Chamber measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in Everglades following Hurricane Irma: 2017 - 2019

On September 9, 2017, highwinds from Hurricane Irma impacted the Florida Everglades. With 24 hours of heavy rain along with strong winds and storm surge, the storm caused higher than normal water levels, wind-induced defoliation, uprooting of plants and soil disturbance in Everglades short-stature freshwater wetlands. The hurricane redistributed short-stature vegetation into dead mats in Everglades National Park. The high post-storm water levels saturated many of these dead mats, slowing decomposition and increasing their persistence on the landscape. In this study, we measure carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes at dead mats and compared them to the ridge and slough of freshwater marsh and to the marl prairie.