“Plant Species and Hydrology as Controls on Constructed Wetland Methane Fluxes” with Karla Jarecke and Dr. Terry Loecke

Wetlands are important ecosystems that provide many important services, such as assisting in water quality, flood control, erosion protection, carbon removal and storage, and biodiversity. Hydrology is the study of water, specifically in how it moves throughout the landscape.

Combine them with the conundrum of methane production in wetland plant species, and you’ve got the makings of a fascinating research project. Specifically, Karla Jarecke and Terry Loecke’s project. By testing methane production in two common wetland species under both lab and field conditions, they worked to answer important questions about not only how methane production, hydrology, and wetland species work together, but also how we can better plan for the creation and care of constructed wetlands.

Listen in to learn about:

• The lifecycle of methane within wetlands
• The different kinds of flora and fauna that live in them
• How a parks program turned a would-be landfill into a new wetland
• How field and lab conditions can differ, both in logistics and results

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode’s paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2018.11.0421 

It will be freely available from 15 Nov. to 29 Nov., 2019.

If you would like to find transcripts for this episode or sign up for our newsletter, please visit our website: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/

Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don’t forget to subscribe.

If you would like to reach out to Karla, you can find her here: [email protected] @KarlaJarecke

If you would like to reach out to Terry, you can find him here: [email protected] @Loecke1

Resources:

CEU Quiz: http://www.agronomy.org/education/classroom/classes/816 

EPA: https://www.epa.gov/

Society of Wetland Scientists: https://www.sws.org

Five Rivers MetroParks Twitter: @MetroParksTweet

For Landowners:

USDA: https://www.usda.gov/

Wetland Mitigation and Conservation Compliance: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/farmbill/?cid=nrcseprd362686

For Individuals:

eBird: https://ebird.org/home

National Audobon Society: https://www.audubon.org/

Ducks Unlimited: https://www.ducks.org/

The Nature Conservancy: https://www.nature.org/en-us/

Field, Lab, Earth is copyrighted to the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.