Today's Everglades are significantly different from the landscape that existed a century ago. Humans compartmentalized a once-continuous watershed, altering the distribution and timing of water flows, and increasing the quantity of nutrients, such as phosphorus, that move into the Everglades. The result is a degraded mosaic of ecosystems in a region that is highly controlled by water management infrastructure. However, plans are being developed and implemented to restore parts of this system toward its earlier state. Computer simulation models are being used to predict the relative benefits of one alternative plan over another. One such tool is the Everglades Landscape Model (ELM).
The ELM is a state-of-the art, regional scale simulation model designed to improve understanding of the ecology of the greater Everglades landscape. The ELM is capable of evaluating long-term, regional benefits of alternative project plans with respect to water quality and other ecological performance measures. This model integrates, or dynamically combines, the hydrology, water quality and biology of the mosaic of habitats in the Everglades landscape. For example, the ELM can test different levels of water quality (phosphorus) and quantity flowing from a stormwater treatment area and into natural areas to see how vegetation may respond. When vegetation gets thicker, higher levels of phosphorus have an effect on the growth rate of invasive species such as cattail.
What is phosphorus?
Although it is a vital nutrient in all natural systems, phosphorus is also a fertilizer component. It flows across the landscape in stormwater runoff (urban and agriculture), harming natural areas by promoting algae growth and an overabundance of non-native plants, crowding out natural vegetation and disrupting food sources and habitats used by native wildlife. The Everglades is naturally a "nutrient-poor" system. Even small amounts of nutrients can upset the ecological balance needed by the native plants and animals in the historic "River of Grass."
Careers
Although it is a vital nutrient in all natural systems, phosphorus is also a fertilizer component. It flows across the landscape in stormwater runoff (urban and agriculture), harming natural areas by promoting algae growth and an overabundance of non-native plants, crowding out natural vegetation and disrupting food sources and habitats used by native wildlife. The Everglades is naturally a "nutrient-poor" system. Even small amounts of nutrients can upset the ecological balance needed by the native plants and animals in the historic "River of Grass."
