The role of the everglades mangrove ecotone region (EMER) in regulating nutrient cycling and wetland productivity in South Florida

Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Robert R. Twilley, Stephen E. Davis, Daniel Childers, Marc Simard, Randolph Chambers, Rudolf Jaffe, Joseph N. Boyer, David T. Rudnick, Keqi Zhang, Edward Castaneda-Moya, Sharon M L Ewe, Rene M. Price, Carlos Coronado-Molina, Michael Ross, Thomas J. Smith, Beatrice Michot, Ehab Meselhe, William Nuttle, Tiffany G. TroxlerGregory B. Noe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

63 Scopus citations

Abstract

The authors summarize the main findings of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research (FCE-LTER) program in the EMER, within the context of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), to understand how regional processes, mediated by water flow, control population and ecosystem dynamics across the EMER landscape. Tree canopies with maximum height <3 m cover 49% of the EMER, particularly in the SE region. These scrub/dwarf mangroves are the result of a combination of low soil phosphorus (P < 59 μg P g dw-1) in the calcareous marl substrate and long hydroperiod. Phosphorus limits the EMER and its freshwater watersheds due to the lack of terrigenous sediment input and the phosphorus-limited nature of the freshwater Everglades. Reduced freshwater delivery over the past 50years, combined with Everglades compartmentalization and a 10 cm rise in coastal sea level, has led to the landward transgression (∼1.5 km in 54 years) of the mangrove ecotone. Seasonal variation in freshwater input strongly controls the temporal variation of nitrogen and P exports (99%) from the Everglades to Florida Bay. Rapid changes in nutrient availability and vegetation distribution during the last 50years show that future ecosystem restoration actions and land use decisions can exert a major influence, similar to sea level rise over the short term, on nutrient cycling and wetland productivity in the EMER.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)633-669
Number of pages37
JournalCritical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
Volume41
Issue numberSUPPL. 1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011

Keywords

  • Florida Bay
  • carbon
  • mangrove
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus
  • soil biogeochemistry
  • water quality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Water Science and Technology
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution

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