Deforestation In The Everglades Essay

How has deforestation impacted the Everglades and the surrounding ecosystem?

The Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem spanning two million acres across central and south Florida. Originally the Greater Everglades ecosystem had a large diversity of habitats connected by wetlands and water bodies. Since the 1800s, humans have been altering the Everglades landscape. Water diversions and flood control structures restrict the flow of water across the sensitive landscape. Combined with agricultural and urban development, the size of the Everglades has decreased dramatically, affecting the quality of habitats in the area. "In the past hundred years, people have been digging canals and building dams in the Everglades so they could take water

Some introduced species become a small part of the landscape, while others thrive at the expense of native plants and wildlife. When an introduced species puts additional stresses on native wildlife and threatens habitats, it's called an invasive species. Invasive exotic (nonnative) species are seriously threatening the integrity of south Florida's native communities. With exotic fishes devouring native fish species and melaleuca trees shading out indigenous plants, the Florida Everglades is suffering from a barrage of pressures brought on by nonnative species. Far from their native homelands, these invaders have a competitive advantage over native species. Because nonnative species typically lack natural predators, they can outcompete native species. They can multiply unchecked, using up valuable resources such as sunlight, water, and nutrients. Native species suffer from this intense competition. In addition to the environmental havoc they wreak, invasive exotic species have major economic impacts. This economic effect is magnified in Florida where the climate and landscape are favorable to the establishment of invasives. Despite best efforts, many of these alien invaders are here to stay. Their spread, however, may be controlled by putting a stop to the release of non-native plants and animals into the wild and by aggressively managing species that are

The weather in the Everglades is warm year-round, with distinct wet and dry seasons. However, even the dry seasons have some rainfall. All this precipitation enters a watershed that flows through Everglades National Park. The watershed starts with the Kissimmee River, then drains into Lake Okeechobee. When Lake Okeechobee is full, water flows south into the Everglades. This usually happens in the wet season between May and October. The Everglades receive 100–165 centimeters (40–65 inches) per year of precipitation. Almost 70% of this falls as rain during the wet season, which begins with thunderstorms in May and ends in October. The Everglades ecosystem consists of several interspersed and interdependent plant communities. Small changes in elevation, water depth, or salinity cause great differences in plant communities. The three most prominent communities in the Everglades are saw-grass prairies, freshwater ponds and sloughs, and swamps and marshes. There are also mangrove swamps, pine forests, and coastal prairie plant communities. The Everglades also provides critical, and often undervalued, benefits to people, called ecosystem services. For example, the Everglades ecosystem provides drinking water for one-third of Floridians and irrigation for much of the state's agriculture. The wetlands improve water quality by filtering out pollutants and absorbing excess nutrients, replenish aquifers, and