoods are comprised of predominantly the same species, but the sand pines are absent.
<br />Instead, they maybe replaced by slash pine or southern longleaf pine. Scrubby pine flatwoods may
<br />also possess a greater complement of species, such as threeawn, fetterbush, tarflower, dwarf
<br />huckleberry, gallberry, and wax myrtle, more characteristic of typical pine flatwoods.
<br />Delineation between these communities may be vague, as they are often intermixed. In fact, past
<br />timbering operations, drainage practices, land clearing activities, or fire frequency often determine
<br />which community occupies a site. In some cases, invasion by exotic species is common and may
<br />further complicate classification of an area as a scrub community or simply as a disturbed site
<br />possessing some vestiges of scrub vegetation.
<br />The fauna of these habitats is diverse and varies greatly depending on site characteristics and the
<br />nature of adjoining communities. Characteristic animals include bobcat, raccoon, gray squirrel,
<br />Virginia opossum, rufous -sided towhee, white -eyed vireo, Carolina wren, great -crested flycatcher,
<br />red -bellied woodpecker, eastern screech -owl, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, southern black racer,
<br />eastern coachwhip, southeastern five -lined skunk, six -lined racerunner, green anole, gopher tortoise,
<br />southern toad, and oak toad. Of particular interest are animals, including the Florida mouse, Florida
<br />scrub jay, scrub lizard, red widow spider (Latrodectus bishop), and others, which are endemic to
<br />scrub and associated xeric habitats. A significant number of scrub species, including the Florida
<br />mouse, Florida scrub jay (Aphelocaoma coerulescens), gopher tortoise (Gopherus poluphemus),
<br />Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais), Florida pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus), and gopher
<br />frog, are officially listed as Threatened or of Special Concern.
<br />Although ground vegetation is sparse and leaf fall is minimal, sand pine scrub is a fire -based
<br />community. Over time, mature sand pines retain most of their branches and build up a fire fuel
<br />supply. After a fire, sand pines reseed best, in that the associated heat helps to open and release the
<br />seeds of the cones. This fire -release method tends to create even -aged stands.
<br />In the absence of fire, a senescent, unburned sand pine forest will succeed into xeric hammock under
<br />some conditions, or degenerate into a sparsely vegetated open scrub on other sites. In a natural
<br />setting, wildfires normally occur every 20 to 40 years. Where scrub areas in the county are
<br />developed or adjacent to development, however, wildfires are suppressed. Consequently,
<br />overgrowth in these areas leads to less species diversity, and the build-up of fire fuel may lead to a
<br />potentially uncontrollable wildfire.
<br />In a study of xeric scrub communities, the FWC indicates that the minimum preserve size of scrub
<br />habitat for wildlife management purposes varies with the specific characteristics of a given tract.
<br />Community Development Department Indian River County 45
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