The Everglades restoration projects, totaling $27 billion, are considered the most ambitious in human history. Science has just vindicated their proponents in a recent research report whose conclusions are compelling.
The Origins
The Everglades have been systematically degraded for agriculture and urbanization. As early as the beginning of the century, the state began draining swamps, digging canals to divert water flow, and building hydraulic control systems. These efforts continued for decades and destroyed more than half of the Everglades. It was in 1992–1993 that Congress authorized the first restoration projects, and it was not until the 2000s that a multi-decade project was adopted to protect this ecosystem, which provides drinking water to the majority of Floridians.
Efforts Pay Off
As new discoveries emerged, the overall restoration project took on an unexpected scale. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the latest report shows that freshwater marshes and coastal mangroves absorb some 14 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. This represents 10% of emissions from Florida’s transportation sector. That’s enormous!
Carbon sequestration in the Everglades increased by 18% between 2003 and 2020. In fact, the more restoration progresses, the greater the climate benefit becomes. Carbon dioxide removal has progressed about twice as fast as the rate of methane emissions, resulting in a net 18% increase in total greenhouse gas (GHG).
However, this restoration comes at a GHG cost because when soil is flooded or rewetted, water clogs the soil pores and blocks oxygen supply. Methanogens then take over to break down the organic matter and produce methane.
This GHG cost is secondary because what matters is that, in the end, the benefits far outweigh it, with a magnitude that surprised the researchers: an 18% total reduction at this stage of restoration.
Beyond carbon sequestration, the supply of drinking water for the majority of Floridians is also becoming more secure.
The robustness of the conclusions revealed by this study is based on exceptional measurement methods and an unprecedented scientific effort that reflects the scale and importance of the issues at stake.
Since 2019, more than 75 restoration projects have been completed or initiated. The reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus is now substantial, reaching 1.8 million pounds of nitrogen and 770,000 pounds of phosphorus.
However, a cloud hangs over the situation. Cuts by the new federal administration have decimated the staff of the offices working on these scientific projects. Scientists with 25 to 30 years of experience working on Everglades restoration have been laid off. The future of this ecosystem is therefore not being decided solely in the marshes.
