With the water table only feet below the ground in most parts of the park, changes in environments and ecosystems can happen extremely abruptly. The most common ecosystems include: the pine land, cypress swamps, strands, & domes, hardwood hammocks, marl prairies, freshwater sloughs, mangrove forests, and marine/estuarine regions.

Pine land - The most common species here is the slash pine (Pinus elliottii), which roots itself in the exposed limestone characteristic to this ecosystem. The understory of the pine forest has an immense diversity of smaller species, some of which are naturally fire-resistant. This quality is an important feature of the pine lands, since fire is essential to clear out hardwood species that would otherwise block light to the smaller pine seedlings.

Hardwood hammocks - A dense, extremely bio-diverse area of large, broad-leafed trees, such as oaks, mahoganies, maples, and gumbo limbo that grow alongside a large variety of other flora, all of which is situated upon an elevated stand, a few inches high. Aerial views of hammocks sometimes reveal the outline of a teardrop, shaped by the seasonal flow of water. Because of the slight elevation, hammocks usually stay dry, which attracts particular fauna. Although fire in the pinelands prevents hardwood species from overwhelming the understory, hammock islands have a self-protection system through the acidic decay of vegetation around the island that dissolves a section of limestone, creating a protective “moat”.

Cypress forests - Cypress trees (Taxodium spp.) seem to grow sporadically throughout the park, while their larger counterparts are found in Big Cypress National Preserve, just to the west of the Everglades. However, there are three distinct cypress formations that can be identified through both nationally protected areas. Cypress domes are more common throughout the sawgrass prairie, characterized by large, circular domes, where solution holes in the limestone allow for deeper water, more nutrients, and thus, larger cypress growth. Cypress strands are long, linear growths of cypresses, parallel with the slow flow of water. Dwarf cypresses are the most sporadic, taking root in low-nutrient soil with less water, which stunts their growth.

Marl prairie - Marl is one of two types of marsh soils that accumulate over the limestone bedrock. Also known as calcitic mud, it’s created when periphyton (a common blue-green algae) oxidizes during the dry season. This soil forms the base of the marl prairie, which is home to smaller vegetation and sparse sawgrass. This ecosystem usually borders the deeper-watered sloughs, and has a shorter annual hydroperiod.

Freshwater slough - Year-round flooding and faster water drainage characterizes the sloughs. These areas of low-lying land have a marsh-like appearance, have deeper water, and are the principal waterways through the Everglades. There are two distinct sloughs in the park; Taylor Slough and Shark River Slough, which both discharge into the Florida Bay. To the west of the park, Big Cypress contains several more large sloughs than empty into the southwestern tip of Florida.

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