Website

Region(s)

SE

Summary

SAV

Parameters

Acreage, % Cover (Braun-Blanquet), % Algae cover, species composition, algae species composition, epiphytes, temperature, salinity, water clarity, substrate type

Notes

"Important Differences between the 2007 and 2013 Mapping Projects: As described in the Introduction, the objective of the 2013 LWL Seagrass Mapping Project was to update the 2007 seagrass map. However, the methods for map creation between the 2007 and 2013 surveys are very different. The 2013 ground-truthing survey was limited to locations where seagrass was delineated in 2007 and may have excluded areas of seagrass expansion since 2007. Additionally, seagrass bed edge expansion or recession from the original groundtruthing locations was limited to the 30-m distance of the survey transect, and only two habitat classifications (continuous seagrass and patchy seagrass) were subject to ground-truthing during the 2013 mapping project. Therefore, it is important to recognize that the 2013 acreages presented in this report must be interpreted as ground-truthing verification of the 2007 map and not an exhaustive coverage of seagrass cover. When comparing acreages between the 2007 and 2013 maps, it is also important to recognize that unvegetated bottom (FLUCCS code 5400) was classified as seagrass cover of less than 10% in 2007. In 2013, unvegetated softbottom is used to describe softbottom habitat in the central segment where seagrass was not observed in 2013 and where mean water depth was deeper than -5.3 ft. NAVD 88. The 2013 ground-truthing map represents a substantially higher level of accuracy in the description of seagrass cover/presence within polygons as a result of the extensive ground-truthing which detected the presence of a single shoot within a 30 sq. m sampling area. The “zone of seagrass occurrence” in the 2013 seagrass map is defined as the presence of seagrass within a polygon with a mean BB cover score of 0.01 to 0.5; these areas would have been mapped as unvegetated bottom in 2007." (LakeWorthSeagrassMappingSurveyReport.pdf, p. 12) "...it is important to recognize that the 2013 acreages presented in this report must be interpreted as ground-truthing verification of the 2007 map and not a comprehensive map of seagrass distribution and areal extent in the LWL." (LakeWorthSeagrassMappingSurveyReport.pdf, p. 2). Sample Date for map is set to July 1, 2013 for SEACAR data load because that is the date of the last ground truth.

Application

Publications

Start

2000

End

2013

Frequency

Periodic

Method

Aerial imagery interpretation and ground truthing using Braun-Blanquet assessments using 1m x 1m quadrats. Five ground-truthing transects established in 2000, four more added in 2001 and monitored annually. Aerial imagery assessed in 2001 and 2007 and extensive ground-truthing conducted in 2013 to adjust 2007 SAV classifications and boundaries.

Discontinuity

Data Location

Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management

Data Format

Geodatabase

Habitats

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Water Column

SEACAR Citation

Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management. (2013). Lake Worth Lagoon Seagrass Mapping Project. Updated 04/22/2022. Distributed by: SEACAR Data Discovery Interface, Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. https://data.florida-seacar.org/programs/details/3016

Alternative Citation

indicates priority attributes