Conservation of natural resources

Fire occurrences in the Everglades have increased since hydrologic alterations began, yet the vulnerability of Everglades peat to combustion during wildfires has yet to be determined. Natural fire regimes help maintain ecosystem functions and services and disruptions of natural disturbance regimes can have detrimental impacts, jeopardizing ecosystem health. Severe peat combustion can destroy native vegetation, alter microtopography, and release large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. To create a better understanding of the mechanistic controls on Everglades ground fires, the soil's physical properties within several sites of Water Conservation Area 3 and how changes in water table affect these physical characteristics were determined. Areas disturbed by hydrologic alterations contain higher mineral content and therefore require lower water content to combust when compared to preserved regions. Changes in water tables have a significant effect on soil moisture and lower water tables drastically increase the vulnerability of a region.

In the past 25 years, Palm Beach County has acquired more than 31 million acres of public preserves consisting of numerous native habitats that are home to threatened and endangered flora and fauna. Both endemic habitats and plant species benefit from expansion and connectivity through the adoption of native plants in surrounding areas. The next step in conserving these protected, larger areas is to identify ways to connect them in order to reduce their isolation and improve their likelihood of continued ecosystem health. This study aims to perform an analysis using a GIS database of Palm Beach County's Eastern urban areas to determine additional vegetation that currently exists on public lands and private preserves and to analyze and classify the vegetation for its potential conservation role, either as ; preserves, buffers, corridors or clusters connecting and enhancing existing natural areas.