Linking Land, Air, and Water Management in the Southern Everglades and Coastal Zone to Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration

The approaches used will be extensions of previous efforts by the lead investigators, whereby we will enhance our abilities to address land management and ecosystem restoration questions. Major changes implemented in this project will include the use of environmental chambers (controlled enclosures or mesocosums) and isotopic tracers to provide a more definitive means addressing specific management questions, such as "What reductions in toxicity (methylation and bioaccumulation) would be realized if atmospheric mercury emissions were reduced by 75%?" or, "Over what time scales could we expect to see improvements to the ecosystem if nutrient and sulfur loading were reduced by implementation of agricultural best management practices and the storm water treatment areas (STA)?" Results of these geochemical investigations will provide critical elements for building ecosystem models and screening-level risk assessment for contaminants in the ecosystem