There are 12 unique Habitats in the Florida Keys.

Habitats: Description:
Beach Dune The Beach Dune community is the active foredune in the zone of the constant wind, salt spray and periodic inundation by ocean waves. A short description from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “active coastal dune with sand substrate; xeric; statewide; rare or no fire; marine influence; open herbaceous vegetation with no canopy; sea oats, railroad vine, bitter panicum, and/or mixed salt-spray tolerant grasses and herbs.” A full description can be found in FNAI's 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Coastal Berm A short description of the Coastal Berm community from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “old bar or storm debris with sand/shell substrate; xeric-mesic; southern peninsula and Keys; rare or no fire; marine influence; variable vegetation structure; mixed tropical herbs, shrubs, and trees.” A full description can be found in FNAI's 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Coastal Interdunal Swale A short description of the Coastal Interdunal Swale community from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “linear wetlands between dunes on sandy barrier islands; inundated by local rainfall events; Panhandle to central peninsula; herbaceous or shrubby; sawgrass, hairawn muhly, broomsedge, seashore paspalum, Baker’s cordgrass, saltmeadow cordgrass, wax myrtle, coastalplain willow.” A full description can be found in FNAI's 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Disturbed Upland Includes areas such as roadsides, agricultural fields, or thickets.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Disturbed Wetland Includes disturbed wet areas such as ditches, canals, and borrow pits.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Keys Cactus Barren A short description of the Keys Cactus Barren community from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “small openings on flatland with exposed limestone; xeric; restricted to Keys; marine influence; open, herbaceous vegetation with some cacti, agave, and stunted trees; three-spined pricklypear, erect pricklypear, barbed wire cactus, Yucatan fly mallow, Florida Keys indigo, skyblue clustervine, dwarf bindweed.” A full description can be found in FNAI's 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida. This community was formerly referred to as Coastal Rock Barren.    (Description by The Institute For Regional Conservation)
Mangrove swamp A short description of the Mangrove Swamp community from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “estuarine wetland on muck/sand/or limestone substrate; inundated with saltwater by daily tides; central peninsula and Keys; no fire; dominated by mangrove and mangrove associate species; red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove, buttonwood.” A full description can be found in FNAI’s 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)
Pine Rockland Flatland with exposed limestone substrate; mesic-xeric; subtropical; frequent fire; south Florida slash pine, palms and/or hardwoods, and mixed grasses and herbs.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)
Rockland Hammock Flatland with limestone substrate; mesic; subtropical; rare or no fire; mixed tropical hardwoods, often with live oak.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)
Salt Marsh A short description of the Salt Marsh community from The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is “estuarine wetland on muck/sand/or limestone substrate; inundated with saltwater by daily tides; statewide; occasional or rare fire; treeless, dense herb layer with few shrubs; saltmarsh cordgrass, needle rush, saltgrass, saltwort, perennial glasswort, seaside oxeye.” A full description can be found in FNAI’s 2010 Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)
Shell Mound Indian midden with shell substrate; xeric-mesic; subtropical or temperate; rare or no fire; mixed hardwoods.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)
Sinkhole Karst feature with steep limestone walls; mesic-hydric; subtropical or temperate; no fire; ferns, herbs, shrubs, and hardwoods.    (Description taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website at www.FNAI.org)