Accumulation of Carbon in Created Wetland Soils and the Potential to Mitigate Loss of Natural Wetland Carbon-Mediated Functions
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: The current U.S. wetland mitigation policy of "no-net-loss" requires that a new wetland be created to replace any natural wetland destroyed under development pressures.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of created wetlands to accumulate carbon and to mitigate the carbon-mediated functions occurring in natural wetlands.Soil physical properties were analyzed as potential inhibitors of carbon accumulation in the created wetlands.An exponential model was then used to estimate the time for created wetlands to accumulate that carbon found in natural wetlands.Five created (ages 3-8 years) and four natural freshwater marsh wetlands in central Ohio, USA were selected for this study.Nine to fifteen soil cores were collected at each site and analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC), mineralizable soil carbon, waterstable aggregates (WSA), particle-size fractions and bulk density.Peak-standing aboveground plant biomass was harvested.Created wetlands contained less plant biomass, less SOC and less mineralizable carbon than natural wetlands (MRPP, T=-11.6,p< 0.007).For the soil physical properties, created wetlands contained less macroaggregates, more microaggregates, more silt-clay, and had higher bulk density than natural wetlands (MRPP, T=-4.16, p=0.007).The carbon parameters and soil physical properties were found to be correlated by RDA, carbon content was positively correlated with macroaggregate I would first like to acknowledge and thank my advisor, Dr. Virginie Bouchard, without whom, of course, this project would not have been possible.
Author: Katie Hossler
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Climate action, Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2341277548