THE SAND PINE SCRUB COMMUNITY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, 1989-2013 Donald R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Abstract: This annotated bibliography ( select a “Category” or “Search” at right) represents a revised effort to compile the available literature dealing with the sand pine scrub community in Florida. Historically, the Florida scrub has often been called by numerous synonyms: oak scrub, xeric scrub, sand scrub, big scrub, rosemary scrub, evergreen scrub, dune oak scrub, coastal scrub, interior scrub, slash pine scrub, palmetto scrub and others. The Florida Scrub ecosystem is one of the oldest plant communities in Florida that occurs on dry, sandy soils that make up ancient dune systems. Coastal Florida scrub occurs sporadically on barrier islands and dune ridges along the Atlantic Coast in Florida and Georgia and along the Gulf Coast in Florida and Alabama. Interior Florida scrub occurs on well drained sandy ridges on the Georgia fall line and within peninsula Florida from Clay County south to Immokalee County. The scrub community is typically dominated by a dense layer of evergreen shrubs with an open to closed canopy of sand pine (Pinus clausa). Summer lightning fires every 10-50 years play an integral part in maintaining the integrity and diversity of the Florida scrub. The rate of endemism is higher in scrub than any other plant community associated with xeric sandy soils in Florida. More than 300 native plant species have been collected from Florida scrubs and at least 35 federally and state listed plants occur on these remnant scrub patches throughout Florida. Because much of Florida’s scrub has been converted to other land uses and the few remaining areas are also threatened by development, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory considers this habitat type to be imperiled (statewide and globally). Estimates suggest that as much as 90% of the scrub in Florida has been attributed to agricultural, commercial, and residential development, fragmentation of habitat and altered hydrology and fire regimes. The rapid demise of scrub in Florida has led to a considerable increase in the amount of research and study of this unique ecosystem. This bibliography represents an updated effort to include research on plants, animals, and invertebrates endemic to the Scrub community and to include management strategies that may lead to preservation or maintenance of state or privately owned preserved tracts.