The decline of tree islands in the freshwater-Everglades wetland because of hydrologic manipulation, has compromised valuable ecosystem services. Although the role of tree islands in maintaining freshwater quality stems largely from evapotranspiration processes, fundamental questions remain about the effects of different geologic materials on their hydrogeochemical functioning. To reduce this uncertainty, the lithological composition of a set of man-made tree islands was investigated coupled with long-term hydrologic and hydrochemical data. Key results indicate that limestone substrates and peat substrates with elevated proportions of sand, facilitated surface water-groundwater interactions and mineral dissolution. However, limestone-based islands were more effective in lowering the water table and concentrating solutes in response to evapotranspiration during low surface water stages. Additionally, the peat substrate of an island with low sand content favored the thermodynamic conditions for calcite accumulation in the phreatic zone, while phosphorus concentrations in the groundwater were associated with the breakdown of organic matter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fiu.edu/oai:digitalcommons.fiu.edu:etd-3779 |
| Date | 05 July 2016 |
| Creators | Prieto Estrada, Andres E |
| 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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