Why are tree islands important and how do we restore them?

| Tree Islands of the Everglades Book | Tree Islands Symposium |

Recently published (February 2003): Tree Islands of the Everglades edited by Fred H. Sklar, fsklar@sfwmd.gov, (South Florida Water Management District) and Arnold G. van der Valk (Iowa Lakeside Laboratory).

Tree Islands of the Everglades brings together for the first time experts in anthropology, ecology, geology, paleontology, wildlife, and landscape modelling to review the state of our understanding of the small, forested islands that are a feature of most large wetlands. Although tree islands can be found in wetlands around the world, only in the Florida Everglades have their unique and complex origins, structure, and functions been investigated. Although these biodiversity hotspots are important to the survival of many plants and animals in the Everglades, most of them have been lost since the 1940s as a result of poor water management. Consequently, the restoration of tree islands will be a key performance measure for the success of the ongoing Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Tree Islands of the Everglades reviews the geologic origin of different kinds of tree islands and presents competing hypotheses about their subsequent development. It also describes their vegetation and factors controlling the composition of their vegetation, their fauna, their unique geochemistry, and their use by Native Americans. Throughout, the importance of recurring wet years (intensive flooding) and dry years (frequent fires) are emphasized for understanding changes in tree island flora and fauna. Although they have received very little attention tree islands in The Everglades and other comparable wetlands around the world are a key feature of these wetlands and understanding the status or health of tree islands is central to understanding their overall condition.

Follow the links below to read a preface to the book and abstracts from each book chapter.

• Preface
• Chapter 1. Tree Islands of the Everglades: An Overview
• Chapter 2. Tree Island Ecosystems of the World
• Chapter 3. Bayhead Tree Islands on Deep Peats of the Northeastern Everglades
• Chapter 4. Paleoecological Insights on Fixed Tree Island Development in the Florida Everglades: I. Environmental Controls
• Chapter 5. Nutrient Geochemistry of Sediments from Two Tree Islands in Water Conservation Area 3B, the Everglades, Florida
• Chapter 6. The Archaeology of Everglades Tree Islands
• Chapter 7. Water Depth Tolerances of Dominant Tree Island Species: What do We Know?
• Chapter 8. Vegetation Pattern and Process in Tree Islands of the Southern Everglades and Adjacent Areas
• Chapter 9. Tree Island Vegetation and Water Management in the Central Everglades
• Chapter 10. Tree Islands of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
• Chapter 11. Vegetation, Peat Elevation and Peat Depth on Two Tree Islands in Water Conservation Area 3-A
• Chapter 12. Analysis of Tree Island Vegetation Communities
• Chapter 13. Occurrence of Wildlife on Tree Islands in the Southern Everglades
• Chapter 14. Effects of Tree Island Size and Water on the Population Dynamics of Small Mammals in the Everglades
• Chapter 15. Habitat-Use Patterns of Avian Seed Dispersers in the Central Everglades
• Chapter 16. Spatial Simulations of Tree Islands for Everglades Restoration
• Chapter 17. What We Know and Should Know about Tree Islands

Tree Islands Symposium

Flyer for 1998 meeting

• Agenda for 1998 meeting
• Participants
• Abstracts (currently unavailable)
• Outlines:
  (These files are available as Microsoft Word documents)
  • Tree Islands of the Southern Everglades: Their Geological and Paleoecological Characteristics (26 K)
  • General Ecology and Growth Characteristics of Selected Woody Species Growing on Tree Islands of South Florida (20 K)
  • Effects of Island Size and Water Level on the Population Dynamics of Small Mammals in the Everglades (31 K)
  • Occurance of Wildlife on Tree Islands in the Southern Everglades (85 K)
  • Nutrient Geochemistry of Sediments from Two Tree Islands (32 K)
  • Vegetation Pattern and Process in Tree Islands of the Southern Everglades and Adjacent Areas (37 K)
  • Tree Islands in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge: Patterns and Responses to Fire and Hydrology (22 K)
  • Human Ecology in the Everglades (22 K)
  • Avian Seed Dispersers on Tree Islands in the Central Everglades (30 K)
  • Tree Islands of the Everglades: An Overview (53 K)
  • Stratigraphies, Origins, and Successions of Bayhead Tree-Islands on the Deep Peatland of the Northeastern Everglades and
  • Floating Peat Islands: A Precursor to Small Peat-Mound Tree-Islands in the Northeastern Everglades (30 K)
  • Paleoecology and Geochemistry of Two Tree Islands from the Everglades, Water Conservation Area 3 (44 K)
  • Spatial Simulations of Tree Islands for Everglades Restoration (24 K)
  • Vegetation Changes on Fixed Tree Islands Over Two Decades (28 K)
  • Tree Islands of the World (22 K)
  • Tree Island Plant Communities and Water Management in the Central Everglades (30 K)

• Tree Island Research Plan (MS Word doc, 252 Kb)
  • Figure 3
  • Figure 4
  • map2 - WCA (currently unavailable)