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Restoration of former wetlands ...(Proceedings of the seventeenth conference on wetlands).

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Date Issued:
1990-05-11
Abstract:
A major site of exotic plant invasion within Everglades National Park is an area of former mesic prairie wetlands now called the "Hole-in-the-Donut." This area (4000 hectares) was intensively farmed for several decades using only crude mechanical soil preparation methods In the early 1950s, the process of rock-plowing was developed which crushes the natural limestone rock, producing a substrate much better suited for crops than the existing substrate. This pedogensis changed the area from primarily low nutrient, anaerobic conditions which have been tied to increased susceptibility to exotic invasion. Approximately half of the "Donut" was rock-lowed and, since acquisition by Everglades National Park, has become dominated by Schinus terebinthifolius. Various techniques (planting, mowing, burning, bulldozing, substrate removal, etc.) have been tried in an attempt to restore this area to wetlands. Of these methods, only substrate removal has been effective. The results of substrate removal are an increase in hydroperiod and mitigation of the conditions created by the disturbed substrate. These changes alter the secondary successional patterns in favor of natural revegetation.
Title: Restoration of former wetlands ...(Proceedings of the seventeenth conference on wetlands).
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Name(s): Webb, Frederick J.,Jr.
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Technical Report
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1990-05-11
Publisher: Hillsborough Community College
Place of Publication: Plant City (Fla.)
Physical Form: electronic resource
Extent: 18 pages
Language(s): English
Abstract: A major site of exotic plant invasion within Everglades National Park is an area of former mesic prairie wetlands now called the "Hole-in-the-Donut." This area (4000 hectares) was intensively farmed for several decades using only crude mechanical soil preparation methods In the early 1950s, the process of rock-plowing was developed which crushes the natural limestone rock, producing a substrate much better suited for crops than the existing substrate. This pedogensis changed the area from primarily low nutrient, anaerobic conditions which have been tied to increased susceptibility to exotic invasion. Approximately half of the "Donut" was rock-lowed and, since acquisition by Everglades National Park, has become dominated by Schinus terebinthifolius. Various techniques (planting, mowing, burning, bulldozing, substrate removal, etc.) have been tried in an attempt to restore this area to wetlands. Of these methods, only substrate removal has been effective. The results of substrate removal are an increase in hydroperiod and mitigation of the conditions created by the disturbed substrate. These changes alter the secondary successional patterns in favor of natural revegetation.
Identifier: FI06082504 (IID), 1031881 (digitool), fiu:18104 (fedora), AAC1551QF
Note(s): Electronic reproduction. [Florida] : State University System of Florida, PALMM Project, 2006. Mode of access: World Wide Web. Electronic version created 2006, State University System of Florida.
Subject(s): Exotic plants
Everglades National Park (Fla.)
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/tc/feol/FI06082504.pdf
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/tc/feol/FI06082504.jpg
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Host Institution: FIU