A tool to monitor hydrologic conditions on tree islands in the Everglades

Ecological Indicators
By: , and 

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Abstract

Tree islands are patchy upland forested habitats in Florida's Everglades that face degradation and disappearance due to altered hydrologic patterns. The U.S. Geological Survey coordinated with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida to co-develop a decision-support tool based on tree-island hydrologic conditions. Everglades managers can use this tool to help with restoration planning and water operations decisions that affect tree-island conditions. After a series of organized workshops and meetings, a list of hydrologic metrics was selected as indicators of tree-island health, including hydroperiod, number of days since last dry, and maximum water depth at the head of the island. As a result, a web application tool, called ETree, has been developed and is publicly available online. This web application provides data on daily metrics for the current Everglades water year and annual summaries for past years, beginning in 2000.

Suggested Citation

Haider, S.M., van der Heiden, C., Bozas, M., Romañach, S.S., 2026, A tool to monitor hydrologic conditions on tree islands in the Everglades: Ecological Indicators, v. 183, 114640, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.114640.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A tool to monitor hydrologic conditions on tree islands in the Everglades
Series title Ecological Indicators
DOI 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.114640
Volume 183
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center
Description 114640, 7 p.
Country United States
State Florida
Other Geospatial Everglades
Additional publication details