The Mid-Atlantic Wetland Conservation Effects Assessment Project: Monitoring Ecosystem Services Associated with Wetland Restoration

Authors: Lang, Megan; McCarty, Gregory; WELLER, D - SMITHSONIAN; Walbridge, Mark; Ritchie, Jerry; PALMER, MARGARET - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND; Hunt, Patrick; FISHER, TOM - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND; ECKLES, DIANE - USDA-NRCS; DENVER, JUDY - U.S. GSWSC, DOVER, DE; Church, Clinton

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2009
Publication Date: 7/11/2009
Citation: Lang, M.W., McCarty, G.W., Weller, D., Walbridge, M.R., Ritchie, J.C., Palmer, M., Hunt, P.G., Fisher, T., Eckles, D., Denver, J., Church, C. 2009. The Mid-Atlantic Wetland Conservation Effects Assessment Project: Monitoring ecosystem services associated with wetland restoration [abstract]. 64th Annual Soil and Water Conservation Society Conference. p. 89.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Wetlands impart many important ecosystem services, including the maintenance of water quality, the stabilization of the climate through carbon sequestration, and enhancement of biodiversity through the provision of food and habitat. The conversion of natural or semi-natural lands to agriculture has led to broad scale historic wetland loss, but current USDA conservation programs and practices seek to replace or ameliorate the ecosystem services lost to agricultural conversion. The Mid-Atlantic Regional (MIAR) Wetland Conservation Effects Assessment Project (Wetland-CEAP) is a regional component of the national Wetland-CEAP which was initiated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop a broad collaborative wetland science foundation that facilitates the production and delivery of scientific results. The MIAR is an interdisciplinary study which brings together scientists from multiple federal agencies (NRCS, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center) and the University of Maryland to study non-tidal wetlands in the Coastal Plains of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Research focus areas include the effect of wetlands and wetland restoration on water quality, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emission, amphibian diversity and abundance, and stream health. Project findings will be used to assess and improve the effectiveness of conservation practices and Farm Bill programs affecting wetlands and associated lands in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. This project encourages future inter-agency cooperation and is an important step towards producing a national integrated landscape model that can be used to support the adaptive management of wetland restoration and enhancement programs.