projects > creation of a digital archive of historical aerial photographs for everglades national park and the greater everglades ecosystem > abstract
Shifts in the Position of the Marsh/Mangrove Ecotone in the Western Florida EvergladesBy Ann M. Foster1 and Thomas J. Smith III2
1U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Aquatic Studies, Gainesville, FL., USA
It has been hypothesized that shifts in the position of the mangrove/marsh ecotone are pulsed events, possibly initiated by large-scale disturbance and (or) influenced by sea level rise. As the flow of freshwater to the estuaries decreases, this results in an emulation in the rise in sea level. This reduction in freshwater flow, in conjunction with events such as hurricanes, fire, sea-level rise, and decreased precipitation may be influential in the migration of the mangrove forest into the freshwater marsh. Select areas along the western coast of Everglades National Park (fig. 1) are examined using a time series of aerial photographs from the park archives (Briere et al, this volume; Coffin et al, this volume). In some of the areas we examined, the decreases in the freshwater marsh occur closest to the coastline. In these areas the marsh has persisted further inland and has even shown signs of returning along the edges of some rivers and bays (fig. 2). Historical aerial photos have shown in some areas that the migration of the mangrove forest into the freshwater marsh is evident. In other regions no change is apparent.
Determining which factor or combination of factors contributes to this migration remains to be answered. However, it would appear given the diversity of patterns we see along the marsh/mangrove ecotone, it is a complex process. Contact: Ann M. Foster, U.S. Geological Survey, 412 NE 16th Ave. Rm 250, Gainesville, FL 32601, 352-372-2571 x25, ann_foster@usgs.gov
(This abstract was taken from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (GEER) Open File Report 03-54)
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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
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Last updated: 10 September, 2003 @ 12:58 PM(KP)