Climate Change Projected Effects on Coastal Foundation Communities of the Greater Everglades Using a 2060 Scenario: Need for a New Management Paradigm

• Published in: Environmental management (New York) 2015-04, Vol.55 (4), p.857-875
• Main Authors: Koch, M. S, Coronado, C, Miller, M. W, Rudnick, D. T, Stabenau, E, Halley, R. B, Sklar, F. H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon dioxide; climate; Climate Change; Climate prediction; Coastal; Coastal currents; Coastal ecosystems; Coastlines; Coasts; Communities; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Coral Reefs; corals; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecosystem; Ecosystem management; Ecosystems; Environment; Environmental Management; Florida; Forest soils; Forestry Management; Forests; Foundations; freshwater; Freshwater ecosystems; Geomorphology; High temperature; macroalgae; mangrove forests; Mangrove swamps; Mangroves; Marine ecosystems; Nature Conservation; nutrients; Peat; Planning; Precipitation; prediction; Resource management; Saline water; Saline water intrusion; saltwater intrusion; Sea level; Sea level rise; seagrasses; Soil temperature; temperature; Temperature requirements; transgressive segregation; Waste Water Technology; water currents; Water Management; Water Movements; Water Pollution Control; Wetlands
• ISSN: 0364-152X; 1432-1009
• DOI: 10.1007/s00267-014-0375-y

Rising sea levels and temperature will be dominant drivers of coastal Everglades’ foundation communities (i.e., mangrove forests, seagrass/macroalgae, and coral reefs) by 2060 based on a climate change scenario of +1.5 °C temperature, +1.5 foot (46 cm) in sea level, ±10 % in precipitation and 490 ppm CO₂. Current mangrove forest soil elevation change in South Florida ranges from 0.9 to 2.5 mm year⁻¹and would have to increase twofold to fourfold in order to accommodate a 2060 sea level rise rate. No evidence is available to indicate that coastal mangroves from South Florida and the wider Caribbean can keep pace with a rapid rate of sea level rise. Thus, particles and nutrients from destabilized coastlines could be mobilized and impact benthic habitats of southern Florida. Uncertainties in regional geomorphology and coastal current changes under higher sea levels make this prediction tentative without further research. The 2060 higher temperature scenario would compromise Florida’s coral reefs that are already degraded. We suggest that a new paradigm is needed for resource management under climate change that manages coastlines for resilience to marine transgression and promotes active ecosystem management. In the case of the Everglades, greater freshwater flows could maximize mangrove peat accumulation, stabilize coastlines, and limit saltwater intrusion, while specific coral species may require propagation. Further, we suggest that regional climate drivers and oceanographic processes be incorporated into Everglades and South Florida management plans, as they are likely to impact coastal ecosystems, interior freshwater wetlands and urban coastlines over the next few decades.