Dense mangrove swamps currently dominate tidal wetlands of the Tampa Bay Estuary System on the central peninsular Gulf Coast of Florida (USA). Late-19th century Coast and Geodetic Survey topographical charts and Government Land Office surveys, however, depict wetland systems dominated by salt marsh—therefore suggesting mangrove dominance as a product of 20th century encroachment. To clarify the primary drivers of ecosystem change, this study integrates sedimentological, paleobotanical, and radiometric analyses of sediment cores collected in 2018 with analyses of aerial photography taken between 1940 and 1997. Results empirically ground truth the wetland conversions inferred through analytical comparisons of historical and modern mapping and establish a high-resolution chronology for coastal environmental change. These results showed that salt marsh and salt prairie habitats persisted within Tampa Bay study areas until the mid-20th century. Mangrove forest rapidly encroached the study areas over a 20 year interval, between 1960 and 1980, immediately following intensive ditching for mosquito control. The findings demonstrate how coastal geoengineering, mangrove autoecology, and sea-level rise interacted across the late-20th century to accelerate the creation of novel seascapes.

目前，茂密的红树林沼泽在佛罗里达州中部半岛墨西哥湾沿岸坦帕湾河口系统的潮汐湿地中占主导地位。但是，在19世纪末的海岸和大地测量局地形图和政府土地局的测量报告中，湿地系统以盐沼为主，因此表明红树林的主导地位是20世纪侵蚀的产物。为了阐明生态系统变化的主要驱动力，本研究将2018年收集的沉积物核心的沉积学，古植物学和放射分析与1940年至1997年进行的航空摄影分析相结合。现代制图，并为沿海环境变化建立高分辨率年表。这些结果表明，盐沼和盐草原栖息地一直存在于坦帕湾研究区，直到20世纪中叶。在1960年至1980年之间的20年间，红树林迅速地侵入了研究区域，之后进行了严格的灭蚊控制。研究结果表明，在20世纪后期，沿海地球工程，红树林生态学和海平面上升是如何相互作用的，从而加速了新颖海景的创造。