Citation:

LANE, C. R., R. A. MCKINNEY, AND R. D. LOPEZ. SPATIAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ISOLATED WETLANDS. Presented at 2nd International Symposium on Ecology and Biodiversity in Large Rivers of Northeast Asia and Western North America, Harbin, CHINA, September 25 - 29, 2006.

Impact/Purpose:

The goal of this research is to develop methods and indicators that are useful for evaluating the condition of aquatic communities, for assessing the restoration of aquatic communities in response to mitigation and best management practices, and for determining the exposure of aquatic communities to different classes of stressors (i.e., pesticides, sedimentation, habitat alteration).

Description:

The USEPA is conducting isolated wetland (IW) research at locations around the USA to better understand the ecological importance and ecosystem services provided by IW and to develop methods to monitor and assess their condition. The first research component explores the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to identify and classify IW based on spectral signatures and concurrence between edaphic, hydrologic and vegetation datasets. As IW are often smaller than wetland minimum mapping units, this research on IW extent will provide crucial data for understanding the function, condition and ecological services of IW resources. The second component focuses on the ability of IW to assimilate and process excess nutrients thereby preventing nutrient transport to downstream systems and groundwaters. Through soil and water sampling of IW in Ohio (central USA) and Florida (southeastern USA), we are developing (1) baseline data on nutrients, metals and physical/chemical water and soil parameters, and (2) sorption isotherms for phosphate compounds sequestered by IW. These data will improve our models and understanding of IW function by quantifying IW nutrient sorption capacity. Additionally, visible and near infared spectroscopy is being used to develop rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive methods to accurately assess soil nutrient and chemical parameters in IW. The third component concurrently focuses on developing on-site biological assessment methods using diatoms, macroinvertebrates and rapid habitat assessment protocols. These data will be used to develop quantitative and causal relationships between wetland condition and stressors. Expected outcomes from this research include advanced methods for the identification of IW and robust data on sorption capacity and soil/water parameters; these data will inform models to assess IW contribution to landscape nutrient dynamics. The development of monitoring protocol and measures will permit local agencies to assess the condition of their wetland resources and aid in developing source-stressor relationships.

Record Details: