Water-quality characteristics of Everglades National Park, 1959-77, with reference to the effects of water management

A pivotal component of hydrological restoration of the Florida Everglades is the improvement of water conveyance to Everglades National Park by the degradation of the current network of canals, roadways and levees. The Tamiami Trail (L29) road/canal complex represents a major barrier to natural water flows into the park and a variety of modification options for flow improvement are currently being explored, including the installation of spreader swales immediately downstream of culverts conveying water under Tamiami Trail from the L29 canal into Everglades National Park. In this study, we evaluated water column chemistry and wet-season diatom community structure to provide baseline information for use in future monitoring activities related to the proposed Tamiami Trail modifications. Water chemistry showed pronounced fluctuations in response to precipitation and anthropogenically mediated hydrological events. Differences in water quality variables among sites were dampened during periods of inundation, and became more pronounced during periods of low canal stage, suggesting the importance of small-scale mechanisms related to isolation of habitat patches. Diatom assemblages were unexpectedly speciose (127 taxa in 40 samples) compared to typical Everglades assemblages, and spatially heterogeneous in sites associated with concentric areas of dense vegetation immediately downstream of culverts. We also observed significant compositional dissimilarities among transects, indicating that culvert pool and north transect assemblages were substantially influenced by propagule input from the canal and areas to the north, while south transect sites were compositionally similar to typical sawgrass prairie diatom communities. Central transect sites were compositionally intermediate to their north and south counterparts. We propose that the position and spatial extent of this “transitional assemblage” is a sensitive indicator of subtle environmental change related to Tamiami Trail modifications.

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WATER QUALITY TRENDS AT INFLOWS TO EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association ◽

10.1111/j.1752-1688.1991.tb03113.x ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 59-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

William W. Walker

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

National Park ◽

Everglades National Park ◽

Water Quality Trends

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Water Quality of Inflows to the Everglades National Park over Three Decades (1985–2014) Analyzed by Multivariate Statistical Methods

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15091882 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (9) ◽

pp. 1882 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lei Wan ◽

Xiaohui Fan

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

National Park ◽

Management Practices ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Principal Component ◽

South Florida ◽

Point Sources ◽

Everglades National Park ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus

The Everglades, a vast subtropical wetland, dominates the landscape of south Florida and is widely recognized as an ecosystem of great ecological importance. Data from seven inflow sites to the Everglades National Park (ENP) were analyzed over three decades (1985–2014) for temporal trends by the STL (integrated seasonal-trend decomposition using LOESS) method. A cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied for the evaluation of spatial variation. The results indicate that the water quality change trend is closely associated with rainfall. Increasing rainfall results in increasing flow and thus, decreasing concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. Based on 10 variables, the seven sampling stations were classified by CA into four distinct clusters: A, B, C, and D. The PCA analysis indicated that total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) are the main pollution factors, especially TN. The results suggest that non-point sources are the main pollution sources and best management practices (BMPs) effectively reduce organic nitrogen. However, TN and TP control is still the focus of future work in this area. Increasing the transfer water quantity can improve the water quality temporarily and planting submersed macrophytes can absorb nitrogen and phosphorus and increase the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in water, continuously improving the water quality.

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