Vegetation Map of the SICS area

The map shows the 8-class vegetation cover developed from Landsat TM data used for the SICS area.

This map was created specifically for surface-water flow velocity indexing within hydrodynamic models created by the U.S. Geological Survey. Vegetation classes in this map represent mixes of vegetation types that share structural characteristics and ranges of flow resistance as determined through field, laboratory, and hydrodynamic model experiments. Some of these vegetation types are more typically segregated into separate classes. Therefore, the user is cautioned not to treat this map as a standard vegetation classification. This map's characteristics and your requirements should be carefully considered before adopting this map for your particular use. Surface water flow velocity in the wetlands of Taylor Slough, Everglades National Park, is controlled by factors such as water depth, land-surface gradient, wind effects, and the type and density of vegetation. To evaluate the effect of vegetation on this shallow surface-water flow for model development, it is necessary to extrapolate from point measurements of velocity and surface-water slope made concurrently with characterization of vegetation at locations throughout the slough to the entire model area. This map was created solely for the purpose of extrapolating field and laboratory measured vegetation resistances to flow to the area of Taylor Slough/The Everglades National Park being modeled in the Southern Inland Coastal System (SICS) model domain.

The SICS study area is located in the southeast quadrant of Everglades National Park (ENP). It encompasses the interface of the wetlands of the Taylor Slough and southern C-111 canal drainage basins with nearshore tidal embayments of Florida Bay. The study area is bounded on the east by U.S. Highway 1, and C-111 canal and levee; on the north and west by ENP Road (SR27) and Old Ingraham Highway; and on the south by Florida Bay.