This is our group project for Enc1101. Our group consists of the following students:
Kandis Frederick, Yadi Morera, and Joe Marquez.
At the heart of Florida's ecosystem is the Florida Everglades. The Everglades is a series of lakes, rivers, and wet lands fed by rain. This vast area covered almost 3 million acres and flowed freely. Native indians lived comfortably and ate off the land for many years until settlers came in. Settlers built new dams and removed many trees along the way, perhaps not realizing the consequences of their actions. As more and more people populated the area, more land needed to be developed for homes and agricultural use. As a result, water flow was disrupted causing many chain reactions. Unfortunately, Florida's ecosystem has changed drastically in the past hundred years.
Kandis Frederick, Yadi Morera, and Joe Marquez.
At the heart of Florida's ecosystem is the Florida Everglades. The Everglades is a series of lakes, rivers, and wet lands fed by rain. This vast area covered almost 3 million acres and flowed freely. Native indians lived comfortably and ate off the land for many years until settlers came in. Settlers built new dams and removed many trees along the way, perhaps not realizing the consequences of their actions. As more and more people populated the area, more land needed to be developed for homes and agricultural use. As a result, water flow was disrupted causing many chain reactions. Unfortunately, Florida's ecosystem has changed drastically in the past hundred years.
Long-term changes in the Everglades ecosystem are of critical concern in the development of a restoration plan for the Everglades. Stormwater runoff from the Everglades Agricultural Area is a major source of water to the Water Conservation Area and Everglades National Park in South Florida. However, increased concerns regarding runoff water quality from the EAA basin, specifically phosphorus, and its environmental impact on the Everglades wetland ecosystems led to the development of a regulatory program in the EAA that required P levels in drainage waters leaving the basin to be reduced by at least 25% relative to historic levels. Farmers of the EAA have responded to the challenge to achieve this P load reduction by implementing Best Management Practices programs on their farms, which includes monitoring their individual farm discharge waters for flow volume and P concentration.
The Florida Everglades perform many important ecosystem services. Wetlands recharge groundwater and reduce damage from flooding because they hold excess water when rivers flood their banks. They help cleanse water that contains sewage, pesticides and other pollutants. The Florida Everglades provide habitat for many different species. In addition, they are sites for fishing, hunting, boating, bird watching, photography, and nature study.
