Native Habitat Inventory Final Report 2004 - St. Lucie County

Site Number: 32
Site Rank: C Total Acreage: 8.7
Edge Acreage: 8.7 Percent Core to Edge: 100
Table 1. Ecological Criteria Scores by Natural Community Type. This is an areaweighted
average value score for each natural community present on site. Numbers in
bold have significant above average resource value (>3.0). Natural Communities in bold
have at least two of the content resource values (rarity, connectivity, and completeness)
above average (>3.0). Overall Ecological Value = 0.47
FNAI Natural
Community Rarity Connectivity Completeness Vulnerability Manageability
XU / Scrub 3.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
XU / Xeric
Hammock 1.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 3.1
Key Features – The northern portion of this site is relatively decent fire-supressed
Scrub, grading into Xeric Hammock. The southern portion is highly degraded and full of
exotics, but might serve as a buffer zone since the adjacent areas are already cleared.
Across the newly finished highway to the north, there is a fairly large undeveloped area.
This site would probably have some value, for the plants at least, as part of a larger
conservation area.
Importance – At least three rare species occur here, Conradina grandiflora,
Lechea cernua, and gopher tortoise.
Connectivity – Greater than a half mile from existing conservation lands.
Proximity to Urban Areas – Greater than a half mile from an urban center.
Proximity to primary and secondary roads – Within a thousand feet of a major
roadway.
Hydrology – The hydrology is relatively undisturbed. The whole site is fairly
homogeneous, with deep, well-drained sand. Perhaps the road bank of the newly created
highway to the north will lead to increased water flow being channeled along the edge.
Table 2. Community Types present on site and their rankings.
FNAI Natural Community Acreage FNAI Rank Global FNAI Rank State
XU / Scrub 7.8 G2 S2
XU / Xeric Hammock 0.9 G3 S3
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