040611notes - Everglades agricultural area Viviana Penuela 1 Intro a Natural Conditions b History Change c Everglades Agricultural Area d Impacts e

Everglades agricultural area Viviana Penuela 1. Intro a. Natural Conditions b. History – Change c. Everglades Agricultural Area d. Impacts e. Efforts f. Conclusion 2. Natural Conditions: a. Geology i. Flooded areas due to precipitation and tides ii. Anaerobic decomposition iii. Peatland formed 5,000 years ago b. Hydrology i. Kissimmee River ran 100 miles ii. Lake Okeechobee shallow depression iii. In the Everglades water ran for about 90 miles iv. The Florida Bay is a shallow lagoon estuary c. Biology i. Plants • Free water marshes • Tree islands • Mangrove forest ii. Animals • Alligators • Wading birds • White-tail deer • Florida panther

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• Florida gar 3. Change a. Swamp and Overflowed Lands Act of 1850 b. 1881, Hamilton Disston gave Lake Okeechobee an outlet to the gulf c. Board of Drainage Commissioners in 1905 d. 1910-1920 wave of agricultural settling in the area i. sugar cane, tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, and potatoes. e. 1926-1928 hurricane killed 3,000 people f. 1930 U.S. Corps of Engineers in charge of drainage and flood control g. 1948 C&SF Project for flood control build levee around Lake Okeechobee and straightens Kissimmee River, (52 miles) 4. Everglades Agricultural Area a. About 700,000 acres b. Cattle and Dairy i. Okeechobee County #1 producer in Florida c. Agriculture i. Sugar • 80% of EAA land ii. Citrus iii. Winter Vegetables 5. EAA – Impacts a. Water quality i. Nutrient load from EAA b. Land subsidence i. Rapid decay of organic matter c. Mercury contamination i. Trapped in peat, released

d. Exotics i. Melaleuca ii. Pythons 6. EAA – Efforts a. Nutrient loads i. Best management practice b. Restoration of natural flow i. Urbanization and agriculture conflict c. Active restoration and conservation efforts d. Water quality i. Marshes 7. Conclusion a. Drinking water supply b. Reserve for South Florida water supply c. Conservation of unique ecosystem d. Recreational value ____________________________________________________________________________ _________Katelyn Nagle – saltwater intrusion in South Florida I. Introduction II. Aquifers • Floridan: One of the highest producing aquifers in the world, it underlies the entire state. In the southern portion of the state, it’s deep and contains brackish water. • Biscayne: Located in southeast Florida, it is the primary source of water for Dade and Broward counties.