Explore general as well as scientific information about the movement, chemistry and biology of area surface water environments.
Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) assists with tracking the occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered and exemplary plants, animals and natural communities, called elements. An element is any exemplary or rare component of the natural environment, such as a species, natural community, bird rookery, spring, sinkhole, cave, or other ecological feature. An element occurrence is a single extant habitat that sustains or otherwise contributes to the survival of a population or a distinct, self-sustaining example of a particular element, such as a plant species. The following links provide access to tools on the FNAI website where you can view a list of elements in your area and read a description of each element (e.g. plant, animal, or natural community).
Vegetation sampling is the identification and quantification of plant species and communities. Vegetation sampling is a tool used in environmental assessments and can inform a myriad of assessment goals including biomass availability, water quality concerns, management benchmarks, and determining the introduction and establishment of invasive species. Sampling can be conducted via destructive or non-destructive methods. Learn more about vegetation sampling from the links and documents listed below.
Species Name | Listing | Alafia Banks Quadrangle | Tampa Quadrangle | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 - 2012 Results | Historic Average | 2011 - 2012 Results | Historic Average | ||
American Oystercatcher | SSC | 0.32 | 0.32 (1 yrs) | 0.13 | 0.13 (1 yrs) |
Bald Eagle | T | 0.14 | 0.14 (1 yrs) | 0.16 | 0.16 (1 yrs) |
Black Skimmer | SSC | 0.45 | 0.45 (1 yrs) | ||
Brown Pelican | SSC | 3.05 | 3.05 (1 yrs) | 0.82 | 0.82 (1 yrs) |
Florida Scrub-jay | T | 0.01 | 0.01 (1 yrs) | ||
Little Blue Heron | SSC | 0.68 | 0.68 (1 yrs) | 3.43 | 3.43 (1 yrs) |
Peregrine Falcon | T | 0.01 | 0.01 (1 yrs) | ||
Reddish Egret | SSC | 0.06 | 0.06 (1 yrs) | 0.03 | 0.03 (1 yrs) |
Snowy Plover | T | ||||
Tricolored Heron | SSC | 0.79 | 0.79 (1 yrs) | 1.63 | 1.63 (1 yrs) |
White Ibis | SSC | 12.42 | 12.42 (1 yrs) | 22.84 | 22.84 (1 yrs) |
Wood Stork | E | 1.24 | 1.24 (1 yrs) | 0.82 | 0.82 (1 yrs) |
Soils are important because they influence the type and abundance of vegetative species as well as control how much and how quickly water infiltrates into the ground. Soil is assigned a hydrologic classification group which helps estimate runoff from precipitation. The four hydrologic groups are:
In some cases, soils will have a
dual hydrologic group such as B/D. A B/D listing means that under natural
conditions the soils belongs to hydrologic group D, but by artificial methods
the water table can be lowered sufficiently so that the soil fits in hydrologic group B.
Learn More about Soils »
Hydrologic Classification Group |
Area (m2) |
Percent of Watershed |
Percent of Tampa Bay Study Area |
---|---|---|---|
A | 24.74 | 12.23 % | 0.87 % |
B | 0.08 | 0.04 % | 0.00 % |
B/D | 78.58 | 38.85 % | 2.76 % |
C | 23.91 | 11.82 % | 0.84 % |
D | 24.14 | 11.93 % | 0.85 % |
Undetermined | 0.57 | 0.28 % | 0.02 % |