The Everglades Handbook ─ Understanding the Ecosystem

 "This fourth edition covers the key subjects of previous editions with major updates of the new science and understanding. If there ever was a necessary book for Everglades advocates, students, authors, members of government and their agencies, The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem is an absolute must!"
—Nathaniel P. Reed, from the Foreword

“This book is far and away the best guide now in print to Everglades issues -- authoritative, well-illustrated, well-indexed, and readable."
— Martha Musgrove, retired Miami Herald journalist, founding President of the Decision Makers Forum, and Southeast Regional Director of the Florida Wildlife Federation

"Given the astonishing breadth and depth of scientific activities in the Everglades, Tom Lodge once again illustrates his savvy as an articulate science writer in condensing the complex dynamics of this remarkable ecosystem. …In summary, the Handbook reviews a vast literature into a compelling read about the natural treasures of the Everglades."
—Evelyn E. Gaiser, Executive Director, School of Environment, Arts and Society, and Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, modified from Wetlands (2011) 31

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The fourth edition presents expanded treatment of subjects where our knowledge of the Everglades and its restoration has greatly improved. This more detailed coverage includes:

• Computer modeling and its applications to the Everglades environment
• Quantified role of water flow in shaping the Everglades landscape
• The origin and evolution of fixed tree islands
• Sulfur and related mercury as wetland pollutants
• Up-to-date summary of the now quantified economic benefits of restoration, shown to be far in excess of the cost

The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem, Fourth Edition is a scholarly reference packed cover to cover with scientific information about the ecosystem of the Everglades - taking into account how drastically the Everglades has changed. Topically, the book covers disciplines ranging from ecology, geology, climatology, hydrology, anthropology to conservation biology. Written in Tom Lodge’s trademark accessible style, this extensively researched text is essential reading for anybody trying to understand the challenges we face in restoring this unique ecosystem.

Thomas E Lodge, Ph.D., is a self-employed ecologist. He has led numerous environmental projects directly relating to the Everglades, including the development of methodology for evaluating the ecological functions and values of historic Everglades wetlands for the purpose of providing "no net loss" of wetlands. Dr. Lodge has served on the Board of Directors of the Tropical Audubon Society and was an appointed member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s "Multi-Species Ecosystem Restoration Team," which assisted in Everglades restoration strategies dealing with listed species. He has also occupied an invited faculty position to teach South Florida Ecology at Florida International University, where the all editions of The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem have been used as course texts.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Lodge has a B.A. with a major and departmental honors in zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University (1966) and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Miami in Florida (1974). In graduate school, he became fascinated with the Everglades, both academically and personally. In addition to publishing magazine articles on the Everglades, he wrote and directed an educational film ("The Everglades Region, An Ecological Study", John Wiley and Sons, 1973), and published on the fishes of the region. After receiving his Ph.D., he became an environmental consultant, specializing in wetlands and aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Lodge still works as a consultant, with two recent examples being a reassessment of Everglades restoration options in a team effort with The Everglades Foundation and protection of Grassy Waters Preserve, part of the historic Loxahatchee Slough. His professional interest in the Everglades is mirrored in his personal interests. For more than 40 years he has been a regular observer and photographer of Everglades wildlife, his ultimate relaxation.