south florida water management district sediment fossils as
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SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Sediment fossils as indicators of historic
Everglades hydrology
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Fossils as hydrologic indicators
Cladiumjamaicense
Nuphar lutea
Nymphaea odorata
Morelia cerifera
Ilex cassine
Rhyncosporacolorata
Eleochariselongata
Utricularia foliosa
Burserasimaruba
Salix caroliniana
Cephalanthusoccidentalis
Willard et al., 2004 Palynology; Bernhardt and Willard 2009, Ecol. Appl.
Cladiumjamaicense
Nymphaea odorata
Morelia cerifera
Chrysobalanusicacao
Eleocharisspp.
Utricularia foliosa
Salix caroliniana
Cephalanthusoccidentalis
Nymphoides spp.
Rhyncospora spp.
Charophytes
Saunders et al., 2008 Final Report to ENP
Sawgrass Wet Prairie SloughTree island
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Vegetation - Hydrology
Givnish et al. 2007 Global Ecol. Biogeogr.; Saunders, unpubl. data; Lockwood et al., 2003 Frontiers Ecol.; Powers, 2005 M.S. Thesis, Univ. FL
Max depth
Min depth
Hydroperiod
Sawgrass Wet Prairie SloughTree island
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Willard et al., 2001 Bulletins of American Paleontology
Sawgrass - Central WCA-3A
Radiometric Dates
Pollen abundance (%)
Ridge & Slough – southern WCA-3ASOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Bernhardt and Willard, 2009 Ecological Applications
Pollen abundance (%)
Sawgrass core
Tree islands – Southern WCA-3ASOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Willard et al., 2006 Ecological Monographs
Island 3AS3 – “…fern spores indicate shift from wetter to drier conditions.”
Skinner’s Island– fern spores indicate shift from drier to wetter conditions
0.0 0.1
dept
h (c
m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1
seeds cm-3
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
~1900
Saunders et al. 2008. Decadal to Millenial Dynamics of Ridge-and-Slough Wetlands. ENP Final Report (GA) 5280-00-007. 72 pp.
Ridge & “Slough” – central Shark Slough
SawgrassWet Prairie
Seed abundance (# cm-3)sawgrassother sedgeswater lilies
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
1880
Sklar et al. 2008 Chapter 6 Ecology of the Everglades Protection Area. 2008 South Florida Environmental Report
Seed abundance (# cm-3)
WCA-3BNortheast
SRSCentral
SRSSouthwest
SRS
SawgrassSlough (water lilies)
Sawgrass – WCA-3B to Shark Slough
sawgrass wet prairie deep water slough
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Vegetation - HydrologyTree island
0.0 0.1de
pth
(cm
)
0
5
10
15
20
25
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1
seeds cm-3
0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.
Max depth
Min depth
Hydroperiod
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Conclusions• Pre-1900, water lily is abundant throughout WCA-3, ENP
• Southern WCA-3 impounded by L-29 & L-67Some tree islands indicate drier or wetter conditionsUncertainties – elevation, subsidence, …
• Water diversions led to increased sawgrass abundance
• Vegetation-Hydrology relationships indicate …Hydroperiod decreased 2-weeks to 1-monthWater depths decreased 10-cm to 30-cmThese estimates need substantial refinement
• Several types of paleo-data consistently show thispollen, spores, seeds, molecular biomarkers, diatoms
Tree island –Southern WCA-3A
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Sklar et al., 2011 Chapter 6 Ecology of the Everglades Protection Area. 2008 South Florida Environmental Report
Year
2010
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
19401930
slough sawgrmarshseeds
wax myrtle
macrofossil abundance (# cm-3)