2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/27/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Nutrient recovery trajectories of restored riparian wetlands in agricultural watersheds | Virtual Platform

Nutrient recovery trajectories of restored riparian wetlands in agricultural watersheds

Agricultural watersheds contribute a substantial proportion of nutrients exported into the Lower Mississippi River Basin. Channelization and levee construction that disconnects the river and its floodplain, and the conversion of riparian wetlands into agricultural production greatly contribute to increased stream nutrient export. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service established the Wetlands Reserve Program over 20 years ago to restore marginal agricultural land back to functional wetland ecosystems. The goal of our research is to quantify restoration outcomes across 40 restored riparian wetlands throughout the major river basins in western Tennessee and Kentucky, focusing on flood events that reconnect rivers and floodplains. We are measuring easement nutrient retention as a function of time in the program (i.e. wetland successional stage) and restoration practices including hydrology and vegetation modifications. We present results from the first two years of a four-year study. Key findings include high denitrification rates across habitat types regardless of initial soil moisture, and increased retention after seven years in the program. The ecosystem services provided by these restored wetlands appears to reach beyond the creation of wildlife habitat by providing substantial water quality improvement in local and downstream agroecosystems.

Restoration
Ecohydrology
Nutrient cycling

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Presenters/Authors

Justin Murdock (), Tennessee Tech University, jnmurdock@tntech.edu;