Hammock Park, Dunedin, FL

Hammock Park, Dunedin

November 20, 2014

System: managed
Environmental conditions: ~61 degrees Fahrenheit; wind NNE @ 6mph; 27% humidity with ~90% cloud cover. The day was chilly, so I was glad to have dressed appropriately :)

Hammock Park encompasses approximately 90 acres and is a mixed forest that was first surveyed in 1845. It has a low hammock with citrus trees scattered throughout.

This was our last field trip so the atmosphere was relaxed! We took a nice stroll through the park, which is beautiful. We observed Pine flat grasslands which consisted of sandy soil and two forest layers; the canopy and the forest floor which was sparsely vegetated with wire grass in the slightly higher elevations. We also observed a hammock hardwood forest which was my favorite. The intertwining vines provided an interesting visual effect, and there were many. We sighted several gap successions created by tree fall; consequently ferns and vines abounded. Also seen were various detrital organisms that consisted of weirdly shaped fungi upon the fallen trees.

At the beginning of the walk, we saw beautiful Turk's Cap plants with lush red flowers in bloom. Sorry, phone cam not functional at this time!

At the end of the walk through the forest we saw weirs that were constructed in succession across the creek to measure the flow of water. Also seen was mesh and broken asphalt along the creek banks to minimize erosion.

I enjoyed our field trips, and am happy to have shared the experiences with so many nice people! Thanks for a great semester and good luck in all your future endeavors :)

~Ivy