Grantee Research Project Results
Forecasting Critical Ecosystem Services from Measures of Wetland Condition at theWatershed Scale in Freshwater Wetlands of Pennsylvania and Ohio
EPA Grant Number: R834262Title: Forecasting Critical Ecosystem Services from Measures of Wetland Condition at theWatershed Scale in Freshwater Wetlands of Pennsylvania and Ohio
Investigators: Wardrop, Denice Heller , Fennessy, M. Siobhan
Institution: Pennsylvania State University , Kenyon College
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: May 1, 2009 through April 30, 2012 (Extended to July 31, 2013)
Project Amount: $471,303
RFA: Forecasting Ecosystem Services from Wetland Condition Analyses (2008) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Aquatic Ecosystems , Water
Objective:
To provide an estimation procedure for wetland ecosystem services that allows wetland management and restoration approaches to align with the provision of ecosystem services. The study achieves this through the following:
- Identification of ecosystem services that are critical to human well-being;
- Construction of quantitative process models that relate stressors (related to both land cover and climate change) to condition assessment data (generally used to describe the condition of physical, chemical, or biological compartments) to these critical ecosystem services, and provide a quantitative estimate of accrual;
- Identification of robust condition assessment data sets that cover a range of important wetland types to allow parameterization of such models, and an analytical method to do so;
- Specification of the relevant spatial scales on which ecosystem services can be managed, and subsequent estimation of the accrual in ecosystem services on these scales.
Approach:
We focus here on three of the most valued ecosystem services that wetlands provide: nitrogen retention and cycling, carbon sequestration and storage, and flood abatement. Forecasting services from condition requires understanding how stressors alter the condition of different ecosystem components, and how the condition of those components affects ecosystem processes and the flow of services. We construct conceptual models of the production of ecosystem services as process diagrams involving stressors, physical, chemical, and biologic compartments of wetland ecosystems, and resulting ecosystem services, for major wetland types (riparian and depressional). We parameterize these models utilizing an extensive collection of data sets across Ohio and Pennsylvania with the addition of field sites, where we quantitatively measure denitrification, carbon storage, and flood storage. We will use Structural Equation Modeling to identify key ecological relationships between condition and the provisioning of ecosystem services, and predict responses of wetland ecosystem components to changing environmental conditions.
Expected Results:
We will develop a unique analytical method for quantitative estimation of critical ecosystem services from condition assessment data on a watershed scale. The method could be applied to a wide variety of watersheds or larger spatial units, if the abundance, type, and condition of the wetlands are known.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 2 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 1 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
hydrogeomorphic,, RFA, Air, climate change, Air Pollution Effects, AtmosphereProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.