Vegetation Dynamics in Land-Margin Ecosystems: The Mangroves of South Florida

Project Investigator: Thomas J. Smith III Project Personnel: Gordon Anderson, Kevin Whelan, Christa Walker Project Start Date: 2002 End Date: 2003 Project Summaries Data Publications Photos

Summary

The objectives of the project are to provide answers to how the hydrologic restoration of the Everglades will affect land margin ecosystems and to generate data to be used in models (hydrological and ecological) for gauging restoration success.

For more information, please see the Tides and Inflows in the Mangrove Ecotone (TIME) Model Development Project Webpage.

Please note: This project is now part of the "Dynamics of Land Margin Ecosystems: Historical Change, Hydrology, Vegetation, Sediment, and Climate" project.

Land-margin ecosystems (mangroves, brackish marshes and coastal lakes / back bays) comprise some 40% of Everglades NP. Primary production in these ecosystems fuels the detrital foodweb, which supports sport and commercial fisheries and numerous endangered species (e.g., manatee, wood stork, roseate spoonbill). Freshwater inflow is critical in regulating the salinity and nutrient regimes of these systems and thus their productivity. In August 1992, the land-margin systems of south Florida were severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew. A great potential exists for water management (i.e., regulation of freshwater inflow) to impact the natural recovery processes currently underway.

The research discussed here asks several questions related to how the hydrologic restoration of the Everglades will affect land margin ecosystems, including: 1) How does freshwater inflow regulate primary productivity? 2) How does freshwater inflow interact with other factors (nutrients, soil type) to influence primary productivity? 3) Is there an affect of freshwater inflow on recovery from natural disturbance in these ecosystems? 4) Does freshwater inflow influence below-ground production, peat formation and soil accretion in mangroves? 5) Will the position of the mangrove / marsh ecotone respond to upstream water management? 6) What non-hydrological factors influence the position of the mangrove / marsh ecotone (e.g., soil type and depth, nutrients, fire)?

Project Summaries

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003

Data

• Conversion of Historical Topographic Sheets (T-sheets) from Paper to Digital Form: Florida Everglades and Vicinity (Mosaics from OFR 02-204)
• Conversion of Historical Topographic Sheets (T-sheets) from Paper to Digital Form: Florida Everglades and Vicinity (Locations from OFR 02-204)

Publications

Abstracts

• A Decade of Mangrove Forest Change Following Hurricane Andrew (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)
• Characteristics of Lightning Gaps in the Mangrove Forests of Everglades National Park (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)
• Hydraulic Conductivity of Riparian Mangrove Forest Peat Adjacent to the Harney River, Everglades National Park: A Comparative Field Study of Field Saturated and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Methods (from the 2002 AGU Spring Meeting)
• Woody Debris in South Florida Mangrove Wetlands (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)

Bibliographies

• Project Bibliography

Fact Sheets

• Development of a Long-term Sampling Network to Monitor Restoration Success in the Southwest Coastal Everglades: Vegetation, Hydrology, and Sediments (FS-2004-3015)

Open File Reports

• Conversion of Historical Topographic Sheets (T-sheets) from Paper to Digital Form: Florida Everglades and Vicinity (Open File Report 02-204)

Papers

• Stable Isotope Studies of Red Mangroves and Filter Feeders from the Shark River Estuary, Florida (From the Bulletin of Marine Science: Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 871-890; available from APT Online)

Posters

• Consequences of Fire and Freeze on a Mangrove-Marsh Ecotone (http://sofia.er.usgs.gov/publications/posters/firefreeze/)
• Woody Debris in South Florida Mangrove Wetlands (from the GEER Conference, April 2003)

Photos

• Project Photo Gallery