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Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches to Understanding Changes in Redox Potential Due to Hydrology and Vegetation in Agricultural Drainage Ditches

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Abstract

Excess nutrient loading from agricultural landscapes contributes to downstream water quality degradation. To mitigate these issues, agricultural drainage ditches have recently gained attention as potential sites for nutrient reduction. We examined the effects of vegetation and hydrology on oxidation-reduction (redox) potential. Testing occurred in an agricultural drainage ditch fitted with weirs in the summer of 2012. Redox potential was recorded using continuous automated data loggers and analyzed using both frequentist and Bayesian methods. Significant difference was found when analyzing redox potential response to vegetation (t = −1.75, P = 0.08, df = 9754) and hydrology treatments (t = 7.51, P < 0.001, df = 9754) in a frequentist manner. Vegetation and hydrologic treatments were significant when analyzed using Bayesian methods; however, the interactions of the two terms had the greatest posterior weights. This study suggests that the innovative use of vegetation and controlled drainage can affect Eh, in particular Eh heterogeneity within ditch systems. Results obtained by analyzing these data in both a frequentist and Bayesian methods were similar in terms significance and magnitude. However, Bayesian methods, and their ability to incorporate prior information into a management framework, may be better suited for systems where previous information can be incorporated into analyses.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Mississippi Agricultural Forestry Experiment Station, and The Forest and Wildlife Research Center at Mississippi State University for providing funding for this project. We are grateful to Dr. Robert Reese and computer and electrical engineering students for the design and construction of the continuous redox data loggers used in this study and two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Cory Shoemaker

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Box GYM, Mississippi, Mississippi State, 39762, USA

  2. Robert Kröger

    Present address: Covington Civil and Environmental, LLC, 2510 14th Street Suite 1010, Gulfport, MS, 39501, USA

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  1. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Mississippi, Mississippi State, 39762, USA

    Cory Shoemaker & Robert Kröger

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Correspondence to Cory Shoemaker.

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Shoemaker, C., Kröger, R. Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches to Understanding Changes in Redox Potential Due to Hydrology and Vegetation in Agricultural Drainage Ditches. Wetlands 37, 705–714 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-017-0901-9

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