Bottomland Hardwoods
Bottomland hardwoods are one of the lowest and wettest types of hardwood forests. They are generally found along the edges of lakes and rivers and in sinkholes. Bottomland forests represent a transition between drier upland hardwood forest and very wet river floodplain and wetland forests. While trees and plants in this ecosystem cannot tolerate long periods of flooding (as in a swamp), they are flooded periodically when water levels rise.
While bottomland hammocks may be found scattered throughout Florida, some good examples of these ecosystems may be seen in Ichetucknee River State Park, O'Leno State Park, Apalachiocola National Forest, San Falasco Hammock, Suwannee River State Park, Dead Lakes State Recreation Area, Wakulla Springs State Park, St. Marys National Wildlife Refuge, Faver-Dykes State Park, Silver River State Park, and the Myakka River State Park.
For the contest...
Each year the contest takes on two ecosystems on a four-year rotation. At this station, when Mangrove Forests is one of the featured ecosystems, contestants will
- ID 4 tree or shrub species that are commonly found in each ecosystem.
The four tree and shrub species contestants should know from Bottomland Hardwoods are:
Swamp chestnut oak
Sweetbay
Water hickory
Winged elm
(Note that water hickory was added to the bottomland hardwoods list in 2015 when American hornbeam moved to the tree list.) - Answer multiple-choice questions about each ecosystem. To prepare, Juniors should read the Forest Story about adventures in each of their designated ecosystems. Intermediates should read the informative text about their designated ecosystems.
Learn More
- UF/IFAS EDIS Fact Sheet: The Importance of Bottomland Hardwood Forests for Wildlife (also available as a PDF)