Managing forested wetland landscapes for water quality improvement, quantity control, and productivity requires a detailed understanding of functional linkages between ecohydrological processes and management practices.
Watershed-level hydrologic and nutrient cycling processes are complicated by the presence of varied land features such as natural and managed forests, depressional wetlands, pine flatwoods, riparian buffers, bottomland hardwoods (BLH) on brackish waters, uplands and water bodies, and multiple land uses increase this complexity still further. These watersheds are characterized by low topographic relief, slow drainage with poorly drained high water table soils and wet sites where mean annual rainfall exceed potential evapotranspiration. Some of these forested wetlands have been drained artificially to lower water tables for trafficability and reduction of excessive moisture for increased crop growth.
Agricultural and silvicutural developments together with recent population growth in the region have not only caused a decrease of forested headwater wetlands but also altered the hydrology and water quality of these eco-systems. The consequence of wetland loss in the headwaters and alteration in hydrologic pathways may include increases in flash flooding, water quality decline, and alteration in hydroperiod and flow regime.
The focus of the Center’s program is to understand the hydrologic and nutrient cycling and transport processes of these low-gradient forested wetlands and evaluate the impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on hydrology and water quality by using both the long-term monitoring and modeling approaches on field and watershed scales.