Asandhill is a type ofecological community orxericwildfire-maintainedecosystem. It is not the same as a sanddune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergoecological succession and become moreoak dominated.
Entisols are the typical sandhillsoil, deep well-drained and nutrient poor. InFlorida, sandhills receive 130 cm (51 in) ofrainfall per year, just like the morehydric ecosystems surrounding them. Sandhills are xeric because they have poor water holding capacity.
Dominant vegetation includeslongleaf pine (Pinus palustris), American turkey oak (Quercus laevis), and wiregrass (Aristida stricta).[1] A number of rare animals are typical of this habitat including the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus),[2]red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Sherman's fox squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani),[2] and striped newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus).Invasive species that are a problem on sandhills include Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica),[3] camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora), andNatal grass (Melinis repens).