FWC Home : Recreation : Wildlife Management Areas :  Split Oak Forest : Natural Communities

Split Oak Forest WEA

Natural Communities

In addition to pine flatwoods characterized by an open canopy forest, and hardwood hammocks, with their ancient oaks and relatively open understory, Split Oak Forest contains several less common communities.  These include oak scrub (with low canopy of myrtle oak, Chapman's oak, and sand live oak), and the sandhill community, consisting of scattered longleaf, blackjack oak and turkey oak with wiregrass and palmetto understory.

Split Oak is bordered by Lake Hart to the north and Lake Mary Jane to the northeast. The wetland fringes of both lakes are habitat for a large number grasses, wild flowers, and shrubs. The area also includes cypress swamps dominated by bald or pond cypress, and wet prairies, which are seasonally flooded transitional areas between freshwater marshes and pine flatwoods.

See management information.