Course:CONS200/2024WT1/A review of climate change impacts on the Everglades

The Everglades is a vast area of freshwater marshland that lies in Southern Florida, in the United States. It contains a vast network of interconnected ecosystems and habitats, which are home to a myriad of unique plant and animal species. This diverse ecosystem also provides important benefits such as water filtration, recreation, agriculture, and seafood, to name a few. Unfortunately due to climate change this ecosystem is rapidly changing, and within the century this awe inspiring, yet fragile area will not look the same or even exist at all.

The Impacts of Climate Change

The Everglades freshwater peatland in Southern Florida

Climate change has become a significant cause of harm on this delicate ecosystem. Some of the biggest changes associated with climate change include changes in temperature, sea level, and biogeochemistry. Each of these is associated with a series of drastic changes to the ecosystem, habitat, and biodiversity which alters the foundations and basic constitutions of the Everglades.

Temperature Change

The primary consequence associated with climate change is most commonly a change in temperature. In the case of the Florida Everglades, the worry lies mostly in a rising of temperature. Studies by Obeysekera et al. have shown that a 1.5 °C increase in temperature is associated with increased evapotranspiration as well as changes in rainfall patterns. This coupled with an increase in water demand from domestic and agricultural sources places a huge strain on water supply and results in a drier environment.

This drier environment will result in droughts which will affect both inland and coastal wetland areas. In inland areas, drought will reduce the recharge of the freshwater wetlands, drying them up and lowering the water table. This is especially true in regards to the Everglade's massive reserves of peat, which are an important carbon sink. In what is called a "Drydown" event, resulting from a lack of water, peat will begin to decompose, as lower water levels expose it to oxygen and as a result, allowing decomposition in previously anerobic conditions, and releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere. In the coastal regions the resulting drier climate and lowering of the water table allows for increased inundation of saltwater. This again affects the peat environments which are primarily freshwater, and will be destroyed with an influx of salt water.

While much of what has been discussed here focuses on the effects of a rise in temperature on the peat, the associated land and organism composition is also greatly affected. The drier land means that the aquatic, amphibious, and terrestrial species composition will change drastically. Different types of water and lower levels of water also mean that the land itself changes, microtopography is flattened, reducing the lands ability to hold on to water, and wetland habitats turn into terrestrial ones.

Sea Level Rise

One of the biggest impacts our changing climate is having on the Everglades is rising sea levels. Changes in climate and temperature means that as the oceans heat up, they expand and raise sea levels, which is then coupled with a lowering of the freshwater water table, as previously discussed the resulting effects on an ecosystem are drastic. One of the major changes we have already seen are an invasion of more exotic species.

Another major impact with rising sea levels is the changes to the physical environment, the loss of the distinctive ridges and sloughs.

Include the scope/scale of the problem, intensity/frequency/severity of negative impacts, variables influencing those impacts and any other relevant information needed for understanding the issue.

What steps are being taken to help this crisis? (rephrase)

A description of the solutions or efforts that are currently underway to tackle the issue or problem.

The Everglades are an amazing yet fragile ecosystem that must be protected. The first step to protecting the Everglades was to reevaluate the way the ecosystem has been managed in the past. In the past, scientists and Managers did not take into account the increasing forces of climate change, but in the present day, they do. One step being taken by ecologists is to restore the natural flow of freshwater to the Everglades by installing bridges along the Tamiami Highway, which has been blocking freshwater flow for decades. another step to aid this crisis is to utilize our knowledge of climate change to adapt. During the past twenty years, scientists have been aiming to restore the Everglades to their former glory, but scientists agree we must pivot sustainably managing the Everglades while taking into account the effects of climate change. With this taken to account the Nature Conservancy Project has set bold goals for the next ten years, such as; permanently protecting 300,000 more acres of privately/publicly owned lands allowing for the movement of wide-ranging wildlife and for the preservation of economically sustainable ranching in the region and Maintaining ranching or other low-intensity agricultural uses across at least 90 percent of the 2011 footprint of 1.1 million acres to retain the long-term potential to expand both protection and restoration efforts.

What else can/must we do? (Rephrase)

Describe your analysis and evaluation of additional solutions and recommendations from a technical, social, cultural, economic, financial, political and/or legal points of view (not all of these categories will be relevant to all situations);

Conclusion

You should conclude your Wiki paper by summarizing the topic, or some aspect of the topic.

References

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