Dynamics of Land Margin Ecosystems: Historical Change, Hydrology, Vegetation, Sediment, and Climate

Project Investigator: Thomas J. Smith III Project Personnel: Gordon Anderson, Ginger Tiling, Karen Balentine Project Start Date: 2002 End Date: 2009 Work Plans Project Summaries Metadata Publications Related Links

Summary

The objectives of the project are to operate and maintain the Mangrove Hydrology sampling network, measure rates of mangrove forest growth and production in relation to hydrologic parameters, and measure rates of sediment surface elevation change and soil accretion or loss in coastal mangrove forests and brackish marshes of the Everglades.

Long-term sampling of hydrology, vegetation and soils in the coastal wetlands of the Everglades has been recognized as a priority by CERP and in the DOI and USGS science plans. This project addresses all of those needs by maintaining an integrated network of sampling stations located on key rivers of the lower Everglades. Mangrove and marsh vegetation is sampled regularly in permanent plots located adjacent to surface- and ground-water sampling wells and sediment surface elevation tables. The data are available for use in all CERP modeling efforts, development of performance measures and tracking impacts of restoration as it occurs.

This project has three objectives (tasks): 1) operate and maintain the Mangrove Hydrology sampling network; 2) measure rates of mangrove forest growth and production in relation to hydrologic parameters; and, 3) measure rates of sediment surface elevation change and soil accretion or loss in coastal mangrove forests and brackish marshes of the Everglades.

Work Plans

• 2004

Project Summaries

• 2003

Metadata

• Coastal Everglades Wetlands: Hydrology, Vegetation and Sediment Dynamics (project metadata)

Publications

Abstracts

• Crab Burrows and Their Contribution to Surface Elevation in Mangrove Forests of Tampa Bay and Everglades National Park, Florida (from the USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting, October, 2008)
• Development of a Geodatabase for Preserving, Managing, and Analyzing Information for the Coastal Everglades (from the USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting, October, 2008)
• Mangrove Forests as Protection from Storm Surges and Tsunamis: Do the Data Support the Paradigm? (from the USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting, October, 2008)
• Mangroves are Not Adapted to Hurricanes: Comparative Impacts of Four Hurricanes on Mangrove Forests in the Southwest Coastal Everglades ("Labor Day," Donna, Andrew and Wilma) (from the GEER Conference, June 2006)
• Observed Marine-Sediment Depositions from Hurricane Wilma along the Shark River Estuary, Everglades National Park, Florida (from the GEER Conference, June 2006)

Circulars

• A Tale of Two Storms: Surges and Sediment Deposition from Hurricanes Andrew and Wilma in Florida's Southwest Coast Mangrove Forests (excerpt from Circular 1306, available from the USGS website. Note that this is a 1.1MB PDF file & requires the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader®)
• Predicting Mangrove Forest Recovery on the Southwest Coast of Florida Following the Impact of Hurricane Wilma, October 2005 (excerpt from Circular 1306, available from the USGS website. Note that this is a 0.9MB PDF file & requires the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader®)

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)

Journal Articles

• Land crabs as key drivers of tropical coastal forest recruitment. (available from the Wiley InterScience website)

Newsletters

• National Geographic Program to Include USGS Science in the Everglades

Open File Reports

• The Mangrove Hydrology Sampling Network in Everglades National Park: Hypotheses, Network Design and Data for the Lower Shark River for Water Years 1996 - 2002 (OFR-02-457)
• Wildlife and habitat damage assessment from Hurricane Charley: recommendations for recovery of the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge Complex (OFR 2006-1126)

Papers

• A simulation model for projecting changes in salinity concentrations and species dominance in the coastal margin habitats of the Everglades (available from the Science Direct Ecological Modelling website)
• Changes in mass and nutrient content of wood during decomposition in a south Florida mangrove forest
• Development of allometric relations for three mangrove species in South Florida for use in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem restoration
• Faunal impact on vegetation structure and ecosystem function in mangrove forests: A review (available from the Science Direct Aquatic Botany website)
• Groundwater Control of Mangrove Surface Elevation: Shrink and Swell Varies with Soil Depth
• Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates (available from the AGU Online Services Global Biogeochemical Cycles website, membership required)
• Woody Debris in the Mangrove Forests of South Florida

Posters

• Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Soil Pore Water Nutrients in an Estuarine Fringe Mangrove Forest Harney River Estuary, Everglades National Park
• Variations in Mangrove Peat Salinity from April 1997 to April 2003: A Spatial Analysis. Harney River Estuary, Everglades National Park

Related Links

• Hydrologic Variation and Ecological Processes in the Mangrove Forests of South Florida: Response to Restoration
• Interrelation of Everglades Hydrology and Florida Bay Dynamics to Ecosystem Processes and Restoration in South Florida
• Vegetation Dynamics in Land-Margin Ecosystems: The Mangroves of South Florida