Draining of the Everglades allowed for the expansion of urban and agricultural development, reducing half of the size of the historic Everglades. The detrimental cascading effect on the Everglades ecosystem function is related to the total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of water inflow, the inflow rate and the distance from the discharge point. As Everglades restoration has approached 15 years since the inception of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), there is a need to assess its progress across the ecosystem. Available data from 2004 to 2014 were collected for soils and from 2004 to 2016 for water to understand a decade of trends. Both Geographic Information System (GIS) and statistical data analysis were applied to determine changes in water quality and soil chemistry. Key findings indicate a declining trend in water TP, with mixed results for soil. Higher TP concentrations (>10 µg/L) were prevalent the areas less than 1 km from a canal or water discharge point for both soil and water. The TP in surface water was higher in the wet season compared to the dry season across the EPA possibly associated with hydrologic, climatic or other factors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fiu.edu/oai:digitalcommons.fiu.edu:etd-5068 |
| Date | 26 June 2018 |
| Creators | Sarker, Shishir Kumar |
| Publisher | FIU Digital Commons |
| Source Sets | Florida International University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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