ABSTRACT
The central organizing theme of this book is that the ecosystems of South Florida are connected. What evidence do we have that they are? While it seems obvious that they should be, defining and quantifying these connections is not simple. This book is about linkages between ecosystems in the South Florida hydroscape. In South Florida, water integrates both the natural and the human environment. Water is the lifeblood of healthy ecosystems and a healthy economy. In the most simplistic terms, this book is dedicated to the proposition that water flows downhill. All of humanity lives downstream. And while we know that water flow connects adjacent ecosystems, we also know that, in general, political and jurisdictional boundaries are not defined by watersheds. Recognizing the importance of water movement, and the extraordinary modifications that have occurred to water flow in South Florida, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delivered to Congress the “Central and Southern Florida Comprehensive Restudy Plan.” This plan is illustrated in Figure 1, contrasting a triptych of historic flow (left panel), the current flow (middle panel), and the plan flow (right panel). This book offers a fourth view (Figure 2) which emphasizes connectivity throughout both the marine and freshwater hydroscapes of South Florida. This book will make it impossible in the future to undertake management or restoration activities in South Florida without
also
considering their downstream effects. By highlighting these connections, this book is intended to forever change how we manage ecosystems.
