Projects:

Scope of Projects

ELM 1km regional app

ELM 500m regional app

ELM-subregional apps

Scope of Projects

We have a variety of completed and ongoing projects that involve ecological landscape modeling development and application. Currently (spring 2008), all of these are targeted to the Everglades landscape in south Florida, USA. Common to all of these projects is the model application framework described in the the Background and Models sections (in the main menu above) - incorporating integrated ecosystem simulations in a spatially variable landscape.

Depending on the objectives, different projects may call for different spatial and/or temporal scales for an application of the Everglades Landscape Model. The figure below shows most of the existing applications of the model code, using different spatial map inputs to create the applications at each of the different spatial domains (100 - 10,000 km²) at different resolutions (generally from 100 - 1,000 m square grids). For most future-planning applications, the available input climate period of record 'limits' us to a 36 yr simulation period (with daily or coarser output resolution); research-oriented explorations of longer-term ecosystem dynamics have been made at century time scales.

Everglades Landscape Model (ELM) Goals

The ELM is a regional-scale, integrated ecological assessment tool designed to understand and predict the relative response of the landscape to different water management scenarios in south Florida, USA. In simulating changes to habitat distributions, the ELM dynamically integrates hydrology, water quality, soils, periphyton, and vegetation in the Everglades region. The model has been used as a research tool to better understand the dynamics of the Everglades, enabling hypothesis formulation and testing. This is a critical, ongoing application of the model. However, one of the primary objectives of this simulation project is to evaluate the relative ecological performance of alternative management scenarios.

Goals: Develop a simulation modeling tool for integrated ecological assessment of water management scenarios for Everglades restoration

• Integrate hydrology, biology, and nutrient cycling in spatially explicit, dynamic simulations
• Synthesize these interacting hydro-ecological processes at scales appropriate for regional assessments
• Understand and predict the relative responses of the landscape to different water and nutrient management scenarios
• Provide a conceptual and quantitative framework for collaborative field research and other modeling efforts