Exploring Florida’s Fire-reliant Ecosystems in Manasota Scrub Preserve

Florida is renowned as a tourist destination for beachgoing and the Everglades ecosystem, but little attention is paid on a national scale to one of its broadest ecoregions, the Flatwoods. Despite this, Flatwoods preserve parks are pretty easily accessible and plentiful in populated areas, in part due to the ease of developing over them, to the detriment of the ecosystem and its unique species. Far from the tropical paradise image the state is known for, Flatwoods exhibit significant dry sandy soils and frequent fires, leading to a proliferation of plant species that can withstand, and may even rely on, fire regimes.

The aforementioned parks include the Manasota Scrub Preserve, a small area sandwiched between various new neighborhood developments that has been set aside to protect this vanishing ecosystem in the city of Englewood. The terrain is flat throughout and generally wide trails can accommodate a variety of hiker skill levels.

Throughout the trails, be on the lookout for the ubiquitous slash pine, one of the most common pine trees in Florida. They tend to be the tallest tree in the area and their foliage congregates at the top of the tree. This pine thrives in warm, humid environments and is only found in the southern United States. Different varieties of slash pine can be more or less adapted to fire. Artificial suppression of fire in the remaining habitats due to proximity to development has often resulted in altered ecosystems for these slash pines, preventing germination in some cases and encouraging invasion by non-native plants not adapted to fire.

In Manasota Scrub Preserve in particular, the recent Hurricane Ian knocked down many of the previously standing slash pines, leaving a more open forest canopy that perhaps was closer to what a Flatwoods would have looked like with prescribed burning or natural fire regimes. Interestingly, there are a few other varieties of trees and shrubs as well, such as oaks in the understory and red maples in wetland areas (the most widespread tree in the eastern US but exclusive to swamps this far south), even more so than pine not the types of trees I would have thought of when thinking of Florida, but not uncommon in specific habitats.

Under the trees the most prevalent shrubby plant is the saw palmetto, its perfectly formed palm leaves in a radiant circular shape. Saw palmetto is mostly found in Florida but its range extends slightly into Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with an odd little dot on its range map lying as far north as South Carolina. It’s believed this plant may be able to live up to 700 hundred years, amazingly, and it has often been utilized in healthcare research for its various medical benefits.

These ecosystems are considered especially valuable since they form critical habitats for a few endangered animal species, including the gopher tortoise and the scrub jay bird. We spotted a gopher tortoise hanging out in it’s homey hole in the ground literally 50 feet from the park entrance, so in our experience they are easy to find! The little guy scurried across the ground fairly quickly for a tortoise, and he munched on the small grasses growing out of the sandy soil. I did not know at the time to lookout for the rare scrub jay but know to do so the next time I return to Florida.

There is a small parking lot along Bridge Street, which bisects the park. The lot is directly connected to the east side of the park and sits pretty close to the location marked on Google Maps. We did not travel to the west side of the park so the access points are not clear, but I assume you would have to cross the street on foot to access the trails on that side. The park was almost completely vacant in the winter; we only encountered one other group of hikers.

Florida can get hot and sunny even in the winter; for best protection against the elements make sure to bring sunglasses, water, and sunscreen, and light, breathable clothing. Also watch the forecast for rain storms, as the state can frequently get severe storm weather, including hail, wind, and lightning, during the summer rainy season; high summer heat indices, which can cause heat stroke if not properly prepared; and of course, hurricanes during the fall hurricane season. Don’t let this deter you from visiting this beautiful preserve though, there are still plenty of beautiful days in this area!