An ecological characterization of the Florida Panhandle

Technical Report · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6692895

Wolfe, S H; Reidenauer, J A; Means, D B

The Florida Panhandle extends from the Ochlockonee River basin west to the Florida-Alabama border and north to the Georgia and Alabama borders; it contains some of the most rapidly developing regions in the entire State. Because of the damaging effects of development, some attention must be given to the region's estuaries, coast, wetlands, and to habitats of endemic species. Development has already damaged some of these areas as well as the seagrass beds and oyster reefs of the western panhandle area. Other potentially affected areas include native upland ecosystems, salt marshes, river floodplains, and steephead areas. Research, growth management legislation, and consideration of the Florida Panhandle ecosystem as a whole are all necessary to ensure the future of the different Florida Panhandle areas. No steps can be taken or decisions made for their longevity until certain data gaps are filled; the gaps range from biological baseline studies of estuaries to the local impacts of rising sea level. 38 refs., 95 figs., 49 tabs.

• Research Organization: Department of the Interior, Washington, DC (USA); National Wetlands Research Center, Slidell, LA (USA); Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, LA (USA). Gulf of Mexico OCS Regional Office
• OSTI ID: 6692895
• Report Number(s): FWS/BR-88(12); OCS/MMS-88-0063; ON: TI89002136
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510100 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
520100* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALGAE
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BASELINE ECOLOGY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
COASTAL REGIONS
ECOLOGY
ECOSYSTEMS
ESTUARIES
FEDERAL REGION IV
FLORIDA
HABITAT
INFORMATION NEEDS
LAND POLLUTION
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
POLLUTION
RIVERS
SEA BED
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WATER POLLUTION
WETLANDS