Back to Search
Start Over
Energy-Based Land Use Predictors of Proximal Factors and Benthic Diatom Composition in Florida Freshwater Marshes.
- Source :
- Environmental Monitoring & Assessment; Jun2006, Vol. 117 Issue 1-3, p433-450, 18p, 3 Charts, 4 Graphs, 1 Map
- Publication Year :
- 2006
-
Abstract
- The Landscape Development Intensity index (LDI), which is based on non-renewable energy use and integrates diverse land use activities, was compared to other measures of LU (e.g., %agriculture, %urban) to determine its ability for predicting benthic diatom composition in freshwater marshes of peninsular Florida. In this study, 70 small, isolated herbaceous marshes located along a human disturbance gradient (generally agricultural) throughout peninsular Florida were sampled for benthic diatoms and soil and water physical/chemical parameters (i.e., TP, TKN, pH, specific conductance, etc.). Landscape measures of percent agriculture, percent urban, percent natural, and LDI index values were calculated for a 100 m buffer around each site. The strongest relationships using Mantel's r statistic, which ranges from −1 to 1, were found between benthic diatom composition, the combined soil and water variables, and LDI scores ( r=0.51, P<0.0001). Although similar, soil and water variables alone ( r=0.45, P<0.0001) or with percent agriculture or percent natural were not as strongly correlated (both Mantel's r=0.46, P<0.0001). Little urban land use was found in the areas surrounding the study wetlands. Diatom data were clustered using flexible beta into 2 groups, and stepwise discriminant analysis identified specific conductance, followed by LDI score, soil pH, water total phosphorus, and ammonia, as cluster-separating variables. The LDI explained slightly more of the variation in species composition than either percent agriculture or percent natural, perhaps because the LDI can combine disparate land uses into a single quantitative value. However, the ecological significance of the difference between land use metrics and diatom composition is controvertible, and additional tests including more varied land uses appear warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 01676369
- Volume :
- 117
- Issue :
- 1-3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Environmental Monitoring & Assessment
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 21991881
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-2766-x