Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5054
![]() SummaryThis report presents an assessment of land use and land cover change in the Southern Florida Coastal Plain ecoregion for the period from 1973 to 2000. The ecoregion is one of 84 level III ecoregions defined by the Environmental Protection Agency; ecoregions have been designed to serve as a spatial framework for environmental resource management and denote areas that contain a geographically distinct assemblage of biotic and abiotic phenomena, including geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The Southern Florida Coastal Plain ecoregion covers an area of approximately 22,407 square kilometers [8,651 square miles] across the lower portion of the Florida peninsula, from Lake Okeechobee southward through the Florida Keys. It comprises flat plains with wet soils, marshland and swamp land cover with Everglades and palmetto prairie vegetation types. |
Posted April 21, 2009 For additional information contact: Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. |
Kambly, Steven, and Moreland, T.R., 2009, Land cover trends in the Southern Florida Coastal Plain: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5054, 16 p.
Introduction
Ecoregion Description
Land Cover History
Environmental Crises
Methods
Land Cover Change: 1973–2000
Driving Forces: 1973–2000
Validation
Summary
Selected References
Appendix—Land Cover Classes and Definitions Used in the Land Cover Trends Project