Environmental Science: Upper Tampa Bay Park

Summary: 

Our trip began by meeting at the Upper Tampa Bay Park Nature Center located at 8001 Double Branch Rd., Tampa, FL 33615. The north end of the park had undergone a partial prescribed burn two days prior. Their goal was to clear out some of the undergrowth of saw palmetto so the natural wildflowers and grasses could regrow in the pine flatwoods.

The area we walked through was along the coastal boardwalk through the mangrove forests and up into the salt barren. The mangroves, which included the ovoid leafed white mangrove (a transitional plant), the taller, feather leafed black mangrove (salt tolerant), and the twisted root system of the red mangrove (will live directly in the salt water) lined the wooden boardwalk and hugged the coast line.

The end of the boardwalk dropped us into an area called the salt barren. The salt barren is an area of land that is periodically flooded by tidal and flood waters which has deposited so much salt over the years that few plants can grow there. Purslane, saltwort, black needle rush, Carolina sealavendar, camphor daisy, and Brazilian pepper were the dominant species in this area. Evidence of hermit crabs was prolific (small round balls of soil pushed up around holes in the ground) as were bleached shells of the crabs as we moved from the barren back into pine flatwoods were oak, pine, and cabbage palms proliferated.

While small birds, the occasional squirrel and one gopher turtle were seen, very little other non-insect wildlife was viewed on this trip. I heard but did not see ospreys flying about. The Park’s Ranger Alan said they do have a bobcat and a healthy snake population, although I saw neither of these on our trip. The Nature Center did have several aquariums with killifish and snakes in them and stuffed specimens of other animals like the bobcat.

The salt barren’s interesting hydrology was showcased by the various zones of plant growth we walked through. On the side of the path closest to the water there were mangroves and low growing saltwort and purslane. On the slightly elevated northern side of the path black needle rush and cabbage palms dominated. The center lowest section was barren and salt crystals could be seen clearly when observing the soil in these areas. This tells us that the barren areas were low spots where the tides would leave water standing for long periods of time. The high quantity of salt in the soil means plants cannot grow there and the area then remains ‘barren’.

Pictures:

Table 1:

Plant List for Upper Tampa Bay Park
	Common name	Scientific name	Family	Viewed in field?	Plant type	Wetland status	Native or exotic
1	Broomsedge	Andropogon virginicus	Poaceae	x	Grass	FAC	N
2	Black mangrove	Avicennia germinans	Avicenniaceae	x	Tree	OBL	N
3	Salt bush	Baccharis halimifolia	Asteraceae	x	Shrub	FAC	N
4	Saltwort	Batis maritima	Bataceae	x	Forb	OBL	N
5	Buttonwood	Conocarpus erectus	Combretaceae	x	Tree	FACW	N
6	Saltgrass	Distichlis spicata	Poaceae	x	Grass	OBL	N
7	Hurricane grass	Fimbristylis cymosa	Cyperaceae		Forb	FAC	N
8	Black needle rush	Juncus roemerianus	Juncaceae	x	Forb	OBL	N
9	White mangrove	Laguncularia racemosa	Combretaceae	x	Tree	OBL	N
10	Carolina sealavender	Limonium carolinianum	Plumbaginaceae	x	Forb	OBL	N
11	Christmasberry	Lycium carolinianum	Solanaceae	x	Shrub	FACW	N
12	Wax myrtle	Myrica or Morella cerifera	Myricaceae	x	Shrub	FAC	N
13	Bracken fern	Pteridium aquilinum	Dennstaedtiaceae		Forb	FACU	N
14	Camphor daisy	Rayjacksonia phyllocephala	Asteraceae	x	Forb	FACU	N
15	Red mangrove	Rhizophora mangle	Rhizophoraceae	x	Tree	OBL	N
16	Cabbage palm	Sabal palmetto	Arecaceae	x	Tree	FAC	N
17	Perennial glasswort	Sarcocornia ambigua	Amaranthaceae	x	Forb	OBL	N
18	Brazilian pepper	Schinus terebinthifolia	Anacadiaceae	x	Shrub	FAC	E
19	Saw palmetto	Serenoa repens	Arecaceae	x	Shrub	FACU	N
20	Sea purslane	Sesuvium portulacastrum	Aizoaceae	x	Forb	FACW	N
21	Scrub Oak	Quercus chapmanii	Fagaceae	x	Tree	NONE LISTED	N
22	Winged Sumac	Rhus copallina	Anacardiaceae	x	Shrub	UPL	N
23	Seaside Goldenrod	Solidago sempervirens	Asteraceae	x	Forb	FACW	N

Table 2:

Soil Description:

Report — Map Unit Description

Hillsborough County, Florida

30—Myakka fine sand, frequently flooded

Map Unit Setting

·             National map unit symbol: 1j72h

·             Mean annual precipitation: 48 to 56 inches

·             Mean annual air temperature: 70 to 77 degrees F

·             Frost-free period: 324 to 354 days

·             Farmland classification: Not prime farmland

Map Unit Composition

·             Myakka, frequently flooded, and similar soils: 90 percent

·             Minor components: 10 percent

·             Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.

Description of Myakka, Frequently Flooded

Setting

·             Landform: Tidal marshes on marine terraces

·             Landform position (three-dimensional): Talf

·             Down-slope shape: Linear

·             Across-slope shape: Linear

·             Parent material: Sandy marine deposits

Typical profile

·             A - 0 to 5 inches: fine sand

·             E - 5 to 22 inches: fine sand

·             Bh - 22 to 40 inches: fine sand

·             C - 40 to 80 inches: fine sand

Properties and qualities

·             Slope: 0 to 1 percent

·             Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches

·             Natural drainage class: Very poorly drained

·             Runoff class: High

·             Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat):Moderately high to high (0.57 to 5.95 in/hr)

·             Depth to water table: About 0 to 6 inches

·             Frequency of flooding: Frequent

·             Frequency of ponding: None

·             Salinity, maximum in profile: Strongly saline (16.0 to 32.0 mmhos/cm)

·             Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 4.0

·             Available water storage in profile: Low (about 5.7 inches)

Interpretive groups

·             Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified

·             Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 8

·             Hydrologic Soil Group: A/D

·             Other vegetative classification: Salt Marsh (R155XY009FL), Sandy soils on stream terraces, flood plains, or in depressions (G155XB145FL)

·             Hydric soil rating: Yes

Minor Components

Samsula

·             Percent of map unit: 10 percent

·             Landform: Depressions on marine terraces

·             Landform position (three-dimensional): Dip

·             Down-slope shape: Concave

·             Across-slope shape: Concave

·             Other vegetative classification: Freshwater Marshes and Ponds (R155XY010FL), Organic soils in depressions and on flood plains (G155XB645FL)

·             Hydric soil rating: Yes

Detailed Soil Map Units

The map units delineated on the detailed soil maps in a soil survey represent the soils or miscellaneous areas in the survey area. The map unit descriptions in this report, along with the maps, can be used to determine the composition and properties of a unit.

A map unit delineation on a soil map represents an area dominated by one or more major kinds of soil or miscellaneous areas. A map unit is identified and named according to the taxonomic classification of the dominant soils. Within a taxonomic class there are precisely defined limits for the properties of the soils. On the landscape, however, the soils are natural phenomena, and they have the characteristic variability of all natural phenomena. Thus, the range of some observed properties may extend beyond the limits defined for a taxonomic class. Areas of soils of a single taxonomic class rarely, if ever, can be mapped without including areas of other taxonomic classes. Consequently, every map unit is made up of the soils or miscellaneous areas for which it is named and some minor components that belong to taxonomic classes other than those of the major soils.

Most minor soils have properties similar to those of the dominant soil or soils in the map unit, and thus they do not affect use and management. These are called noncontrasting, or similar, components. They may or may not be mentioned in a particular map unit description. Other minor components, however, have properties and behavioral characteristics divergent enough to affect use or to require different management. These are called contrasting, or dissimilar, components. They generally are in small areas and could not be mapped separately because of the scale used. Some small areas of strongly contrasting soils or miscellaneous areas are identified by a special symbol on the maps. If included in the database for a given area, the contrasting minor components are identified in the map unit descriptions along with some characteristics of each. A few areas of minor components may not have been observed, and consequently they are not mentioned in the descriptions, especially where the pattern was so complex that it was impractical to make enough observations to identify all the soils and miscellaneous areas on the landscape.

The presence of minor components in a map unit in no way diminishes the usefulness or accuracy of the data. The objective of mapping is not to delineate pure taxonomic classes but rather to separate the landscape into landforms or landform segments that have similar use and management requirements. The delineation of such segments on the map provides sufficient information for the development of resource plans. If intensive use of small areas is planned, however, onsite investigation is needed to define and locate the soils and miscellaneous areas.

An identifying symbol precedes the map unit name in the map unit descriptions. Each description includes general facts about the unit and gives important soil properties and qualities.

Soils that have profiles that are almost alike make up a soil series. All the soils of a series have major horizons that are similar in composition, thickness, and arrangement. Soils of a given series can differ in texture of the surface layer, slope, stoniness, salinity, degree of erosion, and other characteristics that affect their use. On the basis of such differences, a soil series is divided into soil phases. Most of the areas shown on the detailed soil maps are phases of soil series. The name of a soil phase commonly indicates a feature that affects use or management. For example, Alpha silt loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, is a phase of the Alpha series.

Some map units are made up of two or more major soils or miscellaneous areas. These map units are complexes, associations, or undifferentiated groups.

A complex consists of two or more soils or miscellaneous areas in such an intricate pattern or in such small areas that they cannot be shown separately on the maps. The pattern and proportion of the soils or miscellaneous areas are somewhat similar in all areas. Alpha-Beta complex, 0 to 6 percent slopes, is an example.

An association is made up of two or more geographically associated soils or miscellaneous areas that are shown as one unit on the maps. Because of present or anticipated uses of the map units in the survey area, it was not considered practical or necessary to map the soils or miscellaneous areas separately. The pattern and relative proportion of the soils or miscellaneous areas are somewhat similar. Alpha-Beta association, 0 to 2 percent slopes, is an example.

An undifferentiated group is made up of two or more soils or miscellaneous areas that could be mapped individually but are mapped as one unit because similar interpretations can be made for use and management. The pattern and proportion of the soils or miscellaneous areas in a mapped area are not uniform. An area can be made up of only one of the major soils or miscellaneous areas, or it can be made up of all of them. Alpha and Beta soils, 0 to 2 percent slopes, is an example.

Some surveys include miscellaneous areas. Such areas have little or no soil material and support little or no vegetation. Rock outcrop is an example.

Additional information about the map units described in this report is available in other soil reports, which give properties of the soils and the limitations, capabilities, and potentials for many uses. Also, the narratives that accompany the soil reports define some of the properties included in the map unit descriptions. (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016)

References

United States Department of Agriculture. (2016, October 30). Retrieved from Web Soil Survey: http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx