Poster Presentation Freshwater Sciences 2023

Evaluating nutrient function across diverse wetland restoration, construction, and enhancement projects: The H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program, Ohio, USA. (#657)

Lauren E Kinsman-Costello 1 , Janice Kerns 2 , Olivia Johnson 1 , Raissa Mendonca 1 , Ganming Liu 3 , Kevin McCluney 3 , Helen McCluney 3 , W. Robert Midden 3 , Laura Johnson 4 , Justin Chaffin 5 , Richard Becker 6 , Thomas Bridgeman 6 , Kennedy Doro 6 , Silvia Newell 7 , Stephen Jacquemin 7
  1. Kent State University, Mogadore, OH, United States
  2. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Huron, OH, United States
  3. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, United States
  4. Heidelberg University, Tiffin, OH, United States
  5. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
  6. University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
  7. Wright State University, Dayton, OH, United States

The state of Ohio is implementing over 120 individual wetland creation, restoration, and enhancement projects as a part of an unprecedented initiative to improve water quality by mitigating recurring nutrient-fueled Harmful Algal Blooms throughout the state and Lake Erie specifically. To assess wetland project effectiveness, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has established an independent monitoring program implemented by teams from six Ohio universities including 12 faculty as principal investigators and >50 research coordinators, technicians, and students. The H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program is taking advantage of this unique opportunity to investigate nutrient biogeochemistry in diverse wetland restoration projects under a unified framework. As of 2023, implemented projects range from 0.5-1,395 acres in size and drain areas ranging from 22 to over 4 million acres. Construction and restoration activities have been completed in over 20 projects, and many will be completed in 2023-2025. Many projects are established on land that was previously cultivated and/or drain active agricultural areas. We are developing tools for comprehensive nutrient budgeting and meaningful indicators of wetland nutrient function using a tiered sampling approach. Through partnerships with the ODNR, conservation partners, and landowners we have established a network that has produced preliminary data from monitoring surface water nutrient concentrations, soil nutrient status, and mapping soil characteristics and vegetative communities in select intensively monitored projects. A centralized data management system will ensure data quality, long term storage, accessibility, and shareability in accordance with open science best practices. In 2022, the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program’s first year of routine monitoring data collection, teams of scientists visited at least 45 distinct wetland projects, collected over 1700 water samples and over 600 soil samples. Surface water nutrient concentrations and soil nutrient status reflect the heterogenous hydrologic regimes, landscape connectivity, and land use histories of the diverse wetland restoration projects.