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The Effect Of Contemporary Hydrologic Modification On Vegetation Community Composition Distinctness In The Florida Everglades, Ewan Isherwood
The Effect Of Contemporary Hydrologic Modification On Vegetation Community Composition Distinctness In The Florida Everglades, Ewan Isherwood
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The historic Everglades Ridge and Slough landscape maintained regularly spaced and elevated sawgrass ridges interspersed among exposed deeper-water sloughs; however, widespread but irregular hydrologic modification has degraded much of this landscape patterning. My study assessed the effects of hydrologic modification on vegetation community distinctness within the Ridge and Slough landscape through sampling species composition at fine-scales along a hydrologic gradient to measure the magnitude of segregation of species among patch types. The results show that vegetation community and topographic variation degradation is widespread, with distinctness differences proceeding and possibly being driven by topographic variation loss. Vegetation responses to past hydrologic …