Recent Cattail Expansion and Possible Relationships to Water Management: Changes in Upper Taylor Slough (Everglades National Park,Florida, USA) |
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Authors: | Donatto?Surratt Dilip?Shinde Email author" target="_blank">Nick?AumenEmail author |
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Institution: | (1) National Park Service/Everglades Program Team, c/o A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437-9741, USA;(2) South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL, USA |
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Abstract: | Recent appearance of cattail (Typha domingensis) within a southern Everglades slough—Upper Taylor Slough (Everglades National Park)—suggests ecosystem eutrophication. We
analyze water quality, nutrient enrichment, and water management operations as potential drivers of eutrophication in Upper
Taylor Slough. Further, we attempt to determine why surface water phosphorus, a parameter used commonly to monitor ecosystem
health in the Everglades, did not serve as an early warning for eutrophication, which has broader implication for other restoration
efforts. We found that surface water total phosphorus concentrations generally were below a 0.01 mg L−1 threshold determined to cause imbalances in flora and fauna, suggesting no ecosystem eutrophication. However, assessment
of nutrient loads and loading rates suggest Upper Taylor Slough has experienced eutrophication and that continued total phosphorus
loading through a point-source discharge was a major driver. These nutrient loads, combined with increases in hydroperiods,
led to the expansion of cattail in Upper Taylor Slough. We recommend other metrics, such as nutrient loads, periphyton and
arthropod community shifts, and sediment core analyses, for assessing ecosystem health. Monitoring surface water alone is
not enough to indicate ecosystem stress. |
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