Morningside Nature Center Earthcache
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Welcome to Morningside Nature Center, a city of Gainesville park. Park hours are 8 AM to 6 PM (November through April) and 8 AM to 8 PM (May through October). You do not need to leave the trails to complete any aspect of this earth cache and should not leave the trails in the park. As with any nature area in Florida, please be aware of the potentially dangerous wildlife, insects and the need to have water with for longer hikes. There is water and there are restrooms available in the park.
Morningside Nature Park is a more than 250 acre park with more than 6 miles of trails. Within Morningside Nature Park, there are many different types of ecological types that are there due to geological and soil variations. The different natural communities seen within Morningside Nature Park include: Mesic Flatwoods, Longleaf Sandhill, Hydric Flatwoods, Dome Swamps, Basin Swamps, Depression Marshes as well as a seepage stream.
These different natural communities are discussed briefly on the sign at the posted coordinates. Here is some additional information including how the geologic formations shape the ecology. All of the natural communities found within Morningside Nature Center are fire maintained communities. The majority of the information below is found in the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (www.fnai.org)
Mesic Flatwoods - These are the most widespread natural community in Florida, covering the flat sandy terraces left behind by former high stands of sea level during the Plio-Pleistocene. There is generally an organic hardpan several feet below the surface and this allows for near droughty soil during dry times and wet to inundated with water after heavier rains. In mesic flat woods, you will find longleaf pine, slash pine and saw palmetto primarily.
Longleaf Sandhill - Sandhill occurs on crests and slopes of rolling hills and ridges with steep or gentle topography. Soils are deep, marine-deposited, often yellowish sands that are well- drained and relatively infertile. The deep, sandy soils and a lack of near surface hardpan or water table contribute to a dry environment. Sandhill requires growing season fires to maintain open structure. The area is characterized by widely spaced pine and moderate to dense grasses, herbs and low shrubs.
Hydric Flatwoods - Wet flatwoods occur in the ecotones between drier mesic flatwoods and wetter shrub bogs, wet prairies, dome swamps, or strand swamps. Wet flatwoods also occur in broad, low flatlands, often in a mosaic with those communities. A layer of clay holds water for long periods of time during rainy seasons and frequent fires in this ecosystem prevent the areas from becoming hardwood forests.
Dome Swamps - Dome swamps are forested depression wetlands occurring within other natural communities such as mesic flatwoods. They are generally small and their characteristic dome shape is caused by smaller trees growing around the edges of the swamp while taller trees grow in the deeper water in the center of the swamp. They are often found on flat terraces where the sand has slumped into the dissolved limestone below which then fills in with peat or other soils and becomes connected with a shallow water table. Others receive their water from surface runoff from surrounding upland communities.
Basin Swamps - The primary source of water in basin swamps is local rainfall, with additional input from runoff and seepage from the surrounding uplands. A clay lens or other impervious layer often causes a perched water table above that of the adjacent uplands. Basin swamps hold standing water for most of the year. Basin swamps are generally still water swamps but can flow during periods of high water. These swamps may contain streams and sloughs that drain the swamp, especially during periods of high rainfall.
Depression Marshes - These form when the overlying sands slump into depressions dissolved in underlying limestone and often form a rim around swamp communities such as a dome swamp. Depression marshes are commonly found in mesic flatwoods or longleaf sandhill communities. Depression marshes vegetation will vary somewhat depending on how long it is between fires and it is generally herbaceous, but those plants may be replaced by shrubs if there is a lack of fire for an extended period of time.
Seepage Stream - These tend to have sandy bottoms with slow, constant, percolated groundwater. They occur in locations where the ground intersects the water table and allow for water to seep up to the surface from the underlying aquifer. They tend to be cool, clear and unpolluted and are generally narrow, shallow streams and sheltered by a dense overstory, allowing for little aquatic vegetation. There will occasionally be green algae in the stream while mosses, ferns and other plants generally seen around streams will occur in clumps around the water’s edge. The surrounding slopes of the stream are generally saturated with moisture due to the nature of the stream.
For this earthcache, you will be asked to read this page, read the sign as well as walk to 3 of these (identified as waypoints), make observations of the area and answer the following questions in a message to the cache owner. Do not place your answers in your log, even if encrypted.
1) Which of the natural communities do you think you are in at each of the 3 locations based on what information you read on the sign and on this page?
2) Based on your observations of the three areas you visited, which of the locations would you anticipate has the most rapid replenishment of the aquifer and why?
3) Which of the natural communities do you think has the most impermeable soil?
4) One of the locations you will go to is a dome swamp. There are 2 different processes that can lead to the water in this area which are described above. Which do you think is the case here? Why?
5) Which of the natural communities would you think that a seepage stream would be most likely to be located in?
OPTIONAL - Please feel free to post any pictures that you take during your visit to Morningside Nature Center.
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