In the Everglades, two estuarine ecotones, the Shark River Slough/Gulf of Mexico ecotone and the Taylor Slough/Florida Bay ecotone, are of interest to FCE-LTER researchers. These ecotones are characterized by higher rates of primary productivity – or the amount of living material produced when nutrients and energy from sunlight are used to create plant tissues – than upstream marshes, which are naturally oligotrophic, or nutrient poor.

Scientists once thought that the presence of phosphorus-rich marine water in these ecotones was responsible for the high rates of productivity. They also thought that the Taylor Slough/Florida Bay estuarine ecotone would have reduced rates of productivity compared to the Shark River Slough/Gulf of Mexico ecotone since Florida Bay’s low tidal action would inhibit marine phosphorus from entering the ecotone. Phase I of the FCE-LTER project investigated these hypotheses.

FCE-LTER researchers also examined how changes in freshwater quality and quantity – resulting from Everglades restoration projects, sea level rise due to climate change, and disturbances, such as hurricanes and fires – may alter patterns of productivity in these regions. Investigating patterns of primary production was the task of one of seven FCE-LTER working groups.


Working Groups

Phase I of the FCE-LTER project was divided into seven working groups. Each working group focused on a set of key research questions and/or major processes that were being quantified.