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Dissolved Oxygen Dynamics in Restored Wetlands in Vermont and the Implications for Phosphorus Cycling
Cuddihy, Tenju S
Cuddihy, Tenju S
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Abstract
Currently, the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Champlain is exceeding the total maximum daily load (TMDL) established by the US EPA, leading to harmful algal blooms and negative impacts on the local ecosystem at large (Lake Champlain Basin Program, 2021). At the same time, some former farmlands adjacent to rivers are being restored to wetlands to meet various conservation goals and the potential benefits for water quality are unclear. Dissolved oxygen content in the water can affect the ability of phosphorus to adsorb to wetland soils, and therefore can influence phosphorus capture and storage in restored wetlands. In this study, sensors were placed in five restored wetland sites to monitor water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and water level at 10-minute intervals from February 1st through May 9th, 2022. These data were divided into winter, spring, and summer groups, subdivided into filling and draining conditions, visualized using dot plots, and assessed statistically. The results illustrate diverse dissolved oxygen dynamics across the five sites, ranging from largely anaerobic to entirely well oxygenated. Light- and/or temperature-dependent biological processes (photosynthesis and respiration) and residence time of water on the wetland sites likely affect the degree to which a wetland can affect the dissolved oxygen concentration of the river water that passes through.
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Date
2023-01-01