Lake Jesup Total Phosphorus (TP) Removal Treatment Technologies Floating Island Pilot Project. Project period: 2008-09. Project funded by St John's River Water Management District. This is a research project to build and test a pilot-scale floating modular treatment system consisting of interchangeable biological and physical-chemical treatment modules for TP removal from tributaries to Lake Jesup.
Summary and Synthesis of the Available Literature on the Effects of Nutrients on Spring Organisms and Systems. ($215k). Project period: 2006-08. Project funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Springs . This investigation is a review and synthesis of the available literature pertaining to impacts of increasing nutrients on organisms within springs, with particular emphasis on the alterations of and effects on algal and macrophyte communities. faculty and students form several programs across the UF campus are involved as follows: Mark T. Brown & Kelly Chinners Reiss, Center for Wetlands; Matthew Cohen, School of Forest Resources and Conservation; K. Ramesh Reddy, Patrick W. Inglett, & Kanika Sharma Inglett, Department of Soil and Water Science; Thomas K. Frazer, Charles A. Jacoby & Edward J. Phlips, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, and Robert L. Knight, Wetland Solutions, Inc.
Wetlands on Clay Settling Areas. ($590k). Project period: 2004-08. Project funded by the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research. This four-year investigation of wetlands and hydrology on Clay Settling Areas (CSAs) will use the knowledge gained to suggest ways to enhance creation of long-term functional landscapes following phosphate mining. In short the research is oriented to: 1) Collect field data documenting the current status and historical trends of wetlands on CSAs, 2) Develop a model linking changes in vegetation with hydrologic changes, and 3) Evaluate techniques for enhancing currently existing wetlands and creating new wetlands on CSAs. Students supported: Daniel McLaughlin (Ph.D), Wes Ingwersen (Ph.D), Carrie Boyd (Ph.D), Sean King (ME).
Stormwater and Wetlands Monitoring, Management at Oak Hammock ($55k). Project period: 2005-07. Funded by the Board of Directors of Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a private retirement community, this project is developing an ecological monitoring and management program for the stormwater and wetland systems of the development. The results of the project will result in an integrated monitoring, management, and education program for stormwater, wetlands, and pond ecosystems of Oak Hammock. Students supported: Justin Fleischman (MS), Mauricio Aries (ME).
An Ecosystem Approach to Restoring West African Drylands and
Improving Rural Livelihoods through Agroforestry-based Land Management
Interventions. ($215k). Project period: 2004-2007. Funded by
the United Nations Environmental Program, the project will provide
technical assistance and capacity building to countries of the
semi-arid lowlands of West Africa to implement appropriate policies,
strategies and action plans for advancing sustainable development
objectives. Supported students include: Danielle King (MS), and
Sharlynn Sweeney (Ph.D).
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Mitigation Banking in
Florida: Ecological Success and Compliance with Permit Criteria ($220K) Project period: 2005-2006. Project funded by the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection. The project will determine the
effectiveness of mitigation banking in Florida by evaluating the
ecological integrity of restored wetland sites in comparison to
reference wetlands, determining compliance with permit success
criteria, and evaluating whether permit compliance reflects ecological
integrity. This study will employ several rapid assessment
methodologies and verify results against intensive wetland
bioassessment methods and reference sites.
Development of Landscape Development Intensity (LDI)
Coefficients for Wetlands in Little Bayou Meto Watershed in Lower
Arkansas. ($39K). Project period: 2005-2006. Project funded by Arkansas Soil and Water
Conservation Commission. The objective of the project is to develop an
appropriate land use classification scheme from existing Land use/land
cover, collect energy and material flow data and calculate empower
densities for land use classes, and develop LDI coefficients for land
use classes from empower densities. Using LU/LC coverages and lat/long
locations of study wetlands, within a GIS environment LDI values will
be calculated for each study wetland. In addition,the project will
evaluate HGM Functional Capacity Indices and WRAP indices in relation
to LDI values.
Evaluation of Natural Capital and Environmental Services of U.S.
National Forests Using Emergy Synthesis ($42K). Project period: 2005-2006. Funded by the
USDA Forest Service.. The project objective is to evaluate natural
capital and environmental services of the 191 million acres of the
National Forest System of the U.S.A. using the concepts and methods of
systems ecology and EMERGY (spelled with an “m”) synthesis. The main
storages (timber, other biomass, soils, wildlife, and economic assets)
and the main ecological processes (gross primary production, nutrient
cycling and capture, water and air quality regulation) will be
evaluated using an eco-region approach.
Development of Biological Indicators of Ecosystem Health. ($1,200k). Project period: 1999-–2004. Project funded by the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop
bioindicators of wetland health. A major aspect of the project is
developing emergy measures of human disturbance of ecosystems.
Supported students include; Charles Lane (Ph.D.), Ben Vivas (Ph.D.),
Kelly Reiss (Ph.D.), Jim Surdick (Ph.D.), Mike Murray-Hudson (MS),
Lisa Spurrier (MS).
