Progress 10/24/13 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, extension agents, and citizens who are interested in environmental restoration, wetland soils, wetland vegetation, and water quality. Scientific meetings, scientific journals,classroom instruction, and extension outreach were methods used to reach these audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development were provided for undergraduate and graduate students who participated in field sampling,lab work, and compiling data, How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Tidal marshes and other wetlandsprovide important and valuable ecosystem services. Services provided by wetlands include production of organic carbon that contributes tofood webs, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, sequestering atmospheric carbon in wetland soils, serving as filters that improve water quality by removing sediments, excess nutrients, and other pollutants, providing flood storage, and protecting shorelines against erosion. The loss and degradation of wetlands due to development led to an interest in restoring, enhancing, and creating new wetlands to replace lost ecosystem services. A major part of this research project was converting farm land, which was wetland before being drained, cleared, and used for growing crops, back to wetlands to mitigate wetland losses and improve water quality. Objectives 1, 2, and 3 Tidal brackish-water creeks designed to simulate natural tidal creeks, were constructed at North River Farms in Carteret County. The riparian areas associated with this drainage system were graded to the elevations required to support intertidal marshes. Native vegetation adapted to each elevation and salinity zone was planted to create new fish and wildlife habitat, and to filter water draining from Open Grounds Farm. Effects of elevation, hydrology, and salinity on growth of planted marsh vegetation (Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, and Juncus roemerianus) were evaluated. The effectiveness of the restored wetland in improving water quality by removing nitrogen from water draining from crop land was determined by intensively monitoring stream flow and nitrogen concentrations. Results indicated that the restored wetland significantly reduced the total amount of nitrogen in drainage water, and that restored wetlands and preservation of natural wetlands provide valuable habitat and improve water quality. Tidal marsh restoration and creation also helps to remediate global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing organic carbon in soils. However, emission of other greenhouse gases (GHG) (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide) from marsh soils may offset the benefits of carbon storage. A second part of our research was designed to understand the magnitude of GHG emissions from the created brackish water marsh. Observations from this site were compared with other wetland systems previously studied at other locations. The major GHG emitted from the marsh was carbon dioxide, but the flux was near the lower levels of other wetlands with comparable salinities. Methane flux from the soil was likely inhibited by the high soil sulfate concentration, which poised the soil redox potential above -150 mV. The low nitrous oxide flux was due to low soil nitrate concentration and ideal soil redox conditions that favored complete denitrification producing nitrogen gas. Fluxes of GHG from the created marsh were generally lower than those recorded from natural marshes. Hydrology, soils, and water quality were monitored for three years at 16 natural forested wetland sites in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of North Carolina. These data were combined with long-term data collected at the same sites for various periods from 2005 to 2013. Results indicated that the wetland hydropattern (time patterns of water levels) was the most important factor impacting wetland structure and function. Hydropattern is rarely adequately addressed in wetland restoration projects and needs further study to maximize the value of ecosystem services provided by forested wetlands. Objective 4 Isotope enrichment tracer experiments using 15NO3-N were conducted in wetland mesocosms of two different wetland soil types at two NO3-N source loads. The15N label was traced from the source NO3-N into plant biomass, soil (including organic matter and ammonium), and N-gas constituents over 7-10day study periods. All sinks responded positively to higher NO3-N loading. Plant uptake exceededdenitrification 2-3 fold in the low NO3-N loading experiments, but uptake and denitrification were nearly equivalent in the high loading treatments. One to two years later, soils largely retained the assimilated tracer N, whereas plants had lost much of it. Results demonstrated that plant and microbial assimilation in the soil can exceed denitrification (permanentN loss) in pulse-flow environments. Successful tidal wetland restoration and preservation, and preservation of fresh water wetlands has positive environmental and economic benefits including carbon sequestration, increasing natural habitat, and improving estuarine water quality by reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments in water draining from crop land.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Burchell, M.R., 2019. Tidal marsh creation. In Coastal Wetlands (pp. 789-816). Elsevier.
Messer, T.L., Burchell II, M.R., Birgand, F., Broome, S.W. and Chescheir, G., 2017. Nitrate removal potential of restored wetlands loaded with agricultural drainage water: A mesocosm scale experimental approach. Ecological engineering, 106, pp.541-554.Broome, S.W., Craft, C.B. and
Shiau, Y.J., Burchell, M.R., Krauss, K.W., Broome, S.W. and Birgand, F., 2019. Carbon storage potential in a recently created brackish marsh in eastern North Carolina, USA. Ecological engineering, 127, pp.579-588.
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, extension agents, and citizens who are interested in environmental restoration, wetland soils, wetland vegetation, and water quality. Scientific publications, classroom instruction, scientific meetings, and extension outreach were methods used to reach these audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and professional development opportunities for research faculty. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated through publication of a journal article. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue work ona project to monitor hydrology, water quality, soils, and biota at 18 wetland sites in North Carolina. Soil characterization field work will be completed during 2018.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Wetlands provide important ecosystem services such as habitat for fish and wildlife, production of carbon that contributes tofood webs, capturing and storing atmospheric carbon, providing flood storage, protecting shorelines against erosion and serving as filters that improve water quality by removing sediments, excess nutrients, and other pollutants,. The loss and degradation of tidal marshes and wetlands due to development, led to an interest in restoring or creating new wetlands to replace lost ecosystem services. In some cases farmland that was wetland before being drained, cleared, and used for growing crops is being converted back to wetlands to mitigate wetland losses and improve water quality. Restored or created wetlands are often designed so that drainage water from land producing crops is routed through the new wetlands to improve water quality by removing or reducing sediments, excess nutrients, and other pollutants before the drainage reaches lakes, streams, or estuaries. Results of research published in 2017 evaluated the nitrogen removal effectiveness of two wetland restoration sites using a two-year mesocosm study. Six wetland mesocosms along with unplanted controls were used in this experiment. Three replicates of two soils that differed in organic matter and pH were planted with soft-stem bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani) and allowed to develop for two growing seasons prior to the study. Simulated drainage water was loaded into the mesocosms over eighteen batch studies across seasons with target nitrate-N levels from 2.5 to 10mgL−1. Samples were collected from the water column and analyzed for nitrate-N, dissolved organic carbon, and chloride, along with other environmental parameters such as pH, water temperature, and soil redox. Nitrogen and carbon concentrations in the wetland plants and soil were also measured. Differences in nitrate-N reductions between treatments were compared. Variables included carbon availability, temperature, moisture conditions, nitrogen loading, and water pH. Significant differences in NO3-N removal were found between seasons and soil types (α=0.05), which helped to provide insight to the expected magnitude of nitrogen removal within these systems throughout the year, and potential mechanisms (i.e. denitrification vs. plant uptake) that will govern nitrogen removals.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Messer, T. L., Burchell, M. R., Birgand, F., Broome, S. W., & Chescheir, G. (2017), Ecological Engineering, 106, 541-554.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached were scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, extension agents, and citizens who are interested in environmental restoration, wetland soils, wetland vegetation, and water quality. Scientific publications, classroom instruction, scientific meetings, and extension outreach were methods used to reach these audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided training opportunities for graduate students and professional development opportunities for research faculty. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated through publication of a journal article and presentation of a paper at a scientific meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Results of a study that was designed to understand the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from a created brackish water marsh were published. Results showed that the major greenhouse gas emitted from the marsh was carbon dioxide, but the flux was near the lower levels of other wetlands with comparable salinities. Methane flux from the soil was likely inhibited by the high soil sulfate concentration, which poised the soil redox potential above -150 mV. The low nitrous oxide flux from the test site was due to low soil nitrate concentration and ideal soil redox which favored complete denitrification that produced nitrogen gas. Fluxes of green house gas emmitted from this created marsh were generally lower than those recorded from marshes with lower salinities.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Broome, S.W. 2015. Tidal Marsh Restoration and Creation. Invited paper presented at The ASA, CSSA, SSA Annual Meeting, Nov 15-18, Minneapolis, MN.
Shiau, Y.J., Burchell, M.R., Krauss, K.W., Birgand, F. and Broome, S.W. 2016. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Created Brackish Marsh in Eastern North Carolina. Wetlands. 36: 1009-1024
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Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached included scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, state and federal regulators, and extension agents and citizens who are interested in environmental restoration, wetland soils, wetland vegetation, and water quality. Scientific publications, classroom instruction, workshops, and extension outreach were methods used to reach these audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided training for graduate students and opportunities for research faculty. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were desiminated through publication of a dissertation and a presentation of a paper at scentific meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue a greenhouse experiment to assess acceptability of irrigation of food crops using wastewatertreated by a constructed wetland. Participate in a project to monitor hydrology, water quality, soils, and biota at 18 wetland sites in North Carolina. Soil characterization field work will be done during the summer of2016. Evaluate plant response to N and P fertilizer at theNorth River marsh restoration site.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A study completed by a graduate student in 2015 was designed to understand the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from the created brackish water marsh. He determined that environmental factors impact greenhouse fluxes, and compared observations from this site with other systems previously studied at other locations. The major greenhouse gas emitted from the marsh was carbon dioxide, but the flux was near the lower levels of other wetlands with comparable salinities. Methane flux from the soil was likely inhibited by the high soil sulfate concentration, which poised the soil redox potential above -150 mV. The low nitrous oxide flux was due to low soil nitrate concentration and ideal soil redox which favored complete denitrification that produced nitrogen gas. Fluxes of green house gas emmitted from this created marsh were generally lower than those recorded from natural marshes.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Shiau, Yo-Jin.2014 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Sequestration Potential of a Created Tidal Marsh. Dissertation, NC State University Raleigh, NC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Broome, S.W. 2015. Tidal Marsh Restoration and Creation. Invited paper presented at the ASA, CSSA, SSA Annual Meeting, Nov 15-18, Minneapolis, MN.
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Progress 10/24/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences reached included scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, state and federal regulators, and extension agents and citizens who are interested in environmental restoration, wetland soils, wetland vegetation, and water quality. Efforts to reach these audiences utilized scientific publications, classroom instruction, workshops, and extension outreach. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The project provided taining and development opportunities for several graduate students to conduct research and report results at professional conferences and in scientific journal publications. . How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results were disseminated through publications and presentation at professional meetings and to the public through extension activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Work during the next year will focus on two aspects of wetland research. One will be utilizing mesocosm-scale wetlands to determine their capacity to assimilate or remove nitrogen from water. The second will measure plant uptake of chemicals of anthropogenic origin from wastewater treated by a constructed wetland system.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Tidal marshes provide important ecosystem services including habitat for fish and wildlife, supporting the estuarine food web, capture and storage of carbon, improving water quality by removing sediments, excess nutrients, and other pollutants, storage of flood water, and shoreline stabilization. Restoring or creating new marshes results in replacement of lost ecosystem services. Farmland and other areas that were wetland before being drained are being converted back to wetlands to mitigate wetland losses and reduce inputs of nutrients and other pollutants to adjacent estuaries. During a previous project, tidal brackish-water creeks designed to simulate natural tidal creeks, were constructed at North River Farms in Carteret County. The riparian areas associated with this drainage system were graded to the elevations required to support intertidal marshes. Native vegetation adapted to each elevation and salinity zone was planted to create new fish and wildlife habitat, and to filter water draining from Open Grounds Farm. Effects of elevation, hydrology, and salinity on growth of planted marsh vegetation (Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, and Juncus roemerianus) were evaluated. The effectiveness of the restored wetland in improving water quality by removing nitrogen from water draining from crop land was determined by intensively monitoring stream flow and nitrogen concentrations. Results indicate that the restored wetland reduced the total amount of nitrate nitrogen in drainage water by only nine percent. This was attributed to short retention time of water in the marsh during storm events, and methods to retain water for longer periods of time should be considered. The effects of N and P fertilizers on plant growth were measured in plots where low soil levels of these nutrients were limiting plant growth. Fertilization resulted in complete cover of marsh vegetation, while unfertilized control plots had only sparse cover after five growing seasons. A study of methane gas emissions and carbon sequestration from the restored marsh was completed. Results indicated that methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the brackish water marsh were very low and that the marsh is a net carbon sink. A greenhouse experiment was initiated to study plant uptake of chemicals of anthropogenic origin from water treated by constructed wetlands.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Slusher, C.E. M.J. Vepraskas, and S.W. Broome. 2014. Evaluating responses of four wetland plant species to different hydrologic regimes. J. Environ. Qual. 43:723-731.
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