View All Items

Title: Post-fire succession and carbon storage in the northern Everglades.
Creator: Reger, Lisa Marie, Benscoter, Brian, Graduate College
Abstract/Description: This research will provide documentation of the trajectory of plant community succession and carbon accumulation post-fire as well as a comparison between the effects of natural versus prescribed fires on recovery trajectory. This study will take place in the A.R.M Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Historical fire records will be used to select sites along a chronosequence of time since the most recent occurrence of fire as well as sites differing in the source of ignition naturally...
Show moreThis research will provide documentation of the trajectory of plant community succession and carbon accumulation post-fire as well as a comparison between the effects of natural versus prescribed fires on recovery trajectory. This study will take place in the A.R.M Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Historical fire records will be used to select sites along a chronosequence of time since the most recent occurrence of fire as well as sites differing in the source of ignition naturally ignited vs. prescribed burns. Vegetation surveys will be performed to assess the pattern of community change through succession. Aboveground plant biomass will be estimated non-destructively at each site and soil cores from each plot will be used to quantify soil accretion and soil quality across the chronosequence. Additionally, monitoring control points will be established within both historically burned and new prescribed burned sites in the Refuge. These control points will be revisited in subsequent intervals to document short-term vegetation recovery. Results of this study will provide quantification of the effectiveness of fire management practices in the maintenance and restoration of quality habitat in the northern Everglades as well as provide further insight into how fire severity affects the trajectory of habitat recovery.
Show less
Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005850
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The implications of willow invasion in a sawgrass community.
Creator: Budny, Michelle L., Benscoter, Brian, Graduate College
Abstract/Description: Purpose: This project will assess the consequences of expansion of coastal willow Salix caroliniana in sawgrass Cladium jamaicense-dominated wetlands on plant community composition and ecosystem water and carbon exchange. Methods: Research will be conducted at Blue Cypress Conservation Area, an impounded sawgrass peatland within the St. John’s Water Management District SJWMD located in Vero Beach, FL. It is part of the River Basin Project controlled by SJWMD and the US Army Corps of Engineers...
Show morePurpose: This project will assess the consequences of expansion of coastal willow Salix caroliniana in sawgrass Cladium jamaicense-dominated wetlands on plant community composition and ecosystem water and carbon exchange. Methods: Research will be conducted at Blue Cypress Conservation Area, an impounded sawgrass peatland within the St. John’s Water Management District SJWMD located in Vero Beach, FL. It is part of the River Basin Project controlled by SJWMD and the US Army Corps of Engineers, which moderates flooding, protects water quality, and reduces the amount of freshwater diverted to the Indian River Lagoon. Plant transpiration and CO2 exchange will be measured on fully expanded, non-damaged leaves of sawgrass and willow using a portable infrared gas analyzer LI-6400, LI-COR, Lincoln, NE, U.S.A.. Plant community composition in both habitats will be surveyed along with measurements of microhabitat conditions and water quality. Results: The results obtained from this study will provide a better understanding of physiological responses and community changes that may occur in sawgrass habitats as a result of willow encroachment. It is anticipated that there will be differences in transpiration rates between the two species as well as changes to community structure and water quality. Measuring plant level physiological responses will help improve landscape level models of water exchange as well as inform water management decisions.
Show less
Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005806
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Adapting the pin-intercept method to estimate emergent biomass in sawgrass-dominated communities of the Florida Everglades.
Creator: Lauck, Marina, Benscoter, Brian
Date Issued: 2013-04-05
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361111
Subject Headings: Biomass, Everglades (Fla.), Ecology--Research
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Experimental drying intensifies burning and carbon losses in a northern peatland.
Creator: Turetsky, Merritt R., Donahue, W.F., Benscoter, Brian
Abstract/Description: For millennia, peatlands have served as an important sink for atmospheric CO2 and today represent a large soil carbon reservoir. While recent land use and wildfires have reduced carbon sequestration in tropical peatlands, the influence of disturbance on boreal peatlands is uncertain, yet it is important for predicting the fate of northern high-latitude carbon reserves. Here we quantify rates of organic matter storage and combustion losses in a boreal peatland subjected to long-term...
Show moreFor millennia, peatlands have served as an important sink for atmospheric CO2 and today represent a large soil carbon reservoir. While recent land use and wildfires have reduced carbon sequestration in tropical peatlands, the influence of disturbance on boreal peatlands is uncertain, yet it is important for predicting the fate of northern high-latitude carbon reserves. Here we quantify rates of organic matter storage and combustion losses in a boreal peatland subjected to long-term experimental drainage, a portion of which subsequently burned during a wildfire. We show that drainage doubled rates of organic matter accumulation in the soils of unburned plots. However, drainage also increased carbon losses during wildfire ninefold to 16.8 ± 0.2 kg C m^-2, equivalent to a loss of more than 450 years of peat accumulation. Interactions between peatland drainage and fire are likely to cause long-term carbon emissions to far exceed rates of carbon uptake, diminishing the northern peatland carbon sink.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011-11-01
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000002
Format: Citation

Title: Association of postfire peat accumulation and microtopography in boreal bogs.
Creator: Benscoter, Brian W, Vitt, Dale H, Wieder, R Kelman
Date Issued: 2005-09-01
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.1139_x05-115_1632245551
Format: Citation

Title: Evaluating the effectiveness of seed banks for the recovery of sawgrass in A.R.M Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Creator: Yeyati, Nestor, Lange, James J., Benscoter, Brian
Date Issued: 2013-04-05
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361240
Subject Headings: Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Fla.), Cladium, Everglades (Fla.), Soil seed banks
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Cascading effects of vegetation on peat soil properties and crayfish survival in the Florida Everglades.
Creator: Chapman, Alexander, Benscoter, Brian, Dorn, Nathan, Graduate College
Date Issued: 2013-04-12
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361281
Subject Headings: Everglades (Fla.), Peat soils, Crayfish, Cattails, Multitrophic interactions (Ecology)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Invasion-mediated recovery following managed disturbance in the northern Everglades.
Creator: Lange, James J., Benscoter, Brian, Graduate College
Date Issued: 2013-04-12
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361942
Subject Headings: Melaleuca quinquenervia, Invasive plants, Wetland management, Wetland ecology, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Fla.)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift.
Creator: Kettridge, N., Turetsky, Merritt R., Sherwood, J. H., Thompson, D. K., Miller, C. A., Benscoter, Brian, Flannigan, Michael D., Wotton, B. M., Waddington, J. M.
Abstract/Description: Northern and tropical peatlands represent a globally significant carbon reserve accumulated over thousands of years of waterlogged conditions. It is unclear whether moderate drying predicted for northern peatlands will stimulate burning and carbon losses as has occurred in their smaller tropical counterparts where the carbon legacy has been destabilized due to severe drainage and deep peat fires. Capitalizing on a unique long-term experiment, we quantify the post-wildfire recovery of a...
Show moreNorthern and tropical peatlands represent a globally significant carbon reserve accumulated over thousands of years of waterlogged conditions. It is unclear whether moderate drying predicted for northern peatlands will stimulate burning and carbon losses as has occurred in their smaller tropical counterparts where the carbon legacy has been destabilized due to severe drainage and deep peat fires. Capitalizing on a unique long-term experiment, we quantify the post-wildfire recovery of a northern peatland subjected to decadal drainage. We show that the moderate drop in water table position predicted for most northern regions triggers a shift in vegetation composition previously observed within only severely disturbed tropical peatlands. The combined impact of moderate drainage followed by wildfire converted the low productivity, moss-dominated peatland to a non-carbon accumulating shrub-grass ecosystem. This new ecosystem is likely to experience a low intensity, high frequency wildfire regime, which will further deplete the legacy of stored peat carbon.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015-07-27
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000003
Format: Citation

Title: Estimating Belowground Carbon Stocks in Isolated Wetlands of the Northern Everglades Watershed, Central Florida, Using Ground Penetrating Radar and Aerial Imagery.
Creator: McClellan, Matthew, Comas, Xavier, Benscoter, Brian, Hinkle, Ross, Sumner, David
Date Issued: 2017-11-06
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.1002_2016JG003573_1632253498
Format: Citation

Title: Shifts in pore connectivity from precipitation versus groundwater rewetting increases soil carbon loss after drought.
Creator: Smith, A. Peyton, Bond-Lamberty, Ben, Benscoter, Brian W., Tfaily, Malak M., Hinkle, C. Ross, Liu, Chongxuan, Bailey, Vanessa L.
Date Issued: 2017-12-06
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.1038_s41467-017-01320-x_1632338662
Format: Citation

Title: FIRE BEHAVIOR ACROSS A VEGETATION GRADIENT AND PEAT COMBUSTION VULNERABILITY IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
Creator: Jensen, Kevin, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Fire is a tool to reduce fuel and restore ecosystems but poses a risk of peat combustion that temporally restricts managers. Studies indicate that fires may be prescribed with a water table lower than the peat surface, but are based on locations with different peat properties or assumed heat inputs. The goal of this research is to quantify peat surface heating during a passing fire and the heat required to ignite peat under lowered water tables. This study used temperature probes at two...
Show moreFire is a tool to reduce fuel and restore ecosystems but poses a risk of peat combustion that temporally restricts managers. Studies indicate that fires may be prescribed with a water table lower than the peat surface, but are based on locations with different peat properties or assumed heat inputs. The goal of this research is to quantify peat surface heating during a passing fire and the heat required to ignite peat under lowered water tables. This study used temperature probes at two heights to quantify peat surface heating during a prescribed fire and a manipulative experiment to quantify the effects of water table recession on peat properties important for predicting ignition. The soil surface experienced 87% of the flaming heat in sawgrass dominated areas. The heat required to ignite the peat surface was significantly correlated with the water table depth. This provides managers greater opportunity for prescribing fire.
Show less
Date Issued: 2021
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013780
Subject Headings: Fires, Fire ecology, Peat--Combustion, Prescribed burning
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Determining the Effects of Fire on Ridge Shape Complexity In the Central Everglades.
Creator: Dombrowski, Jacob, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Self-organized spatial patterning of microtopographic features is a trademark characteristic of the Everglades landscape. Anthropogenic modifications to Everglades’ hydrology have reduced and degraded pattern, where ridges occur at higher elevations and spread into open water sloughs under dryer conditions. Wildfire is an important ecological force in the central Everglades and may maintain ridge-slough patterning through reducing ridge size and complexity, and thus preserve habitat...
Show moreSelf-organized spatial patterning of microtopographic features is a trademark characteristic of the Everglades landscape. Anthropogenic modifications to Everglades’ hydrology have reduced and degraded pattern, where ridges occur at higher elevations and spread into open water sloughs under dryer conditions. Wildfire is an important ecological force in the central Everglades and may maintain ridge-slough patterning through reducing ridge size and complexity, and thus preserve habitat heterogeneity. To investigate fire as a patterning mechanism in the central Everglades I examined the shape complexity and area distribution of ridges along a chronosequence of time since fire. Shape complexity did not change following fire, but small and large ridges became more prominent and eventually spread as time since fire increased, suggesting fire may maintain ridge area distribution. Documentation of fires’ effect on ridge size will inform ecosystem and conceptual models detailing the complex interactions that maintain the Everglades ridge-slough patterning.
Show less
Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004683, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004683
Subject Headings: Burning of land -- Environmental aspects, Everglades National Park (Fla.) -- Environmental conditions, Fire ecology -- Florida -- Everglades National Park, Landscape ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Influence of Soil Disturbance and Fire on the Distribution of Caesar’s Weed (Urena Lobata) in Pine Flatwoods.
Creator: Hagood, Daniel Harrison, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Novel disturbances can increase the vulnerability of pine flatwoods to exotic species such as Caesar’s weed (Urena lobata), a plant that has invaded many ecosystems. To understand Caesar’s weed response to disturbance, a factorial field manipulation was used to quantify invasion success. Influence of feral swine (Sus scrofa) on the presence of seeds in the area was analyzed. The effect of heat on Caesar’s weed germination was also quantified. A winter fire and mechanical soil disturbance had...
Show moreNovel disturbances can increase the vulnerability of pine flatwoods to exotic species such as Caesar’s weed (Urena lobata), a plant that has invaded many ecosystems. To understand Caesar’s weed response to disturbance, a factorial field manipulation was used to quantify invasion success. Influence of feral swine (Sus scrofa) on the presence of seeds in the area was analyzed. The effect of heat on Caesar’s weed germination was also quantified. A winter fire and mechanical soil disturbance had no statistical effect on the spread of Caesar’s weed. However, in feral swine disturbed soils Caesar’s weed was more likely to be husked and experience less competition from seeds of other species. Low levels of seed heating increased germination. This data can provide information about the influences of fire and soil disturbances on the spread of Caesar’s weed, as well as how fire intensity levels can affect the spread of invasive Caesar’s weed.
Show less
Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004928
Subject Headings: Ecology -- Florida, Urena lobata, Invasive plants--Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Post-fire Succession and Carbon Storage in the Northern Everglades.
Creator: Reger, Lisa Marie, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Fire plays a key role in the ecology of the Everglades and is a ubiquitous tool for managing the structure, function, and ecosystem services of the Greater Everglades watershed. Decades of hydrologic modifications have led to the alteration of plant community composition and fire regime in much of the Everglades. To create a better understanding of post-fire recovery in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) communities, sawgrass marshes in the northern Everglades were studied along a chronosequence...
Show moreFire plays a key role in the ecology of the Everglades and is a ubiquitous tool for managing the structure, function, and ecosystem services of the Greater Everglades watershed. Decades of hydrologic modifications have led to the alteration of plant community composition and fire regime in much of the Everglades. To create a better understanding of post-fire recovery in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) communities, sawgrass marshes in the northern Everglades were studied along a chronosequence of time since fire and along a nutrient gradient. Areas closer to a water nutrient source and with fewer mean days dry contained greater total and dead aboveground graminoid biomass whereas live graminoid biomass was greater in areas with less time since fire and with fewer days dry. Post-fire characteristics of sawgrass marshes can provide insight on the effectiveness of fire management practices in the maintenance and restoration of quality habitat in the northern Everglades.
Show less
Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004625, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004625
Subject Headings: Everglades National Park (Fla.)--Environmental conditions., Swamp ecology--Florida--Everglades., Restoration ecology--Florida--Everglades., Forest fires--Florida--Everglades., Prescribed burning--Florida--Everglades., Ecosystem management--Florida--Everglades.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The cascading impacts of vegetation on peat soil properties and crayfish survival in the Florida everglades.
Creator: Chapman, Alexander, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Changes in vegetation may influence the quality and quantity of the underlying organic peat soils and have impacts on faunal populations. My goal was to determine whether shifts from native slough communities to invasive cattail in the Florida Everglades could affect peat characteristics that could cascade to impact the dry season survival of crayfish (Procambarus fallax). I contrasted peat soils from native slough and cattail-invaded sites as alternative dry-season burrowing substrates for...
Show moreChanges in vegetation may influence the quality and quantity of the underlying organic peat soils and have impacts on faunal populations. My goal was to determine whether shifts from native slough communities to invasive cattail in the Florida Everglades could affect peat characteristics that could cascade to impact the dry season survival of crayfish (Procambarus fallax). I contrasted peat soils from native slough and cattail-invaded sites as alternative dry-season burrowing substrates for crayfish. Cattail peat had higher average bulk density and inorganic content within the first ten centimeters of the soil profile. Crayfish showed marginally greater initial burrowing success in slough peat than in cattail peat but survival was equivalent in both peat soils and high overall. Understanding these indirect linkages between vegetation and crayfish populations in the Everglades can provide insight on the consequences of plant invasion on ecosystem trophic dynamics.
Show less
Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004091, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004091
Subject Headings: Crayfish (Ecology), Ecosystem management, Everglades National Park (Fla.), Vegetation dynamics -- Florida -- Everglades National Park
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The impact of willow encroachment on water and carbon exchange in the vegetation of a subtropical wetland.
Creator: Budny, Michelle L., Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Shortened periods of inundation due to water management have led to the encroachment and expansion of Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana) in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) marsh communities. Morphologic and physiologic differences between sawgrass and willow have potential consequences for microhabitat conditions and ecosystem function such as a reduction in temperatures and light availability and changes in primary productivity. Since it is a woody shrub, willow is often assumed to exhibit...
Show moreShortened periods of inundation due to water management have led to the encroachment and expansion of Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana) in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) marsh communities. Morphologic and physiologic differences between sawgrass and willow have potential consequences for microhabitat conditions and ecosystem function such as a reduction in temperatures and light availability and changes in primary productivity. Since it is a woody shrub, willow is often assumed to exhibit higher rates of transpiration than non woody plants, which in turn can affect photosynthesis and carbon exchange and ultimately wetland water management. In this study willow was found to have higher rates of stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthesis (Anet) than sawgrass. However, sawgrass had greater intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE) than willow. This suggests that willow is capable of greater gas exchange and carbon assimilation than sawgrass but requires more water. Understanding the implications of willow expansion will improve landscape models of wetland water and carbon exchange and inform water management decisions.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004350, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004350
Subject Headings: Biogeochemistry, Ecosystem management, Surfaces (Technology) -- Measurement, Vegetation dynamics, Wetland ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE IMPACT OF NUTRIENT LOADING ON THE SOIL AND ROOT RESPIRATION RATES OF FLORIDA MANGROVES.
Creator: Faron, Natalie Therese, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Coastal nutrient loading is a growing concern in urbanized communities and has led to alterations in above- and belowground processes throughout estuarine systems. Mangrove forests are highly productive coastal habitats that exhibit large carbon stocks contained mostly to the deep soils. Since nutrient enrichment has been found to increase mangrove aboveground growth, it’s presumed that nutrient enrichment will also increase belowground respiration rates. Disturbances in soil nutrient content...
Show moreCoastal nutrient loading is a growing concern in urbanized communities and has led to alterations in above- and belowground processes throughout estuarine systems. Mangrove forests are highly productive coastal habitats that exhibit large carbon stocks contained mostly to the deep soils. Since nutrient enrichment has been found to increase mangrove aboveground growth, it’s presumed that nutrient enrichment will also increase belowground respiration rates. Disturbances in soil nutrient content may alter the mangrove carbon cycle by increasing the amount of CO2 lost to the atmosphere from enhanced microbial and root respiration. In this study, soil respiration responded greatest to nitrogen enrichment, but pneumatophore root respiration responded greatest to phosphorus enrichment. Nutrient limitation can shift between different ecological processes and responses to nutrient enrichment tend to be system specific in tidally influenced ecosystems. Understanding the implications of coastal nutrient loading will improve ecosystem models of carbon exchange and belowground processes.
Show less
Date Issued: 2021
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013767
Subject Headings: Mangrove forests, Soil respiration, Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE EFFECTS OF WILLOW SHRUB ENCROACHMENT ON SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STORAGE IN A SOUTH FLORIDA HERBACEOUS WETLAND.
Creator: Dell, Jessica Ann, Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Storing almost a third of the global soil carbon pool, wetlands are an essential component of the carbon cycle, and carbon-rich peat soil accumulates when carbon input through primary productivity exceeds output through decomposition. However, woody shrub encroachment in herbaceous wetlands can alter soil carbon processes, potentially diminishing stored carbon. To examine the effects of shrub encroachment on soil carbon, I compared soil carbon input through litterfall and fine root production...
Show moreStoring almost a third of the global soil carbon pool, wetlands are an essential component of the carbon cycle, and carbon-rich peat soil accumulates when carbon input through primary productivity exceeds output through decomposition. However, woody shrub encroachment in herbaceous wetlands can alter soil carbon processes, potentially diminishing stored carbon. To examine the effects of shrub encroachment on soil carbon, I compared soil carbon input through litterfall and fine root production, output through decomposition, and below-canopy microclimate conditions between Carolina willow shrub (Salix caroliniana) and herbaceous sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) in the Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area (BCMCA), FL. To assess the level of production and its response to water level, I compared aboveground green biomass by measuring normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and photosynthetic stress by measuring photochemical reflectance index (PRI) between sawgrass and willow. I collected willow litterfall using litter traps and measured sawgrass and willow fine root production with fine root ingrowth bags. Litter decomposition was measured with decomposition bags deployed using a reciprocal litter placement design at BCMCA and incubated in a greenhouse to examine the effects of char and water level on decomposition. Above and belowground microclimate conditions were measured using sensors installed within sawgrass and willow canopies. Despite experiencing more photosynthetic stress, willow produced more green biomass than sawgrass. However, willow produced fewer fine roots than sawgrass and these roots were deeper within the soil. Willow litter decomposed faster even though sawgrass decomposition increased under drier conditions. Compared to the sawgrass canopy, the willow canopy had greater light availability, lower evaporative demand plus warmer and drier soils; however, litter decomposition did not differ between the canopies. These results suggest that willow encroachment can reduce the amount and alter the distribution of carbon within an herbaceous wetland, likely resulting in a net loss of soil carbon. Although willow encroachment may increase aboveground biomass carbon stocks, these stocks will likely be offset by a loss of soil carbon due to reduced fine root production and increased decomposition. Therefore, the transition from herbaceous wetland to shrub wetland will likely result in a loss of stored soil carbon.
Show less
Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013621
Subject Headings: Wetlands, Blue Cypress Water Management Area (Fla), Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry), Soils
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT INPUTS ON SURFACE ELEVATION CHANGE PROCESSES IN TIDAL MANGROVE FORESTS.
Creator: Conrad, Jeremy R., Benscoter, Brian, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Coastal mangrove forests are at risk of being submerged due to sea level rise (SLR). However, mangroves have persisted with changing sea levels due to a variety of biotic and physical feedback mechanisms that allow them to gain and maintain relative soil surface elevation. Mechanisms of surface elevation change (SEC) include leaf, wood, and root production, decomposition, and sedimentation/erosion, the combination of which result in a net change in the soil’s surface elevation. Therefore,...
Show moreCoastal mangrove forests are at risk of being submerged due to sea level rise (SLR). However, mangroves have persisted with changing sea levels due to a variety of biotic and physical feedback mechanisms that allow them to gain and maintain relative soil surface elevation. Mechanisms of surface elevation change (SEC) include leaf, wood, and root production, decomposition, and sedimentation/erosion, the combination of which result in a net change in the soil’s surface elevation. Therefore, mangrove forest resilience to SLR is dependent upon their ability to migrate inland or to build soil elevation at a rate that tracks with SLR. However, anthropogenic disturbances, such as altered hydrology and eutrophication, can degrade mangrove forest health and compromise their land building processes placing them at greater risk of succumbing to SLR.
Show less
Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014078
Subject Headings: Mangrove ecology, Sea level, Nutrients in ecosystems, Eutrophication
Format: Document (PDF)

FAU Theses and Dissertations (9)	+ -
FAU College Collections (8)	+ -
FAU Graduate Student Research (4)	+ -
FAU Undergraduate Student Research (2)	+ -

Everglades (Fla.) (3)	+ -
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Fla.) (2)	+ -
Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) (2)	+ -
Ecosystem management (2)	+ -
Wetland ecology (2)	+ -

Biogeochemistry (1)	+ -
Biomass (1)	+ -
Blue Cypress Water Management Area (Fla) (1)	+ -
Burning of land -- Environmental aspects (1)	+ -
Cattails (1)	+ -
Cladium (1)	+ -
Crayfish (1)	+ -
Crayfish (Ecology) (1)	+ -
Ecology -- Florida (1)	+ -
Ecology--Research (1)	+ -
Ecosystem management--Florida--Everglades. (1)	+ -
Eutrophication (1)	+ -
Everglades National Park (Fla.) (1)	+ -
Everglades National Park (Fla.) -- Environmental conditions (1)	+ -
Everglades National Park (Fla.)--Environmental conditions. (1)	+ -
Fire ecology (1)	+ -
Fire ecology -- Florida -- Everglades National Park (1)	+ -
Fires (1)	+ -
Forest fires--Florida--Everglades. (1)	+ -
Invasive plants (1)	+ -
Invasive plants--Ecology (1)	+ -
Landscape ecology (1)	+ -
Mangrove ecology (1)	+ -
Mangrove forests (1)	+ -
Melaleuca quinquenervia (1)	+ -

Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (9)	+ -
article (7)	+ -
abstract (4)	+ -
poster (2)	+ -
report (1)	+ -

Benscoter, Brian (20)	+ -
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (10)	+ -
Department of Biological Sciences (9)	+ -
Florida Atlantic University (9)	+ -
Graduate College (4)	+ -

Search In

Pages

Pages

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Collection

Topical Subject

Geographic Subject

Genre

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner