Ecological characterization of a disturbed hardwood forest

The oak hammock within the Flamingo Road ESL in Broward County, Florida has been disturbed by a number of factors. Twenty-one permanent plots were established to characterize the vegetation of the site and to determine the impact of non-natives on diversity and stability of the hammock. Non-native species may reduce species diversity and stability of communities. Point quarter sampling was compared to quadrat sampling. High percentages of non-native species in hammock sampling plots reduced Sorensen index of community similarity values below the 50% minimum used to define intact communities. Hammock plots were placed in the same clade as non-native plots by average linkage cluster analysis. Additional analysis separated the hammock plots from the non-native plots. The percent of non-natives (individuals and species) did not reduce diversity in the hammock. The hammock remains intact despite disturbances and invasions by non-natives.