Everglades Overview

<P> <BASEFONT SIZE="2"> <FONT SIZE="4"><B>An Overview of the Historical Everglades Ecosystem and Implications for Establishing Restoration Goals</B></FONT> <P>This technical report was submitted to the South Florida Water Management District in June 2000 by Sujoy B. Roy and Steven A. Gherini, Tetra Tech, Inc., Lafayette, CA. The work described in this report was supported by the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida.  A copy of the full text of the report can be downloaded from this page. Please send email to <A HREF="mailto:sujoy.roy@tetratech.com" target="right">sujoy.roy@tetratech.com</A> if you have any questions.<BR>   <P><B>Abstract</B> <P>This report summarizes the processes that led to the formation of the Everglades over 5000 years. The information underlying this summary was obtained from a survey of historical reports, data from measurements of peat and sediment cores, and flow modeling using the South Florida Water Management District’s Natural System Model. Available evidence shows that a natural phosphorus-enriched zone existed south of Lake Okeechobee that contained dense growths of pond apple and other upland species and an associated variety of birds and wildlife. Based on the bedrock profile and peat age, it is also believed that Lake Okeechobee covered a larger area, perhaps extending as far south as the current boundaries of Water Conservation Area 1. Because Lake Okeechobee was higher in nutrients than the areas south of it, this larger lake is believed to have had adjacent deposits that were enriched in phosphorus compared to areas of the Everglades further south. <P>The historical existence and ecological value of the enriched zone are pertinent to the restoration plans for the Everglades. A habitat characterized by nutrient levels above those seen in the most oligotrophic portions of the Everglades should be an explicit part of any restoration plan. Such a zone will be established in the northern parts of Water Conservation Areas 2A and 3A, by the outflow from Stormwater Treatment Areas now nearing completion. Historical and current evidence indicate that this enriched zone, at current and planned inflows, will attain steady state rather than spread continually into the interior of the marsh. Additional phosphorus introduced to the area will be incorporated in greater depths of peat, and not an expanding front of higher soil and water concentrations. Use of the elevated nutrient zones to develop some of the habitats that have been lost, even though they were not historically found in these precise locations, will facilitate a restoration that has the potential for providing the heterogeneity of habitat that was so vital to the health of the historical Everglades. <P><A HREF="Historical%20Everglades%20Ecosystem.pdf" TARGET="_top">(Download report - 3.1mb)</A><BR>  <BR>