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)

Tree island PaleoecologySOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

Willard et al., 2001 Bulletins of American Paleontology; Willard et al., 2006 Ecological Monographs.