Notes from the Underground: Ground Water s Influence on the Biogeochemistry and Species Composition of New York Rich Fens

Barbara Bedford, Cornell University

April 19, 2010 @ 04:45 pm to 05:45 pm

112 Chambers Building

Event Website

Wetland scientists have long known that certain types of wetlands are ground-water dependent in that they occur only where ground water reaches the plant rooting zone._ The biogeochemical mechanisms controlling this dependence, the spatial and temporal scales at which they operate, and the various ways in which they are manifested in distinctive plant communities have been less clear._ In this seminar, I will summarize research my graduate students, colleagues, and I have conducted in New York fens over the past decade to understand the linkages between geomorphological setting, ground water hydrology, fen water and soil chemistry, and the bryophyte and vascular plant species composition of these wetlands._ In closing, I also will discuss current management and conservation issues surrounding rich fens, which appear to be among the most plant species-rich wetlands in North America.

Contact

Kristen Granger
klg297@psu.edu