BOOK CHAPTER INFORMATION
CHAPTER TITLE: Tree island plant communities and water management in the central Everglades
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
List authors as: I. Lorraine Heisler, D. Timothy Towles, Laura A. Brandt, and Robert T. Pace
Send correspondence to: I. L. Heisler
Author Affiliations:
I. Lorraine Heisler, Everglades Protection and Restoration Program, Office of Environmental Services, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 255 154th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32968 USA, phone 561-778-5094; fax 561-778-7227, e-mail
D. Timothy Towles, Everglades Protection and Restoration Program, Office of Environmental Services, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 255 154th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32968 USA, phone 561-778-5094; fax 561-778-7227,
Laura A. Brandt, Everglades Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, P. O. Box 8003, Belle Glade, FL 33430-8003; phone 561-996-3062, x126; e-mail
Robert T. Pace, South Florida Restoration Office, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P. O. Box 2676, Vero Beach, FL 32961-2676 USA; phone 561-778-0896; fax 561-564-7393; e-mail
CHAPTER INFORMATION
Figures: approximately 8
(map of island locations; diagram illustrating digitized landscape data and scale of study; plus 2-6 figures illustrating results, including cluster analysis dendrogram, ordination graph, and graphs illustrating bivariate relationships between biological, physical, and hydrological variables)
Tables: approximately 2-3
(one large 1-2 page table summarizing island biological and physical data; plus table identifying species and variables characteristic of different island types and/or table listing correlations among variables)
Photos: approximately 4
(b&w photos in a single frame, with a shared caption, illustrating different types of islands in the study)
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Chapter’s intent: present results of a one-year study of plant communities on 23 tree islands within Everglades Water Conservation Area 3
B. Rationale for study
1. Summary of existing literature on tree islands in the central Everglades
2. Past and projected impacts of water management on tree islands
3. Need for baseline data and development of evaluation and monitoring tools
4. Adaptive management perspective of study (past water management as an experiment that can be used to develop hypotheses for future restoration and protection of tree islands
C. Rationale for methodological approach (multivariate, observational study; focus on plant communities)
D. Specific aims of study
1. Identify and quantify variation among plant communities on different islands.
2. Detect and measure (potentially causal) relationships between plant community composition and selected physical and hydrological variables
II. Methods
A. Selection criteria for tree island sample
B. Vegetation data
1. Transect design for plant community composition
2. Tree censuses for large trees
3. Taxonomic issues (identification; functional categories)
C. Landscape-level data (aerial photo interpretation and estimates of spatial extent of tree island vegetation)
D. Physical data
1. Island elevations (three methods used; estimated accuracy)
2. Soil depths (method used; estimated accuracy)
E. Hydrological data
1. South Florida Water Management Model validation/calibration results
2. Variables selected
III. Results
A. Characteristics and classification of vegetation communities
1. Diversity measures (species diversity and richness within and between islands)
2. Multivariate measures: cluster and indirect gradient analyses of vegetation data
B. Relationships between plant community, landscape, and physical variables
C. Relationships between biological and hydrological variables
IV. Discussion
A. Interpretation of observed relationships
B. Causal hypotheses suggested by results
C. Implications for future water management and ecological restoration.
D. Future studies needed