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Historical Overview Of Tampa Bay Water Quality And Seagrass Issues And Trends, J.O. R. Johansson

Reports

Historical (pre-1930s) seagrass meadows in Tampa Bay are believed to have covered 31,000 ha of the shallow bay bottom. Later, impacts to the bay from increasing population and industrial development of the Tampa Bay area have resulted in large seagrass losses. By 1982, approximately 8,800 ha of seagrass remained. Since 1982, Tampa Bay seagrass monitoring programs have recorded a reversal in the trend of seagrass loss, with the baywide seagrass cover increasing from 9,420 ha in 1988 to 10,890 ha in 1997. However, between 1997 and 1999 the trend again reversed with substantial losses recorded, specifically in the Old Tampa …