Project Summary Sheet

Study Title: Ecosystem Portfolio Model: A GIS-Based Decision-Support Tool for Incorporating Natural Systems into Regional Landscape Design in South Florida
Study Start Date: October 1, 2005   Study End Date: September 30, 2009
Web Sites:
Location (Subregions, Counties, Park or Refuge): Biscayne Bay/Everglades land bridge, see Appendix 1.
Funding Source: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Other Complementary Funding Source(s): USGS Science Impact Program (SI)
Funding History:
Principal Investigator(s): Richard Bernknopf, Paul Hearn
Study Personnel: Paul Amos, David Brookshire, Nina Burkardt, Tom Daniels, Ilse Frank, Kevin Gillen, Caroline Hermans, Dianna Hogan, Lynne Koontz, William Labiosa (Project Chief), Berton Lamb, Tony Smith, David Strong, Susan Wachter, Anne Wein
Supporting Organizations: University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of New Mexico Economics Department, and University of Pennsylvania Department of City and Regional Planning, Electrical and Systems Engineering Department, and Wharton School of Business
Associated / Linked Studies:

Overview & Objective:

The primary objective of the project is to develop an ecosystem portfolio model (EPM) for DOI resource managers to use to reconcile the need to maintain the ecological health of South Florida parks and refuges with increasing pressures for urban development. The EPM, a Geographic Information System based decision support tool, will integrate natural science and economic information to support land use planning, land acquisition strategies, and regulatory decisions. The EPM will contribute to improved public understanding and awareness of the importance of protecting South Florida ecosystem functions and their socioeconomic implications.

An important part of the project involves the development and estimation of indices of ecological favorability and socioeconomic impact that may respond to land use decisions, and are key to decision-making. For an index of ecological favorability, the EPM uses an attribute ranking approach to convert maps of physical attributes into domains of ecological and environmental favorability. These statistics provide input to measures of efficiency, productivity, benefits, and risk. Indices and favorabilities (as affected by decisions) will be utilized to produce a representation of community wealth subject to meeting targets. These indicators will be ecological and economic with targets defined using stakeholder requirements.

Status: Continuing.

Recent & Planned Products

Interim product: Task 2: Inventory of data and data sources being incorporated into GIS (attached as Appendix A).

Interim product: Task 3: Ecological function and value bibliography (attached as Appendix B).

Interim product: Tasks 1 and 3: Report describing the definition of, use of and criteria for ecological function and value assessment (attached as Appendix C).

Interim product: Tasks 1 and 3: Internal document summarizing literature and relevant projects in the study area with reflections and discussion (available upon request).

Interim product: Task 1: Summary of findings from user needs assessment and stakeholder assessment meetings held during a during a two-week trip in March, 2006 to Miami, Homestead, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (available upon request) and during the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Conference held in Buena Vista, Florida, in June of 2006 (attached as Appendix D.)

Planned product: A GIS-based decision support tool based on the Land Use Portfolio Model (LUPM) (Bernknopf et al., 2005) will be developed. The Ecosystem Portfolio Modeler (EPM) has two components: (1) maintain ecological viability of parks and refuges, and (2) minimize the adverse economic impacts on land values and economic externalities that affect community wealth by (a) minimizing adverse environmental impacts and (b) appropriating land, development rights, or other form of intervention. Specific applications of the EPM will be undertaken within the Greater Everglades Restoration area. GIS databases will be created to organize EPM inputs and outputs and to display model results in an understandable and useful way.

Relevance to Greater Everglades Restoration Information Needs [See Plan on SOFIA's Web site: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/reports/doi-science-plan/]:

The project is designed to address the following questions and needs in the DOI Science Plan (2005):

• What are the socioeconomic consequences of development and preservation/restoration decisions associated with critical components of the South Florida ecosystem?
• Are there ways to increase sustainable compatibility of the built environment with natural system needs of national parks and refuges - especially, relevant to water-related challenges?
• Conduct studies to estimate the economic value of key environmental and ecological resources affected by development and preservation/restoration decisions;
• Aggregate and quantify the large uncertainties associated with these decisions;
• Develop a GIS-based decision framework in a decision support system (DSS) that will provide land managers and local officials with a clearer idea of the economic consequences of various courses of action.

Key Finding:

The user needs and stakeholder assessments resulted in several key findings that modified the proposed design of the decision support tool. There is skepticism among users about using predictive hydrological-based ecological models as input into an assessment of ecological function and value. While these models are judged to be useful for exploring controlling hydrologic and ecological processes and trying to understand system-scale phenomena, they are not trusted to forecast expected results from restoration and conservation efforts. Identifying conservation and restoration targets and performance measures requires working closely with Park Service staff and stakeholders. These findings have important implications for the approach taken to assess ecological function and value and for the choice of case studies to demonstrate the approach. The implications of these findings for the project are discussed in detail in Appendix C and Appendix D.

Appendix A. Inventory of data and data sources being incorporated into GIS

Introduction

The work performed under Task 2 in fiscal year 2006 has primarily consisted of finding and organizing GIS data that might be useful as input to the Ecosystem Portfolio Model or as background data in our analysis. Data acquired includes boundaries, ecological data, elevation, land use/land cover, hydrology, parcels, and transportation data. Sources include the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL), Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC), Miami-Dade County, and the US Geological Survey. The data was downloaded from public websites, purchased from local governmental organizations, or obtained via personal contact. After acquisition, the data was reprojected into a consistent state plane projection, and the data and metadata was examined to gauge the accuracy and currency of each dataset, as well as the applicability to this project. This process is ongoing, especially with regard to the most critical data types including elevation, hydrology, and parcels. Some of the data have been used to generate maps used by project members to visualize the urban development boundary, development of regional interest locations, and wellfield protection areas.

Appendix A

Data Name	Description	Source	Category
Benthic Habitat Mapping; DEP.SCI_BIOREGIONS	This polygon coverage is used with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Bioassessment Program. The bioassessment program uses it to define the biological region of a sampling station when performing a Biorecon to identify applicable standards	Bill Beers	Biological
Conceptual Integrated Habitat Network	To display the conceptual corridors that the Bureau of Mine Reclamation plans to preserve in the Integrated Habitat Network. The Bureau developed the Integrated Habitat Network (I.H.N.) concept to serve as a guide for permitting and reclamation in the Central Florida phosphate mining district. Its goals are the protection of undisturbed lands and the creation of reclaimed lands into a coordinated landscape that maintains and protects regional water resources, balances a variety of land uses, and replaces or protects critical habitats. The Bureau is incorporating these ideas into its management plans for the many State-owned properties within the IHN that are leased to the Bureau for management primarily as greenways, wildlife habitat, and riparian buffers.	NA	Biological
Dade Vegetation; dade_veg03	An updated digital vegetation and land cover data set for Florida derived from 2003 Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper satellite imagery	Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission	Biological
Ecological Greenways; greenway_v2	The Ecological Greenways included as part of the Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment is identical to the Ecological Greenways Network of the Statewide Greenways System Planning Project except that the grid cell size is 30m x 30m instead of the original 180m x 180m. For all descriptive information please refer to the Ecological Greenways metadata found in the Florida Geographic Data Library (http://www.fgdl.org/metadata/fgdl_html/gweco.htm)	Tom Hoctor, Geoplan Center, University of Florida	Biological
FDEP ECOLOGICAL REGIONS	Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. The Florida ecoregion map depicts revisions of ecoregions, compiled originally at a relatively small scale (US EPA 1995, Omernik 1987), as well as subregions of those ecoregions.	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Biological
COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN STUDY AREA	This dataset contains a boundary shapefile of (CERP) Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Study Areas	South Florida Water Management District	Biological
Ecosystem Management Areas; DEP.ECOSYSTEM_MGMT_AREAS	Department of Environmental Protection Ecosystem management areas	DEP/BIS/GIS	Biological
EOQUAD	Species element occurences by quadrangle	FNAI and TNC	Biological
Florida Forever Board of Trustees Projects; ffbot	FLORIDA FOREVER BOT PROJECTS (layer name FFBOT): This is a polygon data layer for Florida Forever Board of Trustees (BOT) projects (formerly known as CARL projects). This data layer is site-based and contains boundaries of all Florida Forever BOT projects approved by the State's Acquisition and Restoration Council as of 12 August 2005. These lands have been proposed for acquisition because of outstanding natural resources, opportunity for natural resource-based recreation, or historical and archaeological resources. However, these areas may not be currently managed for their resource value. Portions of these projects may have already been acquired by the State and/or its acquisition partners	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Florida Natural Areas Inventory - Invasive Plants; Flinv.shp	Produced from Florida Invasive Plants GeoDatabase to provide a developing statewide view of current invasive exotic plant occurrences in public conservation lands and to establish an inventory and monitoring tool for policy making in natural resource management	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Florida Managed Areas; flma	FLORIDA MANAGED AREAS (layer name FLMA): This is a polygon data layer for public (and some private) lands that the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) has identified as having natural resource value and that are being managed at least partially for conservation purposes. The term "Managed Area" refers to a managed conservation land.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Florida Natural Areas Inventory - Rare Species Habitat Conservation Priorities; fnaihab_v2	Florida Forever Measure B2: The number of acres acquired of highest priority conservation areas for Florida's rarest species. The FNAI Rare Species Habitat Conservation Priorities data layer prioritizes places on the landscape that would protect both the greatest number of rare species and those species with the greatest conservation need.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Forest Land to Maintain Recharge; forrech_v2	Measure G3: The number of acres of forestland acquired that will serve to maintain natural groundwater recharge functions. In consultation with forestry experts from the Division of Agriculture and Consumer Services/Division of Forestry and the Florida Forestry Association, we defined this measure as the acres of existing forestland that are also areas of high recharge.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Fragile Coastal Resources; coast_v2	Florida Forever Measure C8: The number of acres acquired that protect fragile coastal resources. The Fragile Coastal Resources data layer includes natural communities most vulnerable to disturbance or development.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Functional wetlands; wetlands_v2	Florida Forever Measure C8: The number of acres of functional wetland systems protected. Degree of disturbance was assumed to be an indicator of functionality. Only those wetlands that were considered as natural landcover types by the WMD landcover data were included. Natural wetlands within FNAI Potential Natural Areas (PNA) were given higher priority than those outside PNAs.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Landscape size protection areas; lglandsc_v2	Florida Forever Measure B5: The number of landscape-sized protection areas that exhibit a mosaic of predominantly intact or restorable natural communities (>50,000 acres) established through new acquisition projects, or augmentations to previous projects.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Mitigation Bank Service Areas; MITIGATION_BANK_SERVICE_AREAS	A Mitigation Service Area (MSA) is established, by permit, for each Mitigation Bank according to guidelines set forth in Chapter 373.4136(6), Florida Statutes and Rule 62-342.600, F.A.C. It is the area within which specific types of permitted wetland impacts could be expected to be offset within the mitigation bank	Florida DEP	Biological
Mitigation Banks; DEP.MITIGATION_BANKS	DEP Mitigation Banks. The data set associated with this data layer were gathered by ERP staff from GIS datasets collected from individual mitigation banks, from the water management district that permitted the mitigation bank or by creating the data from permit drawings and descriptions. Therefore, while these boundaries represent a reasonable approximation of the MSAs, they are not intended for pinpoint accuracy	Florida DEP	Biological
SCI Bioregions	The SCI Bioregions layer is used by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Bioassessment Program to define the biological reqion a sampling station is in to define applicable standards		Biological
Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas; shca_v2	The Prioritized Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas (SHCA) identify important habitat conservation needs for each of 40 rare and imperiled vertebrates and 4 natural communities included in the Commission report, "Closing the Gaps in Florida's Wildlife Habitat Conservation System" (Cox et al. 1994) and for 15 additional rare vertebrate species found to be inadequately protected on existing conservation lands (Cox and Kautz 2000).	Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission	Biological
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
Sustainable Forestry; forestry_v2	Florida Forever Measure G1: The number of acres acquired that are available for sustainable forest management; and Measure G2: The number of acres of state-owned forestland managed for economic return in accordance with current Best Management Practices (BMPs). Thus, for measure G1, we developed a statewide data layer of existing and potential pinelands.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Underrepresented Natural Communities; natcom_v2	Florida Forever Measure B4: The number of acres acquired of under-represented native ecosystems. Depending on the classification system followed, Florida features as many as 81 different natural community types (FNAI 1990).	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Biological
Vegetation Miami-Dade; dade_veg03	In 1990, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) completed a project to map Florida vegetation and land cover using 1985-89 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery. The resulting digital database contained 17 natural and semi-natural land cover types, 4 land cover types indicative of human disturbance, and 1 water class.	Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission	Biological
Aquifer Recharge; recharge_v2	Florida Forever Measure D3: The number of acres acquired of ground water recharge areas critical to springs, sinks, aquifers, other natural systems, or water supply. Areas of highest recharge to aquifers of primary use were identified and compiled by FNAI	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Hydrology
Drainage Basins; DEP.DRAINAGE_BASINS_1997_LINES	This dataset contains only the basins as far south as the Caloosahtachee and St. Lucie River basins. Due to the lack of natural flow farther south, coupled with the active pumping of water via canal and channelized streams, this basin coverage currently reflects only those streams with partial natural flow.	DEP/WRM/BWM	Hydrology
Groundwater contamination; DEP.GROUND_WATER_CONTAMINATION	Buffered areas above max. contam. levels of ground water (GWC Buffers 1994)	DEP/DWF	Hydrology
Lakes; DEP.LAKES_AREAS	Primary lakes in north and central Florida developed from GNIS, USGS 1:24k Hydrography data, 1994 DOQQs, and USGS DRGs and reviewed by DEP and WMD personnel	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Hydrology
Natural Floodplain; floodpl_v2	Florida Forever Measure C4: The number of acres acquired that protect natural floodplain functions. FNAI worked closely with DEP/Division of Water Resources Management/Bureau of Submerged Lands and Environmental Resources (SLER) to develop a method for representing natural floodplain. We also elected to use only floodplains of major rivers and lakes, rather than all streams or lakes, in order to capture the most important systems.	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Hydrology
Outstanding Waters; DEP.OUTSTANDING_FLORIDA_WATERS	The legislature of the State of Florida established a category of surface water features called "Outstanding Florida Waters" that are to be protected from any degradation from their current water quality classification.	DEP	Hydrology
Surface Waters; surfwatr_v2	Surface waters. This data set was developed as part of the Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment. These data are intended to address specific performance measures of the Florida Forever program	Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)	Hydrology
Water Supply Restoration Wells; DEP.WSRP_PRIVATE_WELLS	FDEP Water Supply Restoration Program private drinking water well contamination database	Andrew Priest	Hydrology
Navigable Waterways	This dataset contains navigable waterways in and around Florida. The National Waterway Network is a geographic database of navigable waterways in and around the United States, for analytical studies of waterway performance, for compiling commodity flow statistics, and for mapping purposes. Links in the waterway network represent actual shipping lanes or serve as representative paths in open water where no defined shipping lanes exist. Nodes may represent physical entities such as river confluence's, ports/facilities, and intermodal terminals, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE nodes), or may be inserted for analytical purposes	Bureau of Transportation Stats	Hydrology
NATIONAL HYDROGRAPHY DATASET-REACHES - Statewide	This dataset contains the spatial extent of reaches for the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) in the State of Florida. The lines are features that comprise the surface water drainage network and coastline-stream/river, canal/ditch, artificial path,connector, and pipeline. The lines representing network features, through which water flows in a known direction, are oriented in the direction of flow. The lines representing coastlines are usually oriented so that the sea or ocean is to the right.	United States Geological Survey	Hydrology
WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BOUNDARIES	This dataset contains the Florida Water Management District boundaries	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Hydrology
Outstanding Florida Waters	Boundaries for Outstanding Florida Waters (OFWs) as described in Section 62-302.700, F.A.C. This layer includes all three types of OFWs: OFW Aquatic Preserves, Special OFWs, and Other OFWs.	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Hydrology
SURFACE WATER CLASSIFICATION BOUNDARIES	This dataset contains Class I and II surface water classification boundaries for the State of Florida.	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Hydrology
April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contour Grid-Poly	April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contour Grid-Poly. April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours were used to create a grid and then turned into a polygon coverage	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contour Grid-Poly	April 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contour Grid-Poly. April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours were used to create a grid and then turned into a polygon coverage	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties.	April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. To develop and show Potentiometric surface contours and the difference of these contours between years 1940's, 1970's, and 1990's in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1940-1944 Ground-Water Wells	Ground-water wells with water levels in April 1940-1944.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
Difference of April 1970-1974 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Difference of April 1970-1974 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. To develop and show Potentiometric surface contours and the difference of these contours between years 1940's, 1970's, and 1990's in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1970-1974 Ground-Water Wells	April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly	Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1920	Canals constructed before 1920 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1930	Canals constructed before 1930 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1940	Canals constructed before 1940 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1950	Canals constructed before 1950 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1960	Canals constructed before 1960 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1970	Canals constructed before 1970 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1980	Canals constructed before 1980 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
canals_1990	Canals constructed before 1990 in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. To show the progression of canals constructed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from before 1920 thru 1990.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Study area Primary canals; circ1275_canals	Primary canals in study area.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Study area Control Structures; circ1275_struct	Study area control structures used in published figures.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1904 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt04	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1904 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1904 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt04_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1904 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1918 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt18	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1918 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1918 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt18_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1918 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1943 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt43	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1943 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1943 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt43_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1943 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
1946 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt46	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1946 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1946 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt46_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1946 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1953 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt53	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1953 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1953 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt62_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1953 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1962 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt62	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1962 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1962 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt53_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1962 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1969 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt69	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1969 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1969 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt59_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1969 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1970 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt70	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1970 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1977 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt77_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1977 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1977 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt77	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1977 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1977 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt70_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1977 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1984 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt84	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1984 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1984 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt84_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1984 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1996 Saltwater Encroachment Line, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt96	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1996 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955. To show the progression of the saltwater encroachment in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
1996 Saltwater Encroachment Polygon, Miami-Dade County; dadesalt96_poly	Miami-Dade County's saltwater intrusion boundary line in 1996 digitized from 'Water Resources of Southeastern Florida': U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1255; Parker, G.G., Ferguson, G.E., Love, S.K., and others, 1955	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contour Grid-Poly; apr70grd_pol	April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours were used to create a grid and then turned into a polygon coverage	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; apr4044_cont	To develop and show Potentiometric surface contours and the difference of these contours between years 1940's, 1970's, and 1990's in South Florida for the purpose of the report 'Synthesis on the Impact of 20th Century Water-Management and Land-Use Practices on the Coastal Hydrology of Southeast Florida'	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of April 1970-1974 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly; apr7040_pol	Difference of April 1970-1974 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; apr7074_cont	April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
April 1970-1974 Ground-Water Wells; apr7074_pts	Ground-water wells with water levels in April 1970-1974.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly; apr9040_pol	Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly;	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly; apr9070_pol	Difference of April 1990-1994 and April 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
April 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; apr9094_cont	April 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Municipal Pumping Rates; mun_pumps	1995 - Municipal Pumpage Rates for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
October 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; oct4044_cont	October 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
October 1940-1944 Ground-Water Wells; oct4044-pts	Ground-water wells with water levels in October 1940-1944.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of October 1970-1974 and October 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly; oct7040_pol	Difference of October 1970-1974 and October 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
October 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; oct7074_cont	October 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
October 1970-1974 Ground-Water Wells; oct7074_pts	Ground-water wells with water levels in October 1970-1974	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
oct9040_pol	Difference of October 1990-1994 and October 1940-1944 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Difference of October 1990-1994 and October 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly; oct9070_pol	Difference of October 1990-1994 and October 1970-1974 Potentiometric Surface Contours Grid-Poly	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
October 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contours, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties; oct9094_cont	October 1990-1994 Potentiometric Surface Contours for Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
Surface and Ground-Water Water Level Sites; swgwpts90	Surface-water and Ground-water wells with water levels in April and October 1990-1994.	Joann Dixon; USGS	Hydrology
DRAINAGE BASINS; basins_dade_sp	This dataset contains drainage basins as determined by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)	FDEP	Hydrology
DRASTIC VULNERABILITY AREAS OF THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER SYSTEM; drastic_vuln_sp	This shapefile contains countywide DRASTIC data for the Surficial Aquifer System. DRASTIC is a system developed jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the National Water Well Association (NWWA) to map potential aquifer vulnerability to pollution introduced on the ground's surface.	FDEP	Hydrology
US EPA WATER QUALITY INFORMATION; epawq_dade_sp	This dataset contains locations of monitoring stations and statistical summaries of water quality monitoring for 47 physical and chemical-related parameters.	US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water	Hydrology
PESTICIDE DRASTIC VULNERABILITY AREAS OF THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER SYSTEM; pesticide_drastic_vuln_sp	This dataset contains countywide DRASTIC data for the Surficial Aquifer System recalibrated for pesticide use. DRASTIC is a system developed jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the National Water Well Association (NWWA) to map potential aquifer vulnerability to pollution (in this case, resulting from pesticide use) introduced on the ground's surface	FDEP	Hydrology
USGS REALTIME STREAM GAGING STATIONS	This dataset contains U.S. Geological Survey sampling station locations. The stations are equipped with telemetry to transmit data on streamflow, temperature, and other parameters back to a data base for real-time viewing via the World Wide Web	U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)	Hydrology
FDEP WATERSHED PLANNING AND COORDINATION WATER QUALITY DATA; wtrwpc_dade_sp	This dataset contains 1998 countywide surface water quality conditions and trends as described in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's 305(b) report	U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)	Hydrology
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
Functional Wetland; wlp_dade_sp	Florida Forever Measure C8: The number of acres of functional wetland systems protected. Degree of disturbance was assumed to be an indicator of functionality. Only those wetlands that were considered as natural landcover types by the WMD landcover data were included. Natural wetlands within FNAI Potential Natural Areas (PNA) were given higher priority than those outside PNAs. For a complete description please refer to: Knight, A. and J. Oetting. 2005. Conservation Needs Assessment Technical Report, Version 2.0. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL (available online at www.fnai.org)	FNAI	Hydrology
miami_dade_canals	Miami-Dade Canals	Miami-Dade County	Hydrology
miami_dade_hydro	Miami-Dade Hydrography	Miami-Dade County	Hydrology
miami_dade_streams	Miami-Dade Streams	Miami-Dade County	Hydrology
miami-dade wellfield protection areas; miami_dade_wpa	Miami-Dade Wellfield Protection Areas	Miami-Dade County	Hydrology
sfla_elev		Greg Desmond	Geology
Miami-Dade contours; md_contours	contours for county	unknown (no metadata)	geology
National Elevation Dataset	The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NED is a seamless mosaic of best-available elevation data. The 7.5-minute elevation data for the conterminous United States are the primary initial source data. In addition to the availability of complete 7.5-minute data, efficient processing methods were developed to filter production artifacts in the existing data, convert to the NAD83 datum, edge-match, and fill slivers of missing data at quadrangle seams. One of the effects of the NED processing steps is a much-improved base of elevation data for calculating slope and hydrologic derivatives. The specifications for the NED 1 arc second and 1/3 arc second data are: Geographic coordinate system Horizontal datum of NAD83, except for AK which is NAD27 Vertical datum of NAVD88, except for AK which is NAVD29 Z units of meters	U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), EROS Data Center	Geology
Soils Geology	Multiple titles from published Florida Geological Survey maps,		Geology
GEOLOGY_ENVIRONMENTAL	Environmental geology of Florida.	Florida Geological Survey	Geology
Miami-Dade Parcels; parcels	Miami-Dade County Parcels	unknown	Land Use
State Land Records	The Florida TIITF Land Records Spatial Index is a document based GIS layer to be displayed as a map comprised of polygons and attributes representing parcels described in deeds, leases, easements and other instruments archived in the Title Archives of the Division of State Lands, Department of Environmental Protection for the Florida Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (TIITF). The polygons represent parcels described in the archived TIITF land record documents; this is not a tax map or a representation of current ownership. The data includes acquisitions, dispositions and encumbrances. Selecting a parcel on the map may return information about several different documents associated with that parcel through out the history of State land transactions involving that parcel	Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of State Lands	Land Use
Existing Trails; DEP.EXISTING_TRAILS_2005	Existing Trails 2005 is a line shapefile that includes existing trails located in the State of Florida added up to December 2004	Varies by Source	Land Use
Park Boundaries; DEP.PARKS_AND_REC_AREAS	Florida State park boundaries	DEP/Parks Planning	Land Use
Recreational Trails; trails_v2	Recreational Trails is derived from the Trail Opportunities Network that was developed as part of the Florida Greenways and Trails System to identify a set fo potential trail corridors that provide a connected set of linear recreational opporutnities statewide (Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Greenways Coordinating Council 2004). The recreational trails data layer combines the Hiking and Multi-use sub-network priorities. (Paddling trails were excluded because they identify sovereign submerged lands).	Office of Greenways and Trails	Land Use
Trails Priorities; BASE.MULTI_USE_TRAIL_PRIORITIES	This dataset contains multi-use trail opportunities prioritization results from the Office of Greenways and Trails Prioritization Project. The original multi-use trail opportunities were identified in the Office of Greenways and Trails Implementation Plan adopted by the Florida Legislature in 1999. The trail prioritization results contained in this dataset were approved by the Florida Greenways and Trails Council in May 2004.	University of Florida GeoPlan Center	Land Use
FLORIDA COUNTY BOUNDARIES - Statewide	This dataset contains Florida county boundaries. It is an update of the FGDL Version 2003 County Boundaries dataset	US Census Bureau	Land Use
City Limits - Derived from Parcel Data	This dataset contains city limits for the State of Florida. The data was delineated from tax code boundaries as defined in county parcel data collected from the State Department of Revenue (DOR) by the GeoPlan Center.	UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GEOPLAN CENTER	Land Use
USGS 1:250,000 LAND USE LAND COVER - 1970's	This dataset contains the USGS LULC from the 1970's	United States Geological Survey	Land Use
COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN - REGIONS	This dataset contains a boundary shapefile of the (CERP) Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan nine Regions. CERP is a framework and guide to restore, protect, and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida, including the Everglades. It covers 16 counties over an 18,000-square-mile area, which is organized into 9 regions. CERP centers on an update of the Central & Southern Florida (C&SF) Project.	South Florida Water Management District	Land Use
Data Name	Description	Source	Category
REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL BOUNDARIES	The purpose of this data set is to provide the boundaries of the eleven regional planning councils of the state of Florida for the purposes of research and planning	Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)	Land Use
MAJOR ROADS	This dataset contains major roads from the July 2004 version of the Florida Department of Transportation Roads Characteristics inventory (RCI) dataset. The dataset has been updated from the previous versions of FGDL	Florida Department of Transportation	Land Use
sfla_boundaries/circ1275	Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County, part of Monroe County Boundaries from Circular 1275 data	unknown	Land Use
Miami-Dade Streets; dade_streets_no_dupl	Miami-Dade Streets. Note that in this shapefile, street location duplications (due to streets with multiple names) have been removed using a Dissolve. This shapefile should be used when street locations are important, but not individual characteristics (e.g. names) of the streets.	unknown	Land Use
SOUTH FLORIDA FUTURE LAND USE	This dataset contains the future land use as developed by the Regional Planning Councils of the State of Florida	Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council	Land Use
Anticipated future land uses; lscndflu_dade_sp	This coverage represents the anticipated future land use for the area of Florida defined by the SFWMM Domain	Jimmy Kramp	Land Use
Miami-Dade Streets; dade_streets_with_dupl	Miami-Dade Streets. Note that in this shapefile, many street locations are duplicated due to alternate street names. These duplications are eliminated in dade_streets_no_dupl.	unknown	Population
cenblockgroups_2000	2000 Census Block Groups	US Census Bureau	Population
cenblocks_2000	2000 Census Blocks	US Census Bureau	Population
cenplaces_2000	2000 Census Places	US Census Bureau	Population
centracts_2000	2000 Census Tracts	US Census Bureau	Population
		US Census Bureau	Population

Appendix B. Ecological Function And Value Bibliography

ATLSS. 2006. Across Trophic Level System Simulation. http://www.atlss.org/

Browder J.A., R. Alleman, S. Markley, P. Ortner, and P. A. Pitts. 2005. Biscayne Bay conceptual ecological model. Wetlands 25(4):854-869.

Brown, M. T. and M. B. Vivas. 2005. Landscape development intensity index. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 101:289-309.

Banzhaf, S and J. Boyd. 2005 The Architecture and Measurement of an Ecosystem Services Index. Resources for the Future. RFF DP 05-22. http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/RFF-DP-05-22.pdf

Canzanelli, L., M. Mayr, A. Lyew-Ayee, A. Condon. 2004. Adjacent lands protection strategy for Biscayne National Park, implementation plan. National Park Service, The Trust for Public Land, Tropical Audubon Society, South Florida Water Management District, Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resource Management, State of Florida Department of Environmental protection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 8 pages.

Carr, M. H., and P. Zwick. 2005. Using GIS Suitability Analysis to Identify Potential Future Land Use Conflicts in North Central Florida. Journal of Conservation Planning. 1(1)89-105. http://www.journalconsplanning.org/2005/volume1/issue1/carr/manuscript.pdf

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Ecosystem performance measures. http://www.evergladesplan.org/pm/recover/eval_team_perf_measures.cfm

Costanza et al. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253-260.

Cox, J., R Kautz, M. MacLauglin, and T. Gilbert. 1994. Closing the Gaps in Florida's Wildlife Habitat Conservation System, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish commission, Talhassee, FL. http://myfwc.com/oes/habitat_sec/Closing_Gaps.pdf

EDEN. 2006. Everglades Depth Estimation Network. Referred to at http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/workplans06/hydro_mon.html

EMDS. 2006. Knowledge Based Decision Support for Ecological Assessment. http://www.institute.redlands.edu/emds/about.htm

ELM, http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/wrp/elm/

Everglades National Park Strategic Plan (2001-2005)

FNAI. 2006. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. www.fnai.org

Harman-Fetcho, J.A., C. J. Hapeman, L. L. McConnell, T. L. Potter, C. P. Rice, A. M. Sadeghi, R. D. Smith, K. Bialek, K. A. Sefton, B. A. Schaffer, and R. Curry. 2005. Pesticide occurrence in selected south Florida canals and Biscayne Bay during high agricultural activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 53:6040-6048.

Harrison, J., D. Ebert, T. Wade, and D. Yankee. 2000. Using ATtILA (Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessments) to estimate landscape indicators and target restoration needs. Conference Proceedings http://www.nwqmc.org/2000proceeding/papers/pap_harrison.pdf

Johnston, C. A. 1991. Sediment and nutrient retention by freshwater wetlands: effects on surface water quality. Critical Reviews in Environmental Control 21:491-565.

Marten, G. G. 2001. Human ecology - Basic concepts for sustainable development. London, England. Earthscan Publications, Ltd. 238 pages.

McCormick, P. V. and J. A. Laing. 2003. Effects of increased phosphorus loading on dissolved oxygen in a subtropical wetland, the Florida Everglades. Wetlands Ecology and Management 11(3):199-216.

National Academy of Sciences, The. 2003. Adaptive Monitoring and Assessment for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Water Science and Technology Board, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life Studies. National Research Council of the National Academies. National Academies Press. Washington, DC. 123 pages.

National Academy of Sciences, The. 2005. Evaluating Ecological Tradeoffs. Chapter 5 In Re-Engineering Water Storage in the Everglades: Risks and Opportunities. Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Water Science and Technology Board, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life Sciences. National Research Council of the National Academies. The National Academies Press. Washington DC. 7 pages.

Ogden, J. C. 2005. evergaldes Ridge and Slough Conceptual Ecological Model. Wetlands 25(4):810-820.

Ogden, J. C., S. M. Davis, K. J. Jacobs, T. Barnes, H. E. Fling. 2005. The Use of Conceptual Ecological Models to Guide Ecosystem Restoration in South Florida. Wetlands 25(4):795-809.

Pearlstine, L. and F. Mazzotti. 2003. A spatially-explicit decision support system for Everglades risk assessment and restoration. Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Annual report prepared for Don DeAngelis, US Geological Survey, Miami, FL.

Reynolds, J. E., and A. Regalado. 2002. The effects of wetlands and other factors on rural land values. The Appraisal Journal April 2002. pgs. 182-190.

South Florida ecosystem restoration task force, science coordination group http://www.sfrestore.org/scg/scg_meetings/2005_meetings/110205/plan_coordinate_science_phase2_110205.pdf http://www.sfrestore.org/issueteams/latt/meetings/2005_meetings/031605/latt_summary_031605.pdf

Walbridge, M. R. 1993. Functions and values of forested wetlands in the southern United States. Journal of Forestry 91:15-19.

South Miami Dade Watershed Study and Plan (2006), http://www.southmiamidadewatershed.com/

Zedler, J. B. 2003. Wetlands at your service: reducing impacts of agriculture at the watershed scale. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2(1):65-72.

Appendix C. The definition of, use of and criteria for Ecological Function and Value Assessment (work in process)

South Florida resource managers use the expression "ecological function and value" when the ecological component of EPT (previously ecological favorability) is under discussion. Ecological function refers to functions that are provided by the land such as habitat for species, natural communities, flood protection, park buffer, connectivity, water quality, and recreation. Ecological value involves a subjective judgment about how well the function is provided (in terms of quality, quantity and location, for example) and how much the function is needed (as characterized by predefined goals and targets).

South Florida resource managers have endorsed the development of a method to assess ecological function and value for the purposes of

• Communicating the ecological function and value of the land in terms of both park stewardship and ecological function and value outside of the Park boundaries.
• Identifying and promoting conservation and restoration of lands that have the attributes to improve and sustain ecological function and value in the study area such as a connecting corridor between the two parks, maintenance of buffer (agricultural and wet) lands around the parks, and location of lands for CERP.
• Quantifying cumulative effects of land use decisions on ecological function and value in the parks and land bridge.
• Validating resource managers' beliefs about the ecological function and value of the land in the study area.

Resource managers have indicated that the assessment should be able to

• Compare the ecological function and value of different land use scenarios in the study area.
• Appear transparent and as simple as possible to be understandable, accessible, and trustworthy, and to promote use by south Florida land use decision makers.
• Address a range of scales (parcel and/or land bridge land use influences on ecologic favorability of the parcel, Park and the study area landscape) and numerous spatial dependencies.
• Forecast effects; however, this perspective is not currently unanimous.
• Be repeatable and defendable.
• Be tested across 3 pilot studies.
• Be kept up to date.

Information sources for Ecological Function

Many sources of information about ecological function are provided by various agencies actively pursuing their ecological goals. We have identified four types of input: (i) data layers of ecological function, (ii) explanatory models of ecological function(s) incorporating factors that affect ecological function, (iii) data layers of the factors of importance, and (iv) models of the factors of importance. These sources of information and expert opinion are relevant to any method selected to assess ecological function and value.

Data Layers of Functions
The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) of data layers is available and is accessed by other agencies for their analyses (for example, FWC and South Florida). FNAI's "resource types" reflect their orientation towards prioritizing lands for acquisition with respect to the ecological functions of providing for global, federal and state species, global, federal and state natural communities, connectivity of landscapes, significant watersheds, quality wetlands, productive forestry, potential trails network, and areas of recharge and cultural resources.

The Miami-Dade Watershed Study and Plan (2006) contains a compilation of other data layers.

Data from various other agencies have been compiled and are listed in the projects data inventory.

Explanatory Models of Ecological Functions
Explanatory models are used to understand the response of ecological function to change. Ogden et al. (2005), Ogden (2005) and Browder (2005) have produced conceptual ecological models for the study area. The models identify the key anthropogenic stressors and drivers affecting ecosystems.

The landscape development intensity index by Brown and Vivas (2005) considers the intensity of different human land uses and their direct, secondary, and cumulative impacts on adjacent ecological communities - specifically for south Florida ecosystems.

Various habitat Suitability models (USGS FLGAP, ATLSS and TES) models for south Florida are "potential habitat" models such that the landscape conditions have the potential to provide habitat for the species. The FWC Closing the Gaps and FNAI models are similar, but restrict habitat to areas at or near observed populations. Therefore, the former models are generally liberal estimates of habitat and FWC/FNAI are conservative (since species observations are often bias toward areas of easy access) (pers. comm. Leonard Pearlstine).

Data layers of Factors
EDEN

Models of Factors
Hydrological models (SFWMD)

Methods and Measures of Ecological Value

We found examples of indirect and direct assessment of ecological value of a land unit, project or study area. The Miami-Dade Watershed Study and Plan (2006) indirectly assessed the ecological value of a land-use plan for the study area by aligning performance measures with Park goals.

FNAI uses a direct weighted index approach to score the ecological functions (resource types) for each potential acquisition project such that acres of higher function or priority receive a heavier weight and a score is reduced if minimum acreage is not met. The ecological valuation of a group of projects across five resource types (species, communities, wetlands, watersheds and forestry) is affected by penalties if resource targets, determined by consensus, are not met.

Everglades Landscape Model (ELM), an integrated ecological assessment tool, also uses a weighted index approach and places weights on six criteria that represent five ecological functions (land cover, rare species, FNAI natural areas, connectivity with acquired conservation lands and connectivity with lands on the acquisition list) and size of tract. Each criteria is scored according to how well it provides it function or how much land is involved.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) whose purpose is conservation, species protection and landscape scale biodiversity, has a tool that represents ecological (biological) value as Strategic Habitat Conservation areas (SHCA) to meet minimum conservation and species viability goals (Cox et al, 1994). The value of the lands for species protection is driven by the habitat needs to sustain 44 species. Highly valued lands (Hot Spots) are based on the number of focal species that would likely provide appropriate habitat conditions in the area.

Frameworks Being considered for Assessing Ecological Function and Value

1. AtTila

2. Ecosystem Management Decision Support System (EMDS)

3. Bayesian Belief Networks

Appendix D. Summary of findings from user needs assessment and stakeholder assessment meetings

A user needs assessment was conducted through a series of meetings held during a during a two-week trip in March, 2006 to Miami, Homestead, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Meetings were held with Everglades National Park and Biscayne Bay National Park management and staff, Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning staff, South Florida Regional Planning Council staff, environmental group representatives, consultants representing various parties, including developers, staff from the South Florida Water Management District, members of the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study team, and academics. The findings from the user needs assessment were refined during a subsequent meeting with representatives from Everglades National Park (ENP), Biscayne National Park (BNP), and the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) during the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Conference held in Buena Vista, Florida in June of 2006, as well as during several phone conferences with representatives from ENP and DERM. The findings from this user needs assessment resulted in a modification to the study proposal, which was submitted to ENP and BNP. The updated proposal redefined the proposed case studies to for application of a GIS-based ecosystem management decision support system. The re-defined case studies address three questions:

1. What is the ecological function/value and conservation/restoration potential of land on the land bridge between ENP and BNP? What are the best available data and the needed data for performing this assessment? How does this information support hypotheses about wetland and habitat restoration potential of acquired lands, the buffering potential of adjacent undeveloped lands, and other hypotheses of interest in the land bridge area?
2. What are feasible (and effective) CERP footprints in the presence of rapid growth and development in Bird Drive Basin? What is the ecological function/value of land in this area?
3. What effect might the Watershed Study's preferred scenario have on ecological function and values in both the land bridge and the Bird Drive Basin areas? How does more recent data affect the Study's predicted outcomes? What are the values at risk?

Up to date natural science, land use, and land price data have been (Tasks 2 and 3) and will continue to be collected and implemented in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment for each case study. These data layers will reflect what is currently known about the state of the relevant ecological, environmental, and hydrologic values for the lands in the case study areas. We will develop simple models of restoration potential, habitat conservation potential, and other ecological hypotheses for areas within the case studies. These simple models will integrate the available data and expert opinion using appropriate indicators, scoring systems, or other approaches for considering the possible results of various relevant scenarios under this task. The data, models, and tools will be specific to each case study.