SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report
Sections
Status: Approved
Basic Information
- Project No. and Title: NE1438 : Hydropedology of Vernal Pool Systems
- Period Covered: 11/15/2017 to 01/01/2019
- Date of Report: 03/19/2019
- Annual Meeting Dates: 01/06/2019 to 01/06/2019
Participants
Mark Stolt (URI), Jim Thompson (WVU), Martin Rabenhorst (UMD), Bruce Vasilas (UD), Mickey Spokas (UMass), John Galbraith (Virginia Tech), Patrick Drohan (PSU), Karen Vaughan (UWY).
see attached
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
This is the last year of the current project. The focus of the previous years work was to complete the data collection and analysis (see discussion in the annual meeting report above).
The work plan for the coming year is described in the meeting minutes.
Seven national or international presentations were made at scientific meetings including the Soil Science Society of America, Ecological Society of America, Society of Wetland Scientists, European Geoscience Union, and the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (see presentation titles under the abstracts listed in publications). Drohan and Rainford spoke about vernal pools and soils at the S.K. Greenfield Elementary School Soil Education Event for Earth Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thompson lead a field tour for the joint-Northeast and Southeast Regional National Cooperative Soil Survey meetings that include a vernal pool stop to discuss our efforts to understand hydrology, saturation, and reducing conditions in vernal pool wetlands (over 70 scientists were on the tour including graduate students and USDA-NRCS soil scientists). We reached a wide array of stakeholders with our presentations from elementary school budding environmental scientists to international wetland scientists.
Our work lead to the approval of national hydric soil indicator A-17 Mesic Spodic (approved 2018). Long-term projects like multistate projects allow for the extended monitoring that is needed for developing hydric soil indicators. These indicators are used nation-wide for delineation of wetlands for protection of these valuable components of the landscape.
We leveraged funds in the form of a grant from the USDA-NRCS to support our efforts to understand carbon stocks and hydrology of northeastern vernal pools (Grant # 68-3A75-17-480; $100,000).
Two students received graduate degrees working on the project: Ruth Anderson (M.S.) and Shana Rainford (Ph.D.)
Anderson, R. 2018. Soil, Hydrology, and Ecology of Geographically Isolated Wetlands in the United States: A Literature Review. Virginia Tech non-thesis master degree, Blacksburg, VA.
Rainford, S. 2018. An integrative assessment of soil organic carbon dynamics in wetland environments. PhD Thesis in Ecology. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Impacts
- Our expected and actual aim for NE-1438 is the development of an understanding of the soil-environmental variables that drive vernal pool ecosystems. The impacts of this goal are numerous. By developing this understanding, we can convey to the natural systems and scientific community the processes that occur in these systems with regard to the functions and values of vernal pools.
- An immediate impact is the approval of the mesic spodic hydric soil indicator. We found that most of the current hydric soil indicators failed to identify the wetland boundaries in mesic vernal pools. Understanding the wetland extent is critical to the conservation of vernal pools. Now wetland scientists have an indicator (A-17) that can be used to define and delineate mesic vernal pools.
- Many redox processes happen at redox potential above the potential that is Fe is reduced. For example, nitrate is reduced (i.e. denitrification) at a much higher potential than Fe and essentially equivalent to the Mn mineral birnessite. Prior to our studies, only Fe indicators of reduction in soils (IRIS) were available. As such, continuous redox potentials (time consuming and fraught with potential errors) were required to understand the environmental conditions where nitrate would be reduced. Our studies have demonstrated that Mn IRIS is easier to reduce than Fe. The development of Mn IRIS sensors can have a huge impact on understanding the environmental conditions for important wetland processes such as denitrification.
- Longer range impacts involve the training of graduate students and future earth and environmental scientists. This year two graduate students that worked on our project graduated. These students are future wetland scientists and conservationists. Several undergraduates that worked on the project also graduated and were trained in wetland ecology and hydrology. These are the future of our efforts to identify the values and functions of vernal pools and other wetlands. These impacts may not seem tangible but are real.
Publications
Publications
Vaughan, K., P. Drohan, J. Galbraith, M. Rabenhorst, L. Spokas, M. Stolt, J. Thompson, and B. Vasilas. 2019. Redoximorphic feature expression in seasonally inundated soils reveals belowground climatic influence on development. Abstract. Soil Science Society of America. San Diego, CA.
Rainford, S.D., and P.J. Drohan. 2018. Paleoecological assessment of the origin and development of vernal pools in Central Pennsylvania. Abstract. National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Rainford, S.D., and P.J. Drohan. 2018. Patterns of bryophyte diversity and soil nutrient availability in vernal pools located in Central PA. Abstract. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Rainford, S.D., and P.J. Drohan. 2018. Patterns of bryophyte diversity and soil nutrient availability in vernal pools located in Central PA. Abstract. Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
Rainford, S.D., and P.J. Drohan. 2018. Separating the Forest from the Trees: Soil and Vegetation Dynamics in Vernal Pools. Abstract. European Geoscience Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.
Park, C.E., and M.C. Rabenhorst. 2018. Assessing New Developments in IRIS Technology. Wetland Science and Practice 35:324-327.
Rossi, A. M., and M.C. Rabenhorst. 2018. Organic Carbon Dynamics in Soils of Mid-Atlantic Barrier Island Landscapes. Geoderma. 337:1278-1290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.10.028
Rabenhorst, Martin C., Patrick J. Drohan, John M. Galbraith, Lesley Spokas, Mark Stolt, James A. Thompson, and Bruce L. Vasilas, Vaughan, Karen L. 2018. Biogeochemistry of Vernal Pools Assessed Using IRIS Film Technology. Abstract. Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America, San Diego, CA.
Rabenhorst, M.C. 2018. How Should We Use and Interpret Mn-Coated IRIS Films? Abstract. Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America, San Diego, CA.