Natural Communities
Box-R’s tidal marshes, creeks, floodplain swamps, hammocks and
pine uplands are part of a complex ecological system that
includes the Apalachicola and Jackson rivers and Apalachicola
Bay to the south. Box-R’s habitats attract diverse wildlife and
help to ensure a supply of clean water for Apalachicola Bay,
which produces over 90 percent of Florida's oysters and is a
major nursery for blue crabs and marine finfishes.
Slash and longleaf pine characterize small areas of natural
pinewoods but the majority of Box-R’s uplands were planted in
slash and loblolly pines anywhere from 6 to 34 years ago.
Ditches built to drain wet areas and create drier conditions
more suitable for timber production have altered the natural
flow of water on the property. Extensive marshes border portions
of the two rivers while cypress-hardwood swamps line the smaller
creeks.
