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ENERGY-BASED LAND USE PREDICTORS OF PROXIMAL FACTORS AND BENTHIC DIATOM COMPOSITION IN FLORIDA FRESHWATER MARSHES
Citation:
Lane, C R. AND M. T. Brown. ENERGY-BASED LAND USE PREDICTORS OF PROXIMAL FACTORS AND BENTHIC DIATOM COMPOSITION IN FLORIDA FRESHWATER MARSHES. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT. Springer, New York, NY, 117:433-450, (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this research project is to provide methods, tools and guidance to Regions, States and Tribes to support the TMDL program. This research will investigate new measurement methods and models to link stressors to biological responses and will use existing data and knowledge to develop strategies to determine the causes of biological impairment in rivers and streams. Research will be performed across multiple spatial scales, site, subwatershed, watershed, basin, ecoregion and regional/state.
Description:
The development of rigorous biological assessments is dependent upon well-constructed abscissa, and various methods, both subjective and objective, exist to measure expected impairment at both the landscape and local scale. A new, landscape-scale method has recently been offered that allows for the combination of disparate factors into a single value (e.g., impervious surfaces, low-density residential, improved pasture, natural area): the Landscape Development Intensity Index, or LDI. The LDI is calculated using GIS and published development coefficients, which are based on energy calculations. In this study, benthic diatoms from 70 isolated depressional herbaceous wetlands located throughout peninsular Florida were sampled along a gradient of human disturbance. Analyses were conducted at both the local and landscape scale to determine the efficacy of the LDI vis-a-vis locally measured physical and chemical variables of the water column and sediment (e.g., soil total phosphorus, water pH, specific conductivity). Multivariate analyses suggested that the LDI is reflective of benthic diatom community composition within isolated depressional wetlands, although individual variables measured on-site, such as specific conductivity or water total phosphorus, were more strongly correlated. The use of the LDI as a relatively simple yet independent landscape-level assessment tool for the development of biological metrics is suggested.