Faculty Advisor
Beth Lawrence
Abstract
Wetlands provide ecological services such as cleansing the water supply, sequestering carbon, and providing habitat for wildlife, however wetland restoration often alters the greenhouse gas flux of the site. Our study aims to investigate the effects of wetland restoration on greenhouse gas flux at Prairie Wolf Slough. We did this by comparing greenhouse gas flux on matching hydric soil series from the restored wetland with an adjacent abandoned agricultural field. We measured known controls of greenhouse gas flux such as soil moisture and soil temperature. We found that there was no detectable methane and nitrous oxide flux at either site, and that there was no significant difference in carbon dioxide flux between the restored wetland and unrestored agricultural field. These results show that wetland restoration did not affect greenhouse gas flux; however, the restored wetland displayed similarities in greenhouse gas flux to older restored sites.
Recommended Citation
Connors, Matthew and Lawrence, Beth
(2016)
"Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Flux of Restored vs. Unrestored Wetlands: A Case Study at Prairie Wolf Slough,"
DePaul Discoveries: Volume 5, Article 16.
Available at:
https://via.library.depaul.edu/depaul-disc/vol5/iss1/16