a digital florida experience

I put together a small little presentation on some of the more common trees you're likely to encounter in Florida's big bend region. This isn't meant to help you ID individual trees but rather expose you to trees in the area.

Skip to the end for the Too Long Didn't Read (TLDR) version... I've been playing with a new species ID app lately that I'd like to share. Long story short, it's worth playing with but don't count on it for consistency or accuracy. Use it just as one tool in your toolbox. I was really excited to try this one. I know a lot about a little, a little about a lot, and VERY little about mushrooms. It starts with a splash screen when you first fire it up with the obligatory NEVER EAT MUSHROOMS warning. You know, 'cause they'll kill you -- at which point you probably won't care which mushroom it was. That said, it then shows you the symbols the app uses to tell you which ones are edible as opposed to toxic. That's a red flag to me. While some apps have become quite good at identifying different species, a mushroom ID app seems like a poor way to decide if something is safe to eat. I don't understand why they would bother putting if it is edible or not. ...

I've just finished reading through hundreds of web pages on exotic species in Florida. It was clearly not enough because Florida has a HUGE invasive species problem. I created a slideshow (embedded below) that I can use when sharing this information in person, but I invite you to click through and see a brief smattering of what some of the heavy duty invasives down here are. Think of it as a dirty dozen of invasive species. If you want some more reading (ok fine, looking at pictures) that you don't have to search for yourself, check out this link that's part of the University of Florida network. If you're feeling particularly sciency, this link will take you to Florida's list of invasive plants that are sorted by how good they are at destroying the world around you  how much of an impact they can cause. If the presentation doesn't make much sense not in person, and you don't care to click the links, at least check out this infographic:

Having just sat down for a bit and played with the USDA Web Soil Survey tool , all I can say is wow. In part I'm amazed at how far the availability of soil science has come since I first learned about it, but I'm also amazed at how much more information is provided than just soil information. Interested in how well certain building materials will fare with certain soil types? It's there. Want to know how feasible it is to install a septic system in a particular area? It's got that, too. What I found particularly interesting was the recreational feasibility tool. I panned around to multiple existing recreational areas, pulled up the feasibility feature layers, and was surprised to find that many of them were placed where the soil doesn't generally support recreational activities. In the photo below, note how red the area of interest (AOI) is. The tabular data would indicate that these areas are too sandy for recreational trails. Local knowledge of the site, however, ...

While my study area focuses on a specific section of the big bend region of Florida (reminder: ANF and SMNWR) weather doesn't just happen in an isolated bubble despite what randomly searched internet photos will have you believe: Thus while researching weather and climate links I included links that also give reference to the southeastern region. Water that falls in one area flows to another. Droughts in my study could influence salinity levels in the Gulf of Mexico.  ̶T̶h̶u̶s̶,̶ ̶I̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶g̶r̶o̶u̶p̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶u̶l̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶c̶a̶t̶e̶g̶o̶r̶i̶e̶s̶:̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶o̶c̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶d̶.̶ While I had originally intended to group my findings like this, I learned as I explored that most of the sites I was finding particularly useful started at broad scales but users could drill down to local levels.   Links Do you know what weather is? Do you know what climate is? No, you don't. This is why you should start here . While it's h...