The tropical rainforests of South Florida

[SEFLANATIVE]

Based on Koppens theory Miami doesn't qualify to be subtropical because unlike the rest of the subtropical places miami doesn't have four seasons like you would find in normal subtropical places. instead Miami and South florida only has 2 seasons wet and Dry season. Furthermore Miami is far to warm in winter to be a true subtropical place.

With that said Miami seems to be on the Periphery of the tropical limitations.

[katal235]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

Fairchild Tropical Gardens comes to mind too.

I admit I don't know the first thing about tropical vs tropical subtropical environments, so couldn't say whether south Florida is one or the other. I can't claim any expertise about rainforests either, but there is something that rings a bell in the back of my head from a Botany course I had to take as a Biology major in college eons ago that makes me think, as others have said, that
the rainfall pattern (or lack of rain perhaps), and the lack of deep soil ( ie, the thin layers on top of solid coral rock) disqualifies S. Fl as a true rainforest. I might be wrong, but that is my take on it.

But the bloviating on about how Wikipedia cannot be a valid source of information was pretty funny, IMO. Everyone knows how the information on the site is gathered, that the information can be altered by those inclined to do so, on many Wikipedia sites there are even disclaimers at the top of the page to that effect to warn an unsuspecting reader about possibly suspect information.

But there ARE sites on Wikipedia ( and its offshoots in any number of specific areas) where the information is accurate, submitted by contributors with expertise in the given area, and documented by linked references to articles in professional journals and other peer-reviewed sources. I know when I have searched for information in the medical science and related fields, I have sometimes found the information in the Wikipedia sources to provide better summaries, explanations, or overall information on a given topic than the journal articles or online textbooks which I also reviewed in my searches. Kind of surrprised me but there it was.

That being said, if I were seriously looking for information on a given topic, I would not limit my search to Wikipedia, but I might use it as a starting point-if for no other reason than to get more of a general perspective on the topic and to access some of those references linked at the end.

IMO, dismissing Wikipedia completely as a potential source of information, and belittling an individual for quoting it smacks of pseudo-intellectual snobbery.

I visited the Fairchild Gardens last week. Great experience all around.

[popcorn247]

Originally Posted by katal235

I visited the Fairchild Gardens last week. Great experience all around.

Glad you enjoyed Fairchild's rainforest. I worked in the horticulture dept. at Fairchild for 41+ years. My office was in a small building in the rainforest. Of course, Fairchild's rainforest has supplemental irrigation up in the trees.

[AntonioR]

El Yunque in Puerto Rico is the only tropical rainforest in the US national forest system.

Why are their none in Florida?


https://www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

IMO, dismissing Wikipedia completely as a potential source of information, and belittling an individual for quoting it smacks of pseudo-intellectual snobbery.

Despite it has been several decades since I graduated from university, I remember very well the times professors gave a paper-to-be-written assignment and they clearly said that if they discover that any of the sources cited were from Wikipedia, the paper would receive an automatic F.

Based on that, I'm prone to assume anyone that doesn't dismiss Wikipedia is not a college graduate. I could be wrong about that, but it would be very weird to be a college graduate and taking Wikipedia seriously.

[jr8999]

Originally Posted by popcorn247

Glad you enjoyed Fairchild's rainforest. I worked in the horticulture dept. at Fairchild for 41+ years. My office was in a small building in the rainforest. Of course, Fairchild's rainforest has supplemental irrigation up in the trees.

New South Florida resident here (less than a year). I visited Fairchild before I moved here and got a membership immediately after my first visit. I take advantage of the weekly early morning hours for members. I meander through the gardens mostly alone for my entire visit... quite tranquil. The rainforest remains my favorite part of the entire property. I look forward to visiting some of the other rainforests mentioned in this thread.

[denzel200219]

Florida, even south Florida could never support and doesn't have rainforests, not even moist forests. The best Florida could support would be dry subtropical forests of oak, mahogany, pines and some other shrubs and trees. 1. Florida is still pretty high in latitude and doesn't receive as much solar energy as places near the equator. 2. Even though South Florida is "tropical" and warm most of the time, there's still days where the temperature reaches low 40's and there's occasional cold fronts. 3. The soil is terrible and sandy at best. I consider Florida to be a large sandbar. 4. The biggest reason Florida doesn't have rainforests is the rain. Even though south Florida receives over 65 inches of rain annually, a rainforest needs at least 80 spread EVENLY throughout the year. Florida remains dry most of the year and rains a lot in the afternoon during a June, July and august. It's not a constant rain, it's simply a large downpour in a limited time section. Florida is humid but has little rainfall for over 75% of the time. There's no rainforest here, just a swampy dry forests of pine and oaks.