Energy-Based Land Use Predictors of Proximal Factors and Benthic Diatom Composition in Florida Freshwater Marshes |
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Authors: | Charles R Lane Mark T Brown |
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Institution: | (1) H.T. Odum Center for Wetlands, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, P.O. Box 116350, Gainesville, FL 32611-6350, USA;(2) Present address: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Lab, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr. MS-642, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA |
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Abstract: | The Landscape Development Intensity index (LDI), which is based on non-renewable energy use and integrates diverse land use
activities, was compared to other measures of LU (e.g., %agriculture, %urban) to determine its ability for predicting benthic
diatom composition in freshwater marshes of peninsular Florida. In this study, 70 small, isolated herbaceous marshes located
along a human disturbance gradient (generally agricultural) throughout peninsular Florida were sampled for benthic diatoms
and soil and water physical/chemical parameters (i.e., TP, TKN, pH, specific conductance, etc.). Landscape measures of percent
agriculture, percent urban, percent natural, and LDI index values were calculated for a 100 m buffer around each site. The
strongest relationships using Mantel's r statistic, which ranges from −1 to 1, were found between benthic diatom composition, the combined soil and water variables,
and LDI scores (r=0.51, P<0.0001). Although similar, soil and water variables alone (r=0.45, P<0.0001) or with percent agriculture or percent natural were not as strongly correlated (both Mantel's r=0.46, P<0.0001). Little urban land use was found in the areas surrounding the study wetlands. Diatom data were clustered using flexible
beta into 2 groups, and stepwise discriminant analysis identified specific conductance, followed by LDI score, soil pH, water
total phosphorus, and ammonia, as cluster-separating variables. The LDI explained slightly more of the variation in species
composition than either percent agriculture or percent natural, perhaps because the LDI can combine disparate land uses into
a single quantitative value. However, the ecological significance of the difference between land use metrics and diatom composition
is controvertible, and additional tests including more varied land uses appear warranted. |
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Keywords: | agriculture assessment benthic diatoms Florida emergy isolated marsh landscape LDI wetland |
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