ABSTRACT
An understanding of vegetation pattern and process is critical for the protection, restoration, and management of the Everglades ecosystem. Nine broadly defined physical driving forces and two additional biological processes, operating on a wide range of scales, contribute to this pattern and process. Two of the most critical are the hydrologic and fire regime, both of which are correlated with relative elevation and are the product of the interaction of a series of physical driving forces, as well as biological processes and feedback between biology and environ ment. Significant improvements in our understanding of these factors will require investigations of scale dependence and the incorporation of explicit reference to spatial position and configuration. The Everglades is oligotrophic; natural dynam ics and periodicities are key parameters in aquatic productivity and in the concentration of prey items supporting birds and other large animal populations. The restoration of natural dynamic processes is critical, but the 50% reduction in the spatial extent of the ecosystem and several other human-induced changes (e.g., exotic species invasions) will represent significant challenges even when natural hydrologic and fire regimes are restored. A long-term commitment is needed for both proactive management and the research that will evaluate and refine that management.
