David Kaplan
Professor | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
David Kaplan studies connecting ecosystems, the hydrologic cycle, and humans with the goal of advancing natural resources conservation.
Biography
David Kaplan is a professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences within the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and director of the H.T. Odum Center for Wetlands. Research in David's Watershed Ecology Lab focuses on linkages among the hydrological cycle, ecosystem processes, and human activities, with the goal of advancing natural resources conservation and management. He has worked extensively with water and environmental management agencies to tie hydrological modeling to ecological outcomes, predict restoration effects, and guide water management decision-making.
Areas of Expertise (9)
Groundwater
Rivers
Springs
Hydrology
Wetlands
Watersheds
The Hydrologic Cycle
Water Quality
Climate
Media Appearances (3)
Howard T. Odum expanded knowledge about springs, ecosystems, wetlands and energy
The Gainesville Sun online
2022-07-29
Florida’s springs and wetlands have long been known as places of natural beauty and cultural relevance, but did you know they also played a pivotal role in the development of two novel scientific fields? Gainesville and the University of Florida hold a premier place in the history of environmental science and environmental engineering because UF was the first and last academic home of the brilliant scientist Howard T. Odum.
David Kaplan co-wrote an amicus curiae brief for the Supreme Court about a case regarding the Clean Water Act
ESSIE Insights online
2020-10-29
Amici curiae are four scientists and eight national and international scientific societies, all actively involved in research, education, and the conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and resources in the United States. Amici have an interest in this case because of its impact on the integrity of those ecosystems and resources. The Clean Water Act’s objective can only be achieved by considering the science behind the ways in which groundwater connects point sources and surface waters.
Something’s in the Water
The Business Report online
2020-07-20
David Kaplan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment (ESSIE) within the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, along with a team of scientists, wrote an amicus curiae brief for the U.S. Supreme Court about a case regarding the Clean Water Act (CWA) that will have a lasting impact on public policy. An amicus curiae brief is a written submission to a court in which a person or organization can set out legal arguments and recommendations..
Articles (3)
The past, present, and potential future of phosphorus management in the Florida Everglades
The Journal of the Society for Ecological RestorationQuinn Zacharias, David Kaplan
2022-09-24
The Florida Everglades, the largest subtropical wetland in North America, is in the midst of one of the most comprehensive and expensive environmental restoration efforts in history. Over the past 150 years, the Everglades has suffered substantial degradation due to massive drainage projects, polluting agricultural practices, and urban population growth. Decades of scientific investigation have shown that phosphorus (P) pollution is a primary driver of this environmental decline.
Nitrogen-enriched discharges from a highly managed watershed intensify red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms in southwest Florida
Science of the Total EnvironmentMiles Medina, et. al
2022-06-01
Karenia brevis blooms on Florida's Gulf Coast severely affect regional ecosystems, coastal economies, and public health, and formulating effective management and policy strategies to address these blooms requires an advanced understanding of the processes driving them. Recent research suggests that natural processes explain offshore bloom initiation and shoreward transport, while anthropogenic nutrient inputs may intensify blooms upon arrival along the coast.
In-Situ Quantification and Prediction of Water Yield From Southern US Pine Forests
Water Resources ResearchSubodh Acharya, et. al
2022-04-03
Forest management can play an important role in landscape-scale water balances and thus regional water supply planning, necessitating improved quantification and prediction of forest water yield (i.e., rainfall minus evapotranspiration (ET)). We used high frequency soil moisture data to quantify soil ET and interception in 30 pine stands capturing regional variation in aridity, hydrogeology, and forest management.
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