Ecosystem Description

The Florida Everglades is the largest wetland ecosystem in America, spanning two million acres from central to southern Florida. Lake Okeechobee resides in the northern part of this ecosystem, and during the wet season, it’s flooding releases water into slow moving rivers; the largest being the Kissimmee River which flows through fields of sawgrass, earning the nickname “River of Grass.” It is an area of great diversity connecting various shallow fresh water bodies.  This ecosystem, though now largely developed or destroyed, used to contain a diverse range of habitats including marshland, pine forests, hardwood forests, mangrove estuaries, and shallow bays that supported wildlife like exotic birds, fish, alligators, and the Florida panther.

http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/everglades_parque.jpg

Current Human Impacts

The Florida Everglades is the only type of its ecosystem in the entire United States. This unique ecosystem has been destroyed by humans drastically over the past hundred years and still faces more destruction due to many human factors. The biggest human component that still affect the Everglades today are a continuous  expanding human population in and around the the Everglades.
Growing population dynamics affect the Everglades in multiple ways. The lands in the Everglades are destroyed for agricultural purposes to sustain the growing population. Also with the lands being destroyed for agriculture, this also kills off some of the unique animal species in the Everglades because their land area is being drastically diminished. Sugar cane is the most cultivated food in the Everglades and its pesticide use drastically deteriorates the ecosystem.
 Another problem with the growing population around the Everglades is the amount of water that is diverted from the Everglades to feed the growing population. This water loss affect the Everglades because is diverts necessary nutrients the native plant and animal species, promotes algae blooms,  and deteriorates the wetlands and turns them into dry lands. Another big current human impact is that the growing problems with population allow for invasive species to easily come in and overtake the weakened species because these species readily adapt to the new ecosystem the Everglades are turning into.

This photo shows you just how much land area of the Everglades has already been converted to accommodate the growing human population, and this will just keep continuing to grow.

Current Protected Area

In 1947, Congress established the Everglades National Park. The idea was that the Everglades would be “permanently reserved as a wilderness and no development of the project or plan for the entertainment of visitors shall be undertaken which will interfere with the preservation intact of the unique flora and fauna and essential natural conditions now prevailing in the area” (Hendrix). As a result of the agricultural and urban needs, “Water Conservation Areas” were created to hold water that could be utilized in drier periods of the year. Unfortunately, almost all of this stored water was used to satisfy human needs rather than preserve the natural ecosystem. The National Park Service, alarmed as this unexpected turn of events, pushed Congress to guarantee them over 320 million cubic meters of water on a month to month basis. Congress eventually agreed and funded the construction of new canals and levees that could provide this much needed water to the park. In addition, the interference of the natural water flow rates has led to a huge decrease in species that rely on this cycle. The Everglades are not host to a particularly diverse number of species, and the existing species that cannot adapt to the rapidly changing conditions are likely to die out rapidly. Park fish and wading bird populations have already suffered from this change, as well as from human hunting and fishing. The Everglade National Park protects species such as the Florida panther, manatee, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and American crocodile. The park has been generally successful in maintaining pseudo natural balances between wet season water levels and dry season fires, as well as setting aside areas that are completely off limits to humans. The park also contains areas of inland waters such as lakes, canals, bays, and rivers that are helping maintain fish populations, despite rapidly decreasing numbers. One last significant issue that is affecting the status of the ecosystem is the invasion of exotic species. Specifically, certain tree populations have created dense stands that choke out native species. For example, the Brazilian Pepper has formed in dense patches and has even begun to take over agricultural areas. The National Park Service has found it difficult to remove this particular species because, unlike many tree species, “it fruits in the winter when migratory birds eat and carry the seeds throughout the park”. In conclusion, although the Everglades National Park is a large established area of natural land, external factors are leading the destruction of the ecosystem it was created to protect.

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1005-gator.html

Agriculture in the Everglades areas has led to ecosystem destruction.

http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/wetland/graphics/Eaa1.jpg

                                                 
                                                                       

Florida Everglades Ecosystem

This is a map of the Florida Everglades that comprises and tells you exactly where the different ecosystems are located inside the Florida Everglades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everglades