Florida's Native Plant Communities
Blackwater Stream
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Information
Community Variants:
N/A
Description:
Blackwater streams are perennial or intermittent/seasonal watercourses characterized by tea-colored water rich in particulate and dissolved organic matter. This coloration results from drainage through surrounding swamps and marshes, which leach tannins and other organic compounds into the water. The water is typically acidic.
Unlike alluvial rivers, blackwater streams generally lack broad floodplains. The term “blackwater” refers directly to their distinct dark, tea-stained appearance.
References:
Clewell, A. F. (1986). Natural setting and vegetation of the Florida Panhandle: An account of the environments and plant communities of northern Florida west of the Suwannee River (Report No. COESAM/PDEI-86/001). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (1992). Soil and water relationships of Florida's ecological communities. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/delineation/docs/soil-and-water.pdf
Florida Natural Areas Inventory. (2010). Guide to the natural communities of Florida: 2010 edition. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. http://fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm
Myers, R. L., & Ewel, J. J. (Eds.). (1990). Ecosystems of Florida. University of Central Florida Press.
Simons, R. W. (1990). Terrestrial and freshwater habitats. In S. H. Wolfe (Ed.), An ecological characterization of the Florida Springs Coast: Pithlachascotee to Waccasassa Rivers (Biological Report 90[21], pp. 99–157). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Whitney, E. N., Means, D. B., & Rudloe, A. (2004). Priceless Florida: Natural ecosystems and native species. Pineapple Press.
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