Habitats And Plant Communities

The Everglades is very low in elevation but even slight elevation changes can affect which habitats develop in an area. This graphic displays habitats by their general elevation in relation to the others. Click the image to learn more.

NPS Graphic

With the dedication of Everglades National Park in 1947, a new precedent was set in the growing conservation movement. For the first time in American history, a large tract of wilderness was permanently protected not for its scenic value, but for the benefit of the unique diversity of life it sustained.

The mosaic of habitats found within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem supports an assemblage of plant and animal species found nowhere else on the planet. While nine distinct habitats have been identified, the landscape remains dynamic. Ecosystems remain in a constant state of flux, subject to the effects of abiotic and biotic factors, like fire, invasive species, water, storms, and climate change.

 

Select A Habitat To Learn More

Hardwood Hammock

Dominated by broad-leaf trees, hardwood hammocks have the highest elevation in the Everglades, remaining dry in all but the wettest years.

Pineland

One of the most endangered plant communities in the world, pine rocklands are a fire-dependent ecosystem found in a small area of the world.

Freshwater Marl Prairie

Marl prairies dominate the eastern side of the park. This plant community resembles freshwater sloughs, but it is drier and less vegetated.

Freshwater Slough

Sloughs are “deep” sections of a wetland that are flooded periodically. In the Everglades, sloughs are the main channels for water flow.

Cypress

Cypress trees are characteristic wetland trees and are the base of more than one distinct Everglades plant community.

Coastal Lowland

Coastal lowlands are characterized by rugged plant communities that can tolerate the harsh growing conditions found there.

Mangrove

The Everglades has the largest continuous mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere. Mangroves are incredibly important to our coasts.

Marine And Estuarine

Many think of the Everglades as a freshwater wetland, but more than one third of the park is comprised of marine and estuarine ecosystems.