RECOVER MAP 3.1.3.6 Landscape Pattern - Ridge, Slough, and Tree Island function: Surfacewater-Groundwater Interaction in WCA3 TIs

This project is a component of the GE Wetland module of the CERP Monitoring and Assessment Plan (MAP) and is directly linked to the a) Ridge and Slough Landscape monitoring and research component of CERP, and b) Tree Island Stage Duration and the measurement of water depth on tree islands located in WCA 3A and 3B. It will significantly improve RECOVER and the SFWMD's ability to support Central Everglades Plan Process (CEPP), Everglades Forever Act, Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL), Regulatory Operations and CERP by: 1) developing a way to reverse the significant loss of tree island in WCA-2A (Worth 1988) and WCA-3 (Sklar and van der Valk 2002), 2) conduct environmental assessments for weekly SFWMD operational meetings, and 3) develop criteria to protect the flora and fauna that rely on the existence of Tree Islands. This research monitoring will take place at four different tree islands located in the Water Conservation Area 3. This Statement of Work (SOW) includes the study objectives, a general description of the scope, a detailed listing of tasks to be undertaken and associated deliverables, and the timeframes citing the methodologies to be used by the contractor to perform assigned work efforts. This project will compare the characteristics and dynamics of four Everglades tree islands such that hydraulic patterns and hydrogeochemical processes can be characterized. This monitoring project aims to understand how biogeochemical pattern and processes operating at inter-annual temporal and spatial scales can mediate tree island growth and patch maintenance through interaction of biological, geochemical, and climatic factors. It is hypothesized that water movement, mediated by hydraulic processes that are punctuated during the dry season by increased tree island evapotranspiration (ET), influence the lateral flux of nutrients to downstream components of the tree island ecosystem, thus concentrating phosphorus at the intersection between local and regional water pools. The objectives of this project are: 1) monitor and characterize spatial and temporal variability in diurnal ET patterns, 2) monitor and characterize temporal local and regional hydraulic patterns, and 3) characterize spatial and temporal hydro-chemical patterns in ions and nutrients among tree island plant communities and the adjacent deep water slough, and 4) design and implement a field experiment addressing questions linked to environmental conditions for soil development and feasibility of active management as a means to restore the structure and function of degraded tree islands.本项目隶属于综合大沼泽地恢复计划（Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, CERP）的监测与评估计划（Monitoring and Assessment Plan, MAP）中的GE湿地模块，直接关联于：a）综合大沼泽地恢复计划的脊槽景观（Ridge and Slough Landscape）监测与研究分支，以及b）位于水资源保护区（Water Conservation Area, WCA）3A与3B内的树岛水位持续时长与水深测量（Tree Island Stage Duration and water depth measurement）项目。本项目将通过以下三方面工作，显著提升RECOVER项目与南佛罗里达水资源管理局（South Florida Water Management District, SFWMD）对中佛罗里达计划流程（Central Everglades Plan Process, CEPP）、《永久沼泽地法案》（Everglades Forever Act）、最小流量与水位（Minimum Flows and Levels, MFL）、监管运营及综合大沼泽地恢复计划的支撑能力：1）制定方法以扭转水资源保护区2A（Worth, 1988）与水资源保护区3（Sklar 与 van der Valk, 2002）区域内树岛的大规模流失；2）为南佛罗里达水资源管理局的周度运营会议提供环境评估支持；3）制定标准以保护依赖树岛生存的动植物群落。本研究监测工作将在水资源保护区3内的4处不同树岛开展。本工作说明书（Statement of Work, SOW）涵盖研究目标、研究范围概述、待执行任务的详细清单及相关交付成果，以及明确承包商开展指定工作所采用方法的时间节点安排。本项目将对4处大沼泽地树岛的特征与动态变化进行对比分析，以明确其水力模式与水文地球化学过程。本监测项目旨在阐明：在年际时间与空间尺度上运行的生物地球化学模式与过程，如何通过生物、地球化学与气候因素的相互作用，调控树岛的生长与斑块维持。本研究提出如下假说：由水力过程介导的水体运动——在旱季因树岛蒸散（evapotranspiration, ET）增强而被强化——会影响养分向树岛生态系统下游区域的侧向运移，进而在本地与区域水团的交汇区域富集磷元素。本项目的目标如下：1）监测并刻画日间蒸散模式的时空变异性；2）监测并刻画本地与区域尺度的水力模式的时间动态；3）刻画树岛植物群落及相邻深水槽（slough）中离子与养分的水文化学模式的时空分布特征；4）设计并实施野外实验，以解答与土壤发育的环境条件、以及以主动管理手段恢复退化树岛的结构与功能的可行性相关的问题。