A Summary of Baseline Vegetation Data for Phase I of the Kissimmee River
Restoration Project and Expectations for Wetland Vegetation Recovery in the
Restored System
Laura Carnal
South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL
The historic Kissimmee River floodplain was covered by approximately 15,769 ha of wetland vegetation communities, including about 11,000 ha in the area designated for ecological restoration. Broadleaf marsh, wet prairie, and wetland shrub were the dominant historic vegetation community types. Due to channelization of the river system and maintenance of stable water levels, most of the wetland vegetation communities that once occurred on the floodplain were drained and converted to unimproved and improved pasture or covered with spoil material from dredging of the C-38 canal. Restoration is expected to reestablish the species composition, density, and physiognomic characteristics of vegetation communities that were present on the historic floodplain. The Kissimmee River
Restoration Evaluation Program includes a vegetation mapping component to measure and document vegetation trends during baseline (pre-restoration) conditions and at various stages of recovery. Vegetation mapping on a landscape scale by photointerpretation of aerial photography is an integral component of the evaluation of restoration responses in the Kissimmee River and floodplain.
Reference conditions based on historic records and maps produced from prechannelization photography were used to predict how and where vegetation communities in the restored system would redevelop. Vegetation community coverage derived from mapping of baseline and post-restoration vegetation coverage will be compared to these reference conditions. Photointerpretation data for the area affected by Phase I of the restoration project indicate that remnant wetland vegetation communities covered 1657.07 hectares (32.7%) prior to restoration. Based on reference condition data, wetland vegetation communities are expected to reestablish and eventually comprise approximately 3923 hectares on this restored section of floodplain.
Laura Carnal, South Florida Water Management District, Headquarters, 3301 Gun Club
Road, West Palm Beach, FL, 33406
Phone: 561-682-6982, lcarnal@sfwmd.gov
, Topic 2, Ecology and Ecological Modeling