Conventional methods of measuring total suspended sediments (TSS) and total particulate phosphoru... more Conventional methods of measuring total suspended sediments (TSS) and total particulate phosphorus (TPP) are typically low-resolution and miss critical processes that impact their exports in aquatic environments. To create high-resolution TSS and TPP estimates, echo intensity (EI), a biproduct of velocity measurements from acoustic devices, was utilized. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were deployed in three locations in the L-29 Canal in South Florida, USA, to obtain estimates near the canal bed and in the water column, respectively. Corrections for transmission losses from the ADCP proved unnecessary due to the low vertical variability in the measured EI. EI calibrations were performed using artificially created TSS obtained from bed sediments (ADV) and gravimetrically measured TSS from water samples that matched the depths and times of the ADCP deployments. The measured TSS values were then analyzed for total phosphorus and co...
Phosphorus in periphyton mats provides the best metric for detecting low-level P enrichment in an... more Phosphorus in periphyton mats provides the best metric for detecting low-level P enrichment in an oligotrophic wetland.
ABSTRACT Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species... more ABSTRACT Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species planted in an experimental setting on artificial tree islands affected by hydrology and substrate type? What are the implications of these responses for broader tree island restoration efforts?Location: Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA), Boynton Beach, Florida, USA.Methods: An experiment was designed to test hydrological and substrate effects on seedling growth and survivorship. Two islands – a peat and a limestone-core island representing two major types found in the Everglades – were constructed in four macrocosms. A mixture of eight tree species was planted on each island in March of 2006 and 2007. Survival and height growth of seedlings planted in 2006 were assessed periodically during the next two and a half years.Results: Survival and growth improved with increasing elevation on both tree island substrate types. Seedlings' survival and growth responses along a moisture gradient matched species distributions along natural hydrological gradients in the Everglades. The effect of substrate on seedling performance showed higher survival of most species on the limestone tree islands, and faster growth on their peat-based counterparts.Conclusions: The present results could have profound implications for restoration of forests on existing landforms and artificial creation of tree islands. Knowledge of species tolerance to flooding and responses to different edaphic conditions present in wetlands is important in selecting suitable species to plant on restored tree islands
DESCRIPTION A two-dimensional numerical model of the advection-dispersion equation has been devel... more DESCRIPTION A two-dimensional numerical model of the advection-dispersion equation has been developed and applied to simulate solute transport in wetlands with high vegetation density and low topographic gradient. The model was used to simulate transport of a nonreactive dissolved dye under pulsed flow conditions and was applied to a tracer test at the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) wetland site, located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The dissolved plume transport simulated results were compared with aerial images taken during the tracer test. Visual comparison between numerical results and the images indicate that the model is in a good agreement with observed dye movement, and that the model is capable of simulating the solute transport. The simulation results also support the existence of areas within the domain where the mixing processes happen. These areas may cause that nutrients and suspended particles stay longer time rather than entraining toward downstream...
The Everglades are composed of several key ecosystem components that contribute to its diversity ... more The Everglades are composed of several key ecosystem components that contribute to its diversity and sustainability. The historic Everglades were characterized largely by a Ridge and Slough landscape punctuated by tree islands. Although tree islands comprise relatively little area, they are a numerous and vital element of the landscape. Tree islands provide the most terrestrial of habitats in the Everglades and are therefore important as "dry-land" refugia for wildlife and avian rookeries. Concentrations of soil total P have been shown to be as much 100 times greater than that in the surrounding marsh making some tree islands potential "biogeochemical hotspots" in an otherwise P-limited system. Despite their importance, hydrologic modifications to the system, since approximately the 1950's, have greatly altered the number, size and distribution of tree islands in the Everglades. Rehabilitation or restoration of Everglades tree islands is now considered an imp...
Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National P... more Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National Park (ENP), Florida, USA, has been subjected to years of hydrologic modifications. Construction of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) in 1928 connected the east and west coasts of SE Florida and essentially created a hydrological barrier to southern sheet flow into ENP. Recently, a series of bridges were constructed to elevate a portion of Tamiami Trail, allow more water to flow under the bridges, and attempt to restore the ecological balance in the NESS and ENP. This project was conducted to determine aspects of soil physiochemistry and microbial dynamics in the NESS. We evaluated microbial respiration and enzyme assays as indicators of nutrient dynamics in NESS soils. Soil cores were collected from sites at certain distances from the inflow (near canal, NC (0–150 m); midway, M (150–600 m); and far from canal, FC (600–1200 m)). Soil slurries were incubated and assayed for CO2 emission and β-gluco...
Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National P... more Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National Park (ENP), Florida, USA, has been subjected to years of hydrologic modifications. Construction of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) in 1928 connected the east and west coasts of SE Florida and essentially created a hydrological barrier to southern sheet flow into ENP. Recently, a series of bridges were constructed to elevate a portion of Tamiami Trail, allow more water to flow under the bridges, and attempt to restore the ecological balance in the NESS and ENP. This project was conducted to determine aspects of soil physiochemistry and microbial dynamics in the NESS. We evaluated microbial respiration and enzyme assays as indicators of nutrient dynamics in NESS soils. Soil cores were collected from sites at certain distances from the inflow (near canal, NC (0–150 m); midway, M (150–600 m); and far from canal, FC (600–1200 m)). Soil slurries were incubated and assayed for CO2 emission and β-gluco...
Conventional methods of measuring total suspended sediments (TSS) and total particulate phosphoru... more Conventional methods of measuring total suspended sediments (TSS) and total particulate phosphorus (TPP) are typically low-resolution and miss critical processes that impact their exports in aquatic environments. To create high-resolution TSS and TPP estimates, echo intensity (EI), a biproduct of velocity measurements from acoustic devices, was utilized. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were deployed in three locations in the L-29 Canal in South Florida, USA, to obtain estimates near the canal bed and in the water column, respectively. Corrections for transmission losses from the ADCP proved unnecessary due to the low vertical variability in the measured EI. EI calibrations were performed using artificially created TSS obtained from bed sediments (ADV) and gravimetrically measured TSS from water samples that matched the depths and times of the ADCP deployments. The measured TSS values were then analyzed for total phosphorus and co...
Phosphorus in periphyton mats provides the best metric for detecting low-level P enrichment in an... more Phosphorus in periphyton mats provides the best metric for detecting low-level P enrichment in an oligotrophic wetland.
ABSTRACT Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species... more ABSTRACT Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species planted in an experimental setting on artificial tree islands affected by hydrology and substrate type? What are the implications of these responses for broader tree island restoration efforts?Location: Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA), Boynton Beach, Florida, USA.Methods: An experiment was designed to test hydrological and substrate effects on seedling growth and survivorship. Two islands – a peat and a limestone-core island representing two major types found in the Everglades – were constructed in four macrocosms. A mixture of eight tree species was planted on each island in March of 2006 and 2007. Survival and height growth of seedlings planted in 2006 were assessed periodically during the next two and a half years.Results: Survival and growth improved with increasing elevation on both tree island substrate types. Seedlings' survival and growth responses along a moisture gradient matched species distributions along natural hydrological gradients in the Everglades. The effect of substrate on seedling performance showed higher survival of most species on the limestone tree islands, and faster growth on their peat-based counterparts.Conclusions: The present results could have profound implications for restoration of forests on existing landforms and artificial creation of tree islands. Knowledge of species tolerance to flooding and responses to different edaphic conditions present in wetlands is important in selecting suitable species to plant on restored tree islands
DESCRIPTION A two-dimensional numerical model of the advection-dispersion equation has been devel... more DESCRIPTION A two-dimensional numerical model of the advection-dispersion equation has been developed and applied to simulate solute transport in wetlands with high vegetation density and low topographic gradient. The model was used to simulate transport of a nonreactive dissolved dye under pulsed flow conditions and was applied to a tracer test at the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) wetland site, located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The dissolved plume transport simulated results were compared with aerial images taken during the tracer test. Visual comparison between numerical results and the images indicate that the model is in a good agreement with observed dye movement, and that the model is capable of simulating the solute transport. The simulation results also support the existence of areas within the domain where the mixing processes happen. These areas may cause that nutrients and suspended particles stay longer time rather than entraining toward downstream...
The Everglades are composed of several key ecosystem components that contribute to its diversity ... more The Everglades are composed of several key ecosystem components that contribute to its diversity and sustainability. The historic Everglades were characterized largely by a Ridge and Slough landscape punctuated by tree islands. Although tree islands comprise relatively little area, they are a numerous and vital element of the landscape. Tree islands provide the most terrestrial of habitats in the Everglades and are therefore important as "dry-land" refugia for wildlife and avian rookeries. Concentrations of soil total P have been shown to be as much 100 times greater than that in the surrounding marsh making some tree islands potential "biogeochemical hotspots" in an otherwise P-limited system. Despite their importance, hydrologic modifications to the system, since approximately the 1950's, have greatly altered the number, size and distribution of tree islands in the Everglades. Rehabilitation or restoration of Everglades tree islands is now considered an imp...
Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National P... more Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National Park (ENP), Florida, USA, has been subjected to years of hydrologic modifications. Construction of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) in 1928 connected the east and west coasts of SE Florida and essentially created a hydrological barrier to southern sheet flow into ENP. Recently, a series of bridges were constructed to elevate a portion of Tamiami Trail, allow more water to flow under the bridges, and attempt to restore the ecological balance in the NESS and ENP. This project was conducted to determine aspects of soil physiochemistry and microbial dynamics in the NESS. We evaluated microbial respiration and enzyme assays as indicators of nutrient dynamics in NESS soils. Soil cores were collected from sites at certain distances from the inflow (near canal, NC (0–150 m); midway, M (150–600 m); and far from canal, FC (600–1200 m)). Soil slurries were incubated and assayed for CO2 emission and β-gluco...
Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National P... more Northeast Shark River Slough (NESS), lying at the northeastern perimeter of Everglades National Park (ENP), Florida, USA, has been subjected to years of hydrologic modifications. Construction of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) in 1928 connected the east and west coasts of SE Florida and essentially created a hydrological barrier to southern sheet flow into ENP. Recently, a series of bridges were constructed to elevate a portion of Tamiami Trail, allow more water to flow under the bridges, and attempt to restore the ecological balance in the NESS and ENP. This project was conducted to determine aspects of soil physiochemistry and microbial dynamics in the NESS. We evaluated microbial respiration and enzyme assays as indicators of nutrient dynamics in NESS soils. Soil cores were collected from sites at certain distances from the inflow (near canal, NC (0–150 m); midway, M (150–600 m); and far from canal, FC (600–1200 m)). Soil slurries were incubated and assayed for CO2 emission and β-gluco...
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