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Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element
<br />skinks, anoles, rat snakes, hognose snakes, and many additional species inhabiting the coastal strand
<br />community.
<br />Fire, the major natural threat to coastal hammocks, can set succession back to the early coastal strand
<br />stage which may then require at least 70 years to develop into a mature hammock. In terms of man -
<br />related threats, these include clearing for residential and recreational development, understory
<br />removal associated with landscaping, and introduction of exotic species which may displace native
<br />plants, especially those at the periphery of their native range. The generalized locations of
<br />Tropical/Coastal Hammock communities in Indian River County are depicted in Figure 8.17.
<br />Freshwater Wetlands
<br />The identifying characteristics of a wetland are generally: (1) the land predominately supports plants
<br />adapted to growing in wet soils ("hydrophytes)"; (2) the soil is predominately hydric; and (3) the land
<br />is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season each
<br />year.
<br />Ranging from small isolated marshes to large systems of contiguous wetland communities, including
<br />wet prairies, sloughs, riverine marshes and forested swamps, freshwater wetlands exist throughout
<br />Indian River County. Following is a general description of freshwater wetland habitats found in the
<br />county. A map of Generalized Wetland Densities in Indian River County is depicted in Figure 8.18.
<br />Wet prairies
<br />Wet prairies occur on low flatlands subject to periodic flooding and often grade imperceptibly into a
<br />freshwater marsh or dry prairie community. Wet prairies are generally dominated by shorter grasses
<br />and herbs such as maidencane, cordgrass, beakrushes, spikerushes, white -top rush, St. John's wort,
<br />and occasional patches of wax myrtle, coastal plain willow, or buttonbush.
<br />Freshwater marshes
<br />Freshwater marshes include a number of vegetative associations composed of grasses, rushes, sedges
<br />or broad-leaved herbs, where the ground surface is inundated with water for at least a few months of
<br />the year. They are found bordering lakes or streams, in shallow natural depressions, and on lowlands
<br />with little topographic relief. Ranging in size from small pockets within flatwoods or other
<br />communities to vast, uninterrupted wetlands, marshes often integrate into wet prairies or possess
<br />hammocks, cypress domes or strands, and deep water habitats. Sawgrass, lizard's tail, pickerelweed,
<br />cattail, arrowhead, spikerush, smartweed, bulrush, fire flag, cordgrass, bacopa, pennywort and
<br />maidencane are common dominant species of particular marshes or patches within a marsh. Natural
<br />depressions and sloughs often contain vegetation associated with deeper waters, including fragrant
<br />water lily, spatterdock, cattail, stonewort, milfoil, bladderwort, and pondweeds.
<br />Community Development Department Indian River County 51
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