FLORIDA EVERGLADES

what kind of ecosystem are the Florida Everglades

wetland

the Florida Everglades is one part of this larger landform

watershed

the Florida Everglades is divided into this many connected basins

3

the entire watershed extends over more than this many square kilometers

50,000 km^2

the Everglades is made up of these 3 interacting subsystems

1. water-flow systems similar to Mono Lake

2. energy and nutrient systems similar to the red spruce forest

3. population systems similar to the elephant-human system

alligator holes

small pools (2 - 4 square meters) surrounded by marsh plants

how are alligator holes kept plant-free

through the activity of alligators

during this century, human population growth and develoment, and the resulting need for water and farmland, have had an impact on all the environmental subsystems in the Everglades

20th century

the Florida Everglades was once a subtropical wetland of over this many acres

1 million

what is the Florida Everglades' size today compared to its peak

cut in half

the Everglades has been managed throughout the last century by these 2 agencies

1. state agencies

2. federal agencies

in this year, a restoration plan for the Florida Everglades watershed was adopted by Congress

1999

these 2 agencies helped create a restoration plan for the Florida Everglades

1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

2. South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)

a restoration plan for the Florida Everglades watershed was adopted by Congress as part of this act

the Water Resource Development Act

what year was the Water Resource Development Act

2000

what is the restoration plan for the Florida Everglades called

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

the SFWMD developed this model as part of the implementation of the restoration plan

"Everglades Landscape Model"

what is the "Everglades Landscape Model"

it integrates information from all levels of systems in the Everglades, small or big

what are the 4 principles of the Florida Everglades restoration plan

1. increased flow of water through the watershed

2. reduction in wastewater from human development

3. water needs to be made cleaner

4. management of the Everglades ecosystem must be adaptive

why does there need to be an increased flow of water in the Florida Everglades

to counteract the effects of decades of drainage and to provide enough water for the aquatic and marsh organisms normally found in this type of environment

why does there need to be a reduction in wastewater from human development

because water pollution has toxic effects on plants and animals and adversely affects the normal functioning of nutrient cycles and energy flows within the ecosystems

the cleansing of water is a clear example of the interaction between these 2 fields within ecosystem management

1. ecology

2. economics

how was adaptive management first used

the SFWMD designed a project for the purpose of reducing total phosphorous (a major water pollutant) entering the watershed and to provide a test model for a larger proposed system. the results of this experimental project were used to implement future management strategies

what is the federal government's attempt to apply adaptive management, on a large scale, to the Everglades

the U.S. Department of State's Man and the Biosphere Program

the U.S. Department of State's Man and the Biosphere Program

an attempt to combine geographic information systems and computer simulation models to develop a range of land- and water-use strategies

control of water flow and pollution requires these 2 restrictions

1. restrictions on the use of private property

2. restrictions on economic development