S O U T H F L O R I D A W A T E R M A N A G E M E N T D I S T R I C T

LILAAn Everglades Living Laboratory

The South Florida Water Manage ment Districtis a regional governmentalagency that manages thewater resources in thesouthern part of the state.It is the oldest and largestof the state’s five watermanagement districts.

Our Mission is to manageand protect water resourcesof the region by balancingand improving flood control,water supply, water qualityand natural systems.

MARCH 2016

The science behind Everglades restorationis keeping researchers busy at a uniqueoutdoor laboratory: the Loxahatchee

Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) in Boynton Beach, Florida.

LILA is a working 80-acre model of theEverglades ecosystem on the grounds ofthe Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NationalWildlife Refuge. This “living laboratory” givesexperts an opportunity to research and applyrestoration techniques on a small, controlledscale before taking them into the 1.7 million-acre Everglades ecosystem. The unique facilitywas built in 2003 as a partnership betweenthe South Florida Water Management District,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers.

Water control is at the heart of LILA, where anelectric pump capable of moving more than45,000 gallons of water (the volume of twoswimming pools) per minute can simulate avariety of natural conditions in four enclosedmarshes. Each of the 20-acre “macrocosms”simulates various landscape conditions andcontains three key habitats found in thenatural Everglades system:

• Tree islands – the highest points in theEverglades marsh. These slightly raised“islands” provide drier habitats across thevast wetland. Tree islands support woody vegetation and are critical to wildlife survival.

• Ridges – long, slightly elevated sections ofthe marsh landscape that are dominated bysawgrass. Ridges are too wet for treespecies.

The tree islands in LILA provide a site for intensive research into the function of tree islands within theEverglades landscape.

LILA

• Sloughs – lowest in elevation, they are like streams within themarsh. Sloughs contain water lilies and submerged aquaticplants.

At LILA, water depths and flows in each macrocosm can be con-trolled independently so that scientists can study the effects on thesystem. Data from these studies help researchers develop recom-mendations for improving water management (depths, flows, tim-ing) in the Everglades ecosystem.

Research at LILA remains crucial to Everglades restoration success.Studies have included:

• Drought – Using the hydrologic control available at LILA, scien-tists created drought conditions by draining two of LILA’s macro-cosms and maintaining average water levels in the remainingtwo. Researchers were then able to measure how the responsesof the wildlife differed between the two conditions. This workallows water managers to better predict how wildlife, such aswading birds and their prey, react to droughts that naturallyoccur within the Everglades.

• Tree islands – Long term studies are needed to understand treeisland ecology at LILA. Studies have utilized the tree islands(constructed within the macrocosms) in order to understand thelink between water depths and flooding regime on these criticalEverglades habitats. Scientists study relationships betweengroundwater and surface water, tree survival and growth andsoil building and erosion. Scientists have built an enhancedunderstanding of how changes in hydrology effect theseprocesses important to maintaining and restoring natural treeislands.

• Fish tagging – How fish and other aquatic animals respond tochanges to water depths across the Everglades landscapes is criti-cal to understanding how keystone species, like wading birds andalligators thrive within the Everglades. Historically, the Evergladeswas known to support healthy populations of these animalsdespite low nutrient inputs and variable water conditions. Scientistsat LILA use many high-tech methods to monitor the behavioralresponse of fish and other prey items to both average and extremehydrological conditions, including passive radio tags and activeradio tracking. This information is input into predictive computermodels that help water managers understand how wildlife arereacting to water conditions in the greater Everglades landscapes.

Visitors to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National WildlifeRefuge will find LILA located on the marsh trail. Visiting LILA pro-vides an opportunity to spend a morning watching a flock of wad-ing birds. At the same time, scientists are collecting valuableinformation that will ultimately be used to restore the Everglades.

South Florida Water Management District3301 Gun Club RoadWest Palm Beach, Florida 33406561-686-8800 • FL WATS 800-432-2045www.sfwmd.govEN03/16

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A researcher uses sophisticated instrumentation to measure carboncycling of the soil on a LILA tree island.

LILA (Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment) atthe Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge