A variety of plant communities occur on the property, including floodplain swamp, mesic hammocks, flatwoods, freshwater ponds, and oak scrub along the Withlacoochee River and longleaf pine turkey oak sandhills occurring in upland areas. Recovering stands of oak scrub scattered amid the sandhill support the threatened Florida scrub-jay.
In addition to natural resources, the property supported a rich historical past. The preserve is named after Seminole leader Hálpata Tastanaki (Chief Alligator) who, along with Osceola, Jumper and approximately 1,000 warriors, took part in the largest battle of the Second Seminole Indian War in 1836. Included within the property is the site of the community of Stockton, established shortly after the conclusion of the Second Seminole Indian War.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.[2]
Ecosystems are controlled both by external and internal factors. Energy, water, nitrogen and soil minerals are other essential abiotic components of an ecosystem. It is the combination of external and internal factors that drive ecosystem states and transitions.
A large part of ecosystem development is soil related. A single soil property, such as available water capacity or internal hydrology can change a plant community from a xeric hammock to a freshwater marsh. Other soil properties such as pH or particle size distribution can influence the biodiversity of a single ecosystem.
Energy and carbon enter ecosystems through photosynthesis, are incorporated into living tissue, transferred to other organisms that feed on the living and dead plant matter, and eventually released through respiration. Most mineral nutrients, on the other hand, are recycled within ecosystems.
The carbon and nutrients in dead organic matter are broken down by a group of processes known as decomposition. This releases nutrients that can then be re-used for plant and microbial production, and returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (or water) where it can be used for photosynthesis. Decomposition rates vary among ecosystems. The rate of decomposition is governed by three sets of factors—the physical environment (temperature, moisture and soil properties), the quantity and quality of the dead material available to decomposers, and the nature of the microbial community itself.
To log this Earthcache, please submit answers to the following question via email:
1) What factors do you think are responsible for the formation of soil?
2) What is the State Soil of Florida and does it occur in Marion County?
At the posted coordinates, there is a kiosk with several soil monoliths:
3) Name one of the 2 soil series with a monolith at kiosk (names are on the west side)
4) What is the color of the upper 15 centimeters on the monolith to the northwest?
5) Which soil forming factor do you think is responsible for the color of the upper 15 centimeters?
6) There are many prairies within the Preserve. Which soil forming factor do you believe is responsible for the prairie habitat?