Natural Communities
Betsy Purdum
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A substantial portion of the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area south of
Hwy 523 is part of the central peninsular Florida dry prairie
ecosystem. The landscape is a mosaic of dry and wet prairie, ephemeral
depression ponds and marshes, mesic (moist) flatwoods, hammocks,
and cypress ponds and sloughs. Diversity—both in plant and animal life—distinguishes
Florida’s dry prairies from the vast grasslands of the Great
Plains of North America and the steppes of Asia.
North of Hwy 523 the majority of land is pine flatwoods, interspersed with
ephemeral depression ponds and marshes and cypress ponds and sloughs.
Patches of scrub are found on higher land between the Florida
Turnpike and Hwy 441.
