Investigating hydrologic connectivity as a driver of biogeochemical flood response in wetland systems

Wetlands

wetland

An area of land that is periodically saturated with water, which influences the types of plants and animals that can live there. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, and other similar areas.

Source: A student's guide to Global Climate Change Source

are critical “control points” for nutrient processing and retention, improving water quality in streams and rivers. In particular, wetlands are important for removing nitrogen

nitrogen

Nitrogen, represented by the symbol N and atomic number 7, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that constitutes approximately 78% of Earth's atmosphere. It is vital for all life forms, as it is a fundamental part of amino acids, proteins, and DNA.

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(N), mitigating negative impacts such as eutrophication in downstream waters. Much of N processing in wetlands is carried out by microbes

microbe

Microbes are tiny living things that are found all around us and are too small to be seen by the naked eye. They live in water, soil, and in the air.

Source: NIH Source

that live in the soil, whose activity is regulated in part by the availability and quality of organic matter (i.e., dead plant material) and oxygen. Flood disturbances affect both organic matter delivery and oxygen dynamics in wetlands, potentially altering N removal processes. However, we do not understand how hydrologic connectivity, that is, the mode through which wetlands receive and export water, affects organic matter delivery to floods or the subsequent effects on wetland N removal. The objective of this study is to investigate wetland hydro-biogeochemical responses (specifically, N processing) to flood disturbances and the subsequent impacts on watershed

watershed

An area of land that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually flows to the lowest point in a basin.

Source: USGS Source

nutrient export. We will use event-centered measurements at the wetland and watershed scales to integrate wetland and watershed models to advance our predictive capacity for assessing how flood disturbances impact watershed biogeochemical cycling and nutrient export. This study will address the DOE stated need to understand how flood disturbance impacts watershed biogeochemical function.