Submerged and Emergent Plant Mapping at Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve

Quick Topics

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Algae and seagrasses are important trophic and structural components of the Terra Ceia ecosystem. Large scale photo interpretation is done at four-year intervals to give a big-picture view of coverage and overall trends. These efforts are complemented by extensive ground truthing efforts as well. Several transects were established to collect data on species, coverage and fouling changes to seagrasses with depth. Quadrat and transect monitoring of SAV in Bishop Harbor has been conducted for five years by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Water Resource Management program. Turtlegrass Emergent Vegetation Emergent vegetation distributional patterns, somewhat stable on the short term, have experienced profound changes over the past several decades. Sea level rise, climate change and hydrological changes are occurring at rates that will continue to drive the evolution of low-lying vegetation communities. Emergent vegetation research was focusing on the external influences of these changes.

Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve Quick Facts Description of Site Recreation Resources Management Ecosystem Science Water Quality Submerged and Emergent Vegetation Monitoring Wildlife & Habitat Monitoring Tampa Bay Study Resource Management Education and Outreach Public Use Issues Management Plan Maps and Other Publications Volunteering

Last updated: December 13, 2012