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DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRIENT EXPOSURE AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE INDICATORS FOR LAKE MICHIGAN COASTAL WETLANDS
Citation:
Jicha, T. M., N E. Detenbeck, M F. Moffett, C M. Elonen, AND L E. Anderson. DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRIENT EXPOSURE AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE INDICATORS FOR LAKE MICHIGAN COASTAL WETLANDS. Presented at 44th Annual International Association for Great Lakes Research Conf, Green Bay, WI, June l0-14, 2001.
Description:
This study examines how landscape-scale gradient affect sedimentation rates, nutrient exposure, and biological responses in Lake Michigan coastal wetlands, and assess indicators for these trends. Twenty riverine coastal wetlands in Lake Michigan (Herdendorf 1981) were selected through the EMAP random-stratified sampling design, stratified by ecoregion and size (<100, 100-1000, and >1000 acres.) Nutrient exposure measurements include available and total nutrients in sediment cores, nutrient concentrations and ratios in plant tissues taken from three vegetation zones, and nutrient inputs and net retention as measured by upstream-downstream differences in the water column and sediment trap deposition rates. Biological response measurements include enzyme activity (e.g. phosphatase, denitrification enzyme assay, glucosidase activity), microbial biomass and nutrient mineralization potential in sediment cores, depth of periphyton and submerged aquatic vegetation growth, and plant and algal community composition. Sediment characteristics ranged from predominantly sand, silt or clay, varying in bulk density (0.2 to 10.0 g/gm3), moisture content (12-89%), percent organic matter (0.3-77.4%), biological oxygen demand (25 to 272-mg/kg), and chemical oxygen demand (0-931 g/kg). Signal-to-noise ratios of nutrient exposure and biological response indicators are being examined along a land-use eutrophication gradient.