Geology, geohydrology, and soils of NASA, Kennedy Space Center: A review

Sediments underlying Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have accumulated in alternating periods of deposition and erosion since the Eocene. Surface sediments are of Pleistocene and Recent ages. Fluctuating sea levels with the alternating glacial-interglacial cycles have shaped the formation of the barrier island. Merritt Island is an older landscape whose formation may have begun as much as 240,000 years ago, although most of the surface sediments are not that old. Cape Canaveral probably dates from less than 7,000 years B.P. (before present) as does the barrier strip separating Mosquito Lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean. Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral have been shaped by progradational processes but not continuously so, while the Mosquito Lagoon barrier has been migrating landward. Deep acquifers beneath KSC are recharged inland but are highly mineralized in the coastal region and interact little with surface vegetation. The Surficial acquifer has formed in the Pleistocene and Recent deposits and is recharged by local rainfall. Sand ridges in the center of Merritt Island are important to its recharge

Species biology and potential for controlling four exotic plants (Ammophila arenaria, Carpobrotus edulis, Cortaderia jubata and Gasoul crystallinum) on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Invasive exotic plants can displace native flora and modify community and ecosystem structure and function. Ammophila arenaria, Corpobrotus edulis, Cortaderia jubata, and Gasoul crystallinum are invasive plants present on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, designated for study by the Environmental Task Force because of the perceived threat they represent to the native flora. Each plant's native habitat, how they came to be at Vandenberg, their propagation, and how they can be controlled is discussed

Effects of fire on composition, biomass, and nutrients in oak scrub vegetation on John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Four stands of oak scrub two, four, eight, and 25 years since fire were sampled with permanent 15 m line transects. Percent cover by species was determined. Plant samples were analyzed for a variety of substances. Transects were resurveyed in 1985 for vegetation parameters. Nutrient pools in biomass were calculated from biomass data and tissue nutrient concentrations. Soil nutrient pools were calculated from nutrient concentrations and bulk density. Species distribution and soil chemical properties were found to be closely related to water table depth. The following fire-related conclusions are reached: (1) major structural changes occur in scrub after fire in that shrub height is reduced and requires four to six years to exceed 1 m; (2) reduction in shrub height affects the suitability of scrub for the Florida scrub jay (3) live biomass increases with time since fire; (4) nutrient concentrations in live biomass do not change with time since fire; (5) species composition and richness are little changed after fire; and (6) imposition of a continued regime of burning on a three-year cycle may have adverse impacts not indicated by the recovery of scrub from a single fire

Monitoring biological impacts of space shuttle launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base: Establishment of baseline conditions

Space shuttle launches produce environmental impacts resulting from the formation of an exhaust cloud containing hydrogen chloride aerosols and aluminum oxide particulates. Studies have shown that most impacts occur near-field (within 1.5 km) of the launch site while deposition from launches occurs far-field (as distant as 22 km). In order to establish baseline conditions of vegetation and soils in the areas likely to be impacted by shuttle launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), vegetation and soils in the vicinity of Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) were sampled and a vegetation map prepared. The areas likely to be impacted by launches were determined considering the structure of the launch complex, the prevailing winds, the terrain, and predictions of the Rocket Exhaust Effluent Diffusion Model (REEDM). Fifty vegetation transects were established and sampled in March 1986 and resampled in September 1986. A vegetation map was prepared for six Master Planning maps surrounding SLC-6 using LANDSAT Thematic Mapper imagery as well as color and color infrared aerial photography. Soil samples were collected form the 0 to 7.5 cm layer at all transects in the wet season and at a subsample of the transects in the dry season and analyzed for pH, organic matter, conductivity, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable Ca, Mg, Na, K, and Al, available NH3-N, PO4-P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, and TKN

Characterization and evaluation of acid rain in East Central Florida from 1978 to 1987: Ten year summary report

Rainfall was collected on the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus near Orlando since July 1977 and at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida since August 1977. Since November 1983, the KSC site has been affiliated with the National Atmospheric Deposition Network. Annual volume weighted pH was slightly above the 10 year mean of 4.58 during four of the past five years. Nitrate concentrations have risen somewhat during recent years while excess sulfate concentrations have remained below the 10 year mean during four of the past years. These observations hold for both the UCF and KSC data. The distribution of individual sample pH was nearly identical at UCF and KSC. Stepwise regression suggests that sulfate, nitrate, ammonium ion, and calcium play major roles in the description of rainwater acidity. Annual acid deposition and annual rainfall have varied from 30 to 50 meq/m2-yr and 100 to 180 cm/yr, respectively. Sea salt comprises about 25 percent (UCF) and greater than 50 percent (KSC) of total ionic composition

Pre and post fire carbon dynamics in a Florida Scrub oak

Scrub oak is a xeromorphic shrub ecosystem discontinuously distributed in coastal and inland Florida. It supports a high biodiversity which includes a large number of endangered and threatened species. Its structural features are maintained by a fire return cycle of 7 to 10 years which maintains the biodiversity. Management of fire prone ecosystems such as this raises the question of whether the management strategy contributes to the system being a carbon sink or carbon source over the long-term. We used eddy covariance and biometric approaches to measure carbon dynamics in a Florida scrub oak ecosystem located at Kennedy Space Center in east Central Florida from April 2004 to December 2007. The study site was controlled burned in February 2006. Two years previous to fire, the site experienced average precipitation but drought conditions during the two years after fire. Net ecosystem production (NEP) was 419 g C m-2 yr-1 during the first year of measurements, and the ecosystem incorporated 823 g C m-2 during the 22 months before the fire. Aboveground net primary production (NPP) represented 50% of annual NEP. Carbon released by fire reached 316 g C m-2. Ecosystem respiration (Re) dominated the carbon balance during the first six months after fire, and the ecosystem released an extra 119 g C m-2. However, gross ecosystem production (GEP) increased with leaf area index (LAI) after fire, dominating the carbon balance during the following six months. The ecosystem was a carbon sink of 88 g C m-2 yr-1 during the first year after the fire. Leaf area index (LAI) reached 1.54 m2 m-2 by October 2007 (80% of pre-burn value for the same time period). The scrub oak ecosystem was a continuous carbon sink six months after the fire despite the dominant drought conditions during 2006 – 2007. The ecosystem offset 80% (251 g C m-2) of the carbon released in the fire during the following twenty two months after the fire. Considering the fire return cycle of 7 to 10 years and the fact that the study site and a similar site nearby incorporated more than 400 g C m-2 yr-1 during the two years before fire, this scrub oak is a net carbon sink in the landscape under current management strategies

Feral Hogs Management at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: Analysis of Current Management Program

This ST1 Technical Memorandum (TM) summarizes a two-month project on feral hog management in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR). For this project, feral hogs were marked and recaptured, with the help of local trappers, to estimate population size and habitat preferences. Habitat covers included vegetation cover and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data for MINWR. In addition, an analysis was done of hunting records compiled by the Refuge and hog-car accidents compiled by KSC Security

Southeast Ecological Observatory Network (SEEON) Workshop on Ecological Sensors and Information Technology. Report on Second SEEON Workshop

A fundamental goal of the new National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is to provide timely and broad access to the ecological data collected at NEON sites. Information management and data collection will be critical components to achieving this goal and a successful NEON implementation. The Southeast Ecological Observatory Network (SEEON) working group recognized the importance of information management and sensor technology in its first planning workshop and recommended that interested parties in the region come together to discuss these subjects in the context of the needs and capabilities of a southeast regional ecological observatory network. In February 2004, 28 participants from 14 organizations including academic institutions, state and federal agencies, private and non-profit entities convened at the Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida for two days of presentations and discussions on ecological sensors and information management. Some of the participants were previously involved in the first SEEON workshop or other meetings concerned with NEON, but many were somewhat new to the NEON community. Each day focused on a different technical component, i.e. ecological sensors the first day and cyber-infrastructure the second day, and were structured in a similar manner. The mornings were devoted to presentations by experts to help stimulate discussions on aspects of the focal topic held in the afternoon. The formal and informal discussions held during the workshop succeeded in validating some concerns and needs identified in the first SEEON workshop, but also served to bring to light other questions or issues that will need to be addressed as the NEON planning and design stages move forward. While the expansion of the SEEON community meant that some of the presentation and discussion time was needed to help bring the newcomers up to speed on the goals, objectives and current status of the various NEON efforts, the additional perspectives and technical expertise included in this workshop helped fuel some valuable interdisciplinary discussions that will need to continue to bring SEEON and NEON to fruition. Participants agreed that continued discussions of SEEON are needed , to keep up the momentum and that the southeast region must continue to be represented at the national level. It is vital that the all'the regions continue to push things forward for NEON to succeed

Vegetation studies on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Vandenburg Air Force Base, located in coastal central California with an area of 98,400 ac, contains resources of considerable biological significance. Available information on the vegetation and flora of Vandenburg is summarized and new data collected in this project are presented. A bibliography of 621 references dealing with vegetation and related topics related to Vanderburg was compiled from computer and manual literature searches and a review of past studies of the base. A preliminary floristic list of 642 taxa representing 311 genera and 80 families was compiled from past studies and plants identified in the vegetation sampling conducted in this project. Fifty-two special interest plant species are known to occur or were suggested to occur. Vegetation was sampled using permanent plots and transects in all major plant communities including chaparral, Bishop pine forest, tanbark oak forest, annual grassland, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, purple sage scrub, coastal dune scrub, coastal dunes, box elder riparian woodland, will riparian woodland, freshwater marsh, salt marsh, and seasonal wetlands. Comparison of the new vegetation data to the compostie San Diego State University data does not indicate major changes in most communities since the original study. Recommendations are made for additional studies needed to maintain and extend the environmental data base and for management actions to improve resource protection

Environmental and biological controls on water and energy exchange in Florida scrub oak and pine flatwoods ecosystems

Scrub oak and pine flatwoods are two contrasting ecosystems common to the humid subtropical climate of Florida. Scrub oak forests are short in stature (<2 m) and occur on well-drained sandy soils, and pine flatwoods are much taller and occur in areas with poorly drained soils. Eddy covariance measurements were made from January 2001 to February 2003 over a scrub oak forest and from January 2002 to February 2003 over an adjacent pine flatwoods located on in central Florida, USA, and exposed to similar atmospheric conditions to evaluate how the dynamics of latent heat (lambda E) and sensible heat (H) exchanges are affected by environmental and biological variables. Annual evapotranspiration (Et) for the scrub oak was 737 and 713 mm in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Et was comparatively higher, 812 mm, in 2002 at the pine flatwoods due to higher soil moisture and leaf area. In both ecosystems, springtime increases in lambda E coincided with increasing leaf area and evaporative demand. However, H was the main energy-dissipating component in the spring due to the seasonal decrease in soil water content in the upper soil profile. In the spring, mean weekly Bowen ratio (beta, i.e. H/lambda E) values reached 1.6 and 1.2 in the scrub oak and pine flatwoods, respectively. With the onset of the summertime rainy season, lambda E became the dominant energy flux and beta fells to < 0.4. In both ecosystems, beta was strongly controlled by the interaction between leaf area and soil moisture. The lowest values of the decoupling coefficient (Omega, 0.2 and 0.25 scrub oak and pine flatwoods, respectively) also occurred during the dry springtime period indicating that surface conductance (g(s)) was the mechanism controlling energy partitioning causing high beta in both ecosystems. Et increases in the spring, when water in the upper soil profile was scarce and strongly retained by soil particles, indicated that plants in both ecosystems obtained water from deeper sources. The results from this research elucidate how energy partitioning differs and is regulated in contrasting ecosystems within the Florida landscape, which is important for refining regional hydrological and climate models