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Hydrologic Modification and the Loss of Self-organized Patterning in the Ridge–Slough Mosaic of the Everglades

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Abstract

The ridge–slough landscape of the Everglades (Florida, USA), is characterized by elevated ridges dominated by sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) interspersed among deeper sloughs dominated by floating, submerged and emergent macrophytes and calcareous periphyton. Interactions among hydrologic conditions (water depth, hydroperiod), plant composition and production, and respiration are hypothesized to create alternative peat accretion equilibria at the point scale, while spatial interactions among patches create regular pattern at the landscape scale. Despite significant research on these interactions, few studies have examined the hypothesis that the ridge–slough landscape consists of spatially coupled alternative stable patch states, and none has used diagnostic indicators thereof to assess landscape resilience to hydrologic change. Dense random sampling of water depths (a proxy for soil elevation) along a gradient of hydrologic impairment of drained to relatively natural to impounded conditions was used to evaluate four predictions related to this hypothesis: (1) bimodal soil elevation distributions show strong fidelity to community type; (2) positive autocorrelation at short distances with negative values at longer distances; (3) strong anisotropy (diagnostic of flow orientation), and spatial structure (diagnostic of the strength of landscape self-organization); and (4) loss of these features with hydrologic modification. Our results support the hypothesis that soil elevations are strongly bimodal and anisotropic in areas with minimal hydrologic impact, and spatial autocorrelation patterns indicate the operation of scale-dependent feedbacks. These metrics change markedly with hydrologic modification, although with differences between drainage and impoundment. Moreover, changes in landform precede associated changes in vegetation, suggesting their utility as diagnostic indicators of landscape degradation and recovery.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Elizabeth Deimeke, Jason Evans, Dina Liebowitz, Tae-goo Oh, Laura Schreeg, Lauren Long, Justin Vogel, and Adam Watts for field support, and to Sanjay Lamsal for advice on spatial analyses. This manuscript benefited greatly from comments by Maarten Eppinga, Donald DeAngelis, and Laurel Larsen. We acknowledge the support of MAP-RECOVER and the US Army Corps of Engineers through grants to the University of Florida.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Danielle L. Watts

  2. School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, 328 Newins Ziegler Hall, PO Box 110410, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Matthew J. Cohen

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA

    James B. Heffernan

  4. Soil and Water Science Departments, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Todd Z. Osborne

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  1. Danielle L. Watts
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Correspondence to Matthew J. Cohen.

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Author contributions

DLW conceived of study, performed research, analyzed data, contributed to writing of paper. MJC conceived of and designed study, analyzed data, contributed to writing of paper. JBH performed research, contributed to writing of paper. TZO conceived of and designed study.

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Watts, D.L., Cohen, M.J., Heffernan, J.B. et al. Hydrologic Modification and the Loss of Self-organized Patterning in the Ridge–Slough Mosaic of the Everglades. Ecosystems 13, 813–827 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9356-z

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