Graph illustrating the relationship between dry-well complaints and sinkholes during 2010 in relation to (A) water level change (ft), (B) minimum temperature (°F) and (C) the relationship between minimum temperature and changes in water level to the number of sinkholes.

<p>Graph illustrating the relationship between dry-well complaints and sinkholes during 2010 in relation to (A) water level change (ft), (B) minimum temperature (°F) and (C) the relationship between minimum temperature and changes in water level to the number of sinkholes.</p

Summary of water level (+/− SE) (WLMin), minimum temperature (°F)(+/− SE)(Min_Ta), and the number of sinkholes and dry-well complaints recorded during December 1^st through to January 31^st for (A) 2007, (B) 1985 and (C) 2010.

<p>Summary of water level (+/− SE) (WLMin), minimum temperature (°F)(+/− SE)(Min_Ta), and the number of sinkholes and dry-well complaints recorded during December 1^st through to January 31^st for (A) 2007, (B) 1985 and (C) 2010.</p

Number of social networks (a) without geography and (b) in the sociospatial model.

<p>(A) shows social network size by number of respondents connected, before including sociospatial risk sites (n = 600, N = 147), (B) captures the <b>s</b>ocial network size by number of nodes (connected respondents and risk sites) in the sociospatial model (n = 701, N = 57).</p

Nearest Neighbor analysis test statistics for sinkholes and dry-well complaints during 1985, 2007 and 2010.

<p>Nearest Neighbor analysis test statistics for sinkholes and dry-well complaints during 1985, 2007 and 2010.</p

Graph illustrating the occurrence of sinkholes and dry-well complaints between 1985 and 2010 in relation to mean minimum temperature (°F), water level (ft) and changes in water level.

<p>Graph illustrating the occurrence of sinkholes and dry-well complaints between 1985 and 2010 in relation to mean minimum temperature (°F), water level (ft) and changes in water level.</p

Maps illustrating the density of (A) sinkholes in 1985, (B) sinkholes in 2010 and (C) dry well complaints in 2010 in relation to distribution of strawberry farms and groundwater use permits rates (MGPD).

<p>Maps illustrating the density of (A) sinkholes in 1985, (B) sinkholes in 2010 and (C) dry well complaints in 2010 in relation to distribution of strawberry farms and groundwater use permits rates (MGPD).</p

Geographic extents of Component 1 (n = 366).

<p>Points, demonstrating spatial distribution of residences and risk activity sites, are colored by betweenness centrality scores. The KDE surface for Component 1 is calculated by weighting the betweenness scores in the sociospatial network. (Created using ArcGIS 10.2 [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146915#pone.0146915.ref027" target="_blank">27</a>]. Community Characterization Area base layer obtained from the City of Winnipeg’s Open Data Catalog [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146915#pone.0146915.ref028" target="_blank">28</a>].)</p

Spatial co-incidence of components.

<p>Spatial co-incidence of components for the entire study area (A) represents the spatial distribution of the entire sociospatial network. (B) highlights the number of places frequented by each of the five components and (C) the betweenness of each location for each of the five components.</p

A GIS Analysis of the Relationship between Sinkholes, Dry-Well Complaints and Groundwater Pumping for Frost-Freeze Protection of Winter Strawberry Production in Florida

<div><p>Florida is riddled with sinkholes due to its karst topography. Sometimes these sinkholes can cause extensive damage to infrastructure and homes. It has been suggested that agricultural practices, such as sprinkler irrigation methods used to protect crops, can increase the development of sinkholes, particularly when temperatures drop below freezing, causing groundwater levels to drop quickly during groundwater pumping. In the strawberry growing region, Dover/Plant City, Florida, the effects have caused water shortages resulting in dry- wells and ground subsidence through the development of sinkholes that can be costly to maintain and repair. In this study, we look at how frost-freeze events have affected West Central Florida over the past 25 years with detailed comparisons made between two cold-years (with severe frost-freeze events) and a warm year (no frost-freeze events). We analyzed the spatial and temporal correlation between strawberry farming freeze protection practices and the development of sinkholes/dry well complaints, and assessed the economic impact of such events from a water management perspective by evaluating the cost of repairing and drilling new wells and how these compared with using alternative crop-protection methods. We found that the spatial distribution of sinkholes was non-random during both frost-freeze events. A strong correlation between sinkhole occurrence and water extraction and minimum temperatures was found. Furthermore as temperatures fall below 41°F and water levels decrease by more than 20 ft, the number of sinkholes increase greatly (N >10). At this time alternative protection methods such as freeze-cloth are cost prohibitive in comparison to repairing dry wells. In conclusion, the findings from this study are applicable in other agricultural areas and can be used to develop comprehensive water management plans in areas where the abstraction of large quantities of water occur.</p> </div

Characteristics of participants in largest components of the sociospatial network.

<p>Characteristics of participants in largest components of the sociospatial network.</p