SEDIMENT CORE AND REMOTE SENSING ANALYSIS OF MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE WITHIN A CYPRESS SWAMP FOREST, COLLIER COUNTY, FL

The Florida Everglades is a vast subtropical wetland that historically spanned over 1,000,000 hectares, but much of the Everglades has changed in the last 100 years due to anthropogenic activity. Collier County was subject to alteration in the form of logging, road building, and canal digging. These actions disrupted the natural sheet flow of water and had large environmental impacts on the region, impacts which are slowly being addressed by Everglades restoration efforts. The aim of this project was to observe the effects of environmental change at a cypress swamp forest in Collier County within the Big Cypress National Preserve. Using sediment core data including charcoal analysis, loss on ignition, and peat humification, as well as remote sensing techniques, this project uses a novel approach to assess local environmental conditions in the modern era. Historical records and contemporary data are used to evaluate change over time, and satellite imagery is used to quantify vegetative health. Modification of the environment related to anthropogenic activity is noted, and evidence of progress from restoration efforts is observed from the last two decades in our study’s data.