Native Plant Communities

Sloughs are shallow, non-forested wetlands with slow moving water.   Fire is an important factor in maintaining these systems.  It is likely that many, if not most, are anthropomorphic being in open settings where the systems would likely have historically been forested.  

Sloughs meeting this generic description can be found at Kissimmee Prairie State Park and in other areas where the uplands were historically Dry Prairie.

Slough Marsh or Everglades Slough.  These are the primary sloughs found in South Florida.  They are found in areas of marl lying over limestone.  When the Everglades was described as the "river of grass", it is these sloughs that were being referenced.  The water moves gradually through them at a rate that varies from less than 1 to over 4 cm per second (this is very slow) at the Shark Valley Slough depending on weather (Riscassi  and Schaffranek 2002). 

Typical vegetation includes sawgrass, spikerush, and grasses.  Cattails have invaded disturbed areas.  Dwarfed pond cypress is sometimes present.  See FNAI (2010) for more a detailed vegetation description.

Sloughs in the Everglades region can be seen in the Everglades National Park at Shark Valley and at the Anhinga Trail.