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Jim Pahl joined the Wetland Center in 2001, coming from his graduate studies at Louisiana State University on 1) vegetative response to saltwater intrusion in the coastal zone, and 2) the use of in-situ burning as a response tool for oil spills in coastal wetlands. Dr. Pahl’s general academic interests are the influence of both abiotic and biotic factors on the ecology of wetland and estuarine plant communities and how this information can be applied to natural resource management. Since his arrival, Dr. Pahl has been responsible for further developing the DUWC research activities in the northern Everglades in south Florida. His research there focused on 1) experimentation involving hydroperiod, soil nutrient status, and fire treatments as methods of restoring the plant community diversity on the landscape; 2) continuation of water quality and vegetation monitoring, and analysis of the long-term transects in the northern Everglades; 3) the potential role of physical disturbance mechanisms in controlling cattail expansion in the northern Everglades; and 4) mechanisms for improving dissolved organic phosphorus immobilization in the Everglades Stormwater Treatment Areas currently operated by the South Florida Water Management District. As the Wetland Center’s focus on the Florida Everglades is winding down, Dr. Pahl’s research is shifting home to the Tar Heel State (shouldn’t that be the Blue Devil State?), where he will be investigating biogeochemical and vegetation dynamics in restored riparian ecosystems. |
