Everglades National Park Ecosystems

[Date of Submission]

Introduction3

Discussion5

The Ecological Description of the Ecosystem5

The Sloughs and Saw-grass marshes6

The Tropical Hardwood Hammock8

The Pineland8

The Cypress9

The Coastal Prairie and Mangrove10

The Florida Bay11

The Current Significance of Ecosystem11

The Historical Significance of Ecosystem12

The Native Americans14

The Tequesta and Calusa14

The Seminole15

The Exploration16

The Drainage17

The Growth of Urban Areas18

The Future under Alternative Scenarios (Protected/Neglected)18

Conclusion20

Everglades National Park Ecosystems

Introduction

A community of living organisms, like, microbes, animals and plants in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, like, mineral soil, water and air are known as an ecosystem which interacts as a system. Through energy flows and nutrient cycles, these abiotic and biotic components are linked together. In accordance to some scientists, the entire planet is an ecosystem (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Program, 2005). However, ecosystems encompass limited and specific spaces and can come in any size as they defined by the network of interactions among organisms and between the environments of other organisms.

The other essential abiotic components of an ecosystem are soil minerals, nitrogen, water and energy. Through the sun, the energy is obtained that flows through ecosystems. Through the process of photosynthesis, it generally enters the system. Internal and external factors both control the ecosystems. Potential biota, time, the parent material and climate are the external factors. The way things work within the ecosystem and the overall structure of an ecosystem are controlled by the parent material. Ecosystems are in the process of recovering from some past disturbance and are subjected to periodic disturbances as they are dynamic entities. Because of the different pools of species present, things can be done in a different manner by the ecosystems located in different parts of the world and in a similar environment.

In ecosystem function, the substantial shifts are caused by the introduction of non-native species. Internal factors are often subjected to feedback loops and controls the ecosystem processes. The internal factors, like, shading, root competition and decomposition control the availability of the resources within the ecosystem, whereas, external processes, like, and parent material and climate generally control the resource inputs. The types of species present and disturbance succession are the other internal factors that are included. The external factors, like, climate is likely to be influenced by the cumulative effects of humans, although they operate and exist within ecosystems.

A disproportionately large global contribution is made by the natural ecosystems of Florida towards biodiversity or biological diversity, which makes them valuable. From tropical Caribbean areas to the south and from continental areas to the north, a diverse mixture of species colonized the state over evolutionary time (Costanza & Et.al, 1997). In accordance to the Nature 2000 Task Force, the important subspecies, mammal species, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish and vascular plant of Florida rose to eight percent higher by the semi-isolation by the ocean on three sides subsequently. With strong conservation mandates, the public agencies and the conservation organizations consider Florida as a global hotspot for biodiversity today.

For at least ten thousand years, the ecosystems of Florida are being modified by the ...