Sloughs and Wet Prairies
South Florida Water Management District
Fragrant White Water Lily
|
The wet prairies of the Everglades are treeless plains with sparse
to dense ground cover of grasses and herbs, including maidencane,
spikerush, and beakrush. Other typical plants include swamp lily,
arrowhead, pickerel weed, ludwigia, and bladderwort. Wet prairies
occur on low, relatively flat, poorly drained terrain. They are
saturated approximately 90 percent of the year and burn every
2 to 4 years.
Sloughs within the Everglades are broad shallow channels inundated with flowing
water except during extreme droughts. They often correspond with
linear depressions in underlying bedrock. Vegetation consists
of large emergent herbs and floating aquatic plants such as white
water lily, floating hearts, and spatter-dock. During the rainy
season sloughs and wet prairies are habitat for wide variety of
fish species as well as snails, crayfish, and other invertebrates.
As water levels decline during the dry season, fish and invertebrates
move to deep water sloughs for refuge. This high concentration
of prey during the dry season is a critical source of food for
the endangered wood stork and other wading birds. Wet prairies
and sloughs are threatened by the spread of melaleuca and cattails.
Return
to Natural Communities
