Abstract
We measured gas fluxes and production efficiency rates of CO2, CH4, and N2O from natural and restored freshwater marshes in northwestern Indiana to evaluate the contribution of restored wetlands to regional greenhouse gas fluxes. Anaerobic soil incubations were used to determine production efficiencies, and static flux chamber measurements were used to measure fluxes during the growing season. Restored wetlands contained less soil organic carbon (1.5 % versus 6.3 %) than natural wetlands yet emitted comparable greenhouse gases in anaerobic incubations. Production efficiency rates, though, were significantly higher in restored wetlands. Mean growing season fluxes from static flux chamber measurements were 10.1 kg CO2-C ha−1 day−1, −0.2 g CH4-C ha−1 day−1, and 0.6 g N2O-N ha−1 day−1 from natural wetlands and 3.8 kg CO2-C ha−1 day−1, 0.1 g CH4-C ha−1 day−1, and 0.4 g N2O-N ha−1 day−1 from restored wetlands and did not differ among the two wetland types. We conclude that the ecological benefits gained from restoring wetlands in the glaciated interior plains outweigh the negative impact of their greenhouse gas contribution.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Anya Hopple, Ellen Herbert, Laura Trice, Anne Altor, and Aida Haddad for their assistance with field sampling and laboratory analyses. We would also like to the thank The Nature Conservancy at Kankakee Sands and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources at Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area for access to their wetlands. This project was funded by the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) through Cooperative Agreement Number 68-7482-9-516 from the Great Lakes – Northern Forests Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU).
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Richards, B., Craft, C.B. (2015). Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Restored Agricultural Wetlands and Natural Wetlands, Northwestern Indiana. In: Vymazal, J. (eds) The Role of Natural and Constructed Wetlands in Nutrient Cycling and Retention on the Landscape. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08177-9_2
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