Friday 7th March, Everglades Wetland Research Park and Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park

27C, 81% humidity
Another early start brought us to the Everglades Wetland Research Park in Naples, at the Naples Botanical Garden. A research and teaching facility, it is under the jurisdiction of the Florida Gulf Coast University and largely focuses on water quality improvement in wetland habitats. The centre offers short courses in wetland restoration, wetland ecology and management, and hosts researchers from undergraduate students to postdoctoral scholars.

On arrival, we were greeted by Li Zhang, Ph.D who we met briefly at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  She outlined much of the research being carried out currently, with projects including:

• Wetlands in the Midwest and Gulf of Mexico
• Water purification of wetlands in the Florida Everglades
• Research into Carbon Sequestration 
• Mangrove restoration in the Naples bay
• Effect of stormwater treatment on phosphorous levels

In the case of Midwestern wetlands, it was found that nitrate levels in the Mississippi River were too high and was resulting in hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Dissolved oxygen was measured at <2.0mg/l, where a healthy system exhibits dissolved oxygen levels closer to 8.0mg/l.  Research at the centre led to the conclusion that management measures such as better handling of fertiliser use (filter strips between farmland and rivers) and large-scale restoration of wetlands and riparian bottomlands were necessary. An estimated 5 million acres of wetlands would be required to regulate nitrate levels in the area.

Staying at the Marine Vester Field Station, seeing the things I did and with the people I did has been one of the best experiences of my life.  It has certainly highlighted to me the importance of wetland ecosystems worldwide, and that much work is still required to sustain and restore them.