Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Challenges In Using Siliceous Subfossils As A Tool For Inferring Past Water Level And Hydroperiod In Everglades Marshes, Christopher Sanchez, Evelyn Gaiser, Colin Saunders, Anna Wachnicka, Nicholas Oehm, Christopher Craft

Evelyn E. Gaiser

Successfully rehabilitating drained wetlands through hydrologic restoration is dependent on defining restoration targets, a process that is informed by pre-drainage conditions, as well as understanding linkages between hydrology and ecosystem structure. Paleoecological records can inform restoration goals by revealing long-term patterns of change, but are dependent on preservation of biomarkers that provide meaningful interpretations of environmental change. In the Florida Everglades, paleohydrological hind-casting could improve restoration forecasting, but frequent drying of marsh soils leads to poor preservation of many biomarkers. To determine the effectiveness of employing siliceous subfossils in paleohydrological reconstructions, we examined diatoms, plant and sponge silico-sclerids from three …