Environmental Science & Technology
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Item LEVERAGING FINE-SCALE GEOSPATIAL DATA TO ADVANCE BIODIVERSITY SENSITIVE URBAN PLANNING, WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, AND GREEN CORRIDOR DESIGN: APPLICATION TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA(2023) Spivy, Annette Leah; Mullinax, Jennifer; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Typically, urban wildlife communities are made up of generalist species that are adept at utilizing human resources. However, many wildlife species struggle in the face of extensive urbanization and would benefit from increased conservation of urban green space, increased urban landscape connectivity, and proactive wildlife population management strategies. Unfortunately, maintaining and/or increasing the availability of quality habitat for biodiversity conservation in urban areas can be challenging as these conservation efforts are often influenced by the decreasing availability of critical resources and the challenges in allocating those resources among competing socioeconomic and environmental needs. Therefore, to improve the management and conservation of urban wildlife, accurate measurements of potential trade-offs between the environmental, economic, and social goals and management actions of a city’s sustainable development plan are needed. Until now, much of the effort in wildlife habitat modeling and biodiversity mapping has been across large geographic areas or broad spatial scales. Those efforts have provided valuable insights into overall biodiversity patterns, identifying key hotspots, and understanding large-scale ecological processes. However, in urban environments, the dynamics of wildlife, habitat availability, and ecosystem services operate differently than in natural or rural landscapes. As urbanization continues to expand, there is a growing need to focus on fine-scale factors to address specific conservation challenges in urban systems. This research seeks to address some of these challenges and demonstrates how new and traditional species-relevant geospatial datasets can be leveraged in urban planning and design to drive local-scale conservation decisions that put biodiversity in the forefront. This work links long-term, multi-taxon, wildlife survey data and high-resolution land use and land cover datasets (1m) to determine where high-quality, well-connected habitats exist, or could most easily be justified and acquired, within the District of Columbia. This work also evaluates the spatial patterns of ecosystem service provisions across the urban landscape to identify “win-win” areas for conservation or restoration that will benefit both biodiversity and human wellbeing. Finally, the work evaluates a local translocation effort of the vulnerable eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) to inform mitigation strategies when a sudden loss of habitat in an urban environment is inevitable. This research is particularly relevant to wildlife managers and urban planners in highly urbanized areas, where large parcels of land with suitable habitat are minimal and municipal environmental departments are often under-resourced. Local policymakers interested in incentivizing conservation efforts to meet state or national goals can use this information for strategic urban conservation initiatives.Item Novel Applications in Wetland Soils Mapping on the Delmarva Coastal Plain(2018) Goldman, Margaret Anne; Needelman, Brian A; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)On the Delmarva Peninsula, depressional wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services, including water purification, groundwater recharge, provision of critical habitat, and carbon storage. Concern for the health of the Chesapeake Bay and the establishment of the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load have led to growing interest in restoring depressional and other wetland types to mitigate agricultural nitrogen inputs. The ability of natural resource managers to implement wetland restoration to address nonpoint source pollution is constrained by limited spatial information on hydrogeologic and soil conditions favoring nitrogen removal. The goal of this study was to explore the potential of new digital soil mapping techniques to improve identification of wetland soils and map soil properties to improve assessment of wetland ecosystem services, including removing excess nitrogen, and inform natural resource decision making. Previous research on digital soil mapping has focused largely on the development of medium to low-resolution general purpose soil maps in areas of heterogeneous topography and geomorphology. This study was unique in its focus on mapping wetland soils to support wetland restoration decisions in a low relief landscape. A digital soil mapping approach involving the spatial disaggregation of soil data map units was used to create maps of natural soil drainage and texture class. The study was conducted in the upper part of the Choptank River Watershed on central Delmarva, where depressional wetlands occur in high densities and historical loss of wetlands is estimated to be high compared to similar Maryland watersheds. The soil disaggregation techniques developed in this study were successful in creating a more refined representation of natural soil drainage and texture class in forested depressional wetlands. Comparison of the disaggregated soils map with recently developed time-series inundation maps of the region demonstrate the need for further research to understand how indicators of historic and current hydrologic conditions can guide operational soils and wetland mapping and inform wetland restoration decisions.Item MARYLAND RESIDENTIAL FIREWOOD/WOOD PELLET UTILIZATION ANALYSIS: A SURVEY TO DETERMINE LOCAL INTEREST AND ASSESS CURRENT AND FUTURE MARKET POTENTIAL(2017) Wu, Cuiyin; Tjaden, Bob; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In order to help the forest industry to revitalize from the 2008 economic recession, this research studied the market potential of firewood and wood pellets as a home heating source. Questionnaires were mailed to 7,000 single family homeowners in rural and suburban Maryland, and 1,184 responses were received (19% response rate). It is estimated that 256,419 cords of firewood and 81,863 tons of wood pellets were burned statewide in the heating season of 2015-2016. The aesthetic value of wood heating is the major motivation; work and mess is the principal barrier. The average volume of wood consumed annually per household is 1.8 cords of firewood or 1.9 tons of wood pellets. The average prices of wood consumed are $192 per cord for firewood and $266 per ton for wood pellets. The threshold prices of electricity, natural gas, oil, and propane for homeowners to switch to wood heating are estimated. Few homeowners know about Maryland Energy Administration’s Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program.Item Assessing Wetland Restoration on the Delmarva Peninsula using Vegetation Characteristics(2015) McFarland, Eliza Katherine; Baldwin, Andrew H; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)With wetland restoration, post-restoration monitoring is essential for determining developmental trajectories, particularly when comparing to natural reference systems. As part of the Mid-Atlantic Conservation Effects Assessment Project, 15 depressional wetlands on the Delmarva Peninsula of Maryland and Delaware were surveyed for above-ground vegetation and seed bank community composition, annual biomass production, and vegetation carbon content (10 restorations from prior-converted cropland (aged 5-31 years), and 5 natural forested depressions). Within each wetland, hydrologic zones (emergent, transition, upland) were also denoted and sampled. Restored wetlands showed more seed bank community similarity to natural wetlands than above-ground vegetation communities. Restorations also produced more annual herbaceous biomass than natural systems, and lower annual leaf litter biomass. After this period of post-restoration development, restored wetlands do not perform vegetation-related functions identical to their natural counterparts; however, these restorations are performing important vegetation-based functions that require yet more time to truly develop.Item Impact of Surface Application of Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypusum on Infiltration, Phophorus Behavior, and Total Sulfur in a Previously Manured Coastal Plain Soil(2014) Collins, Loretta; Felton, Gary K; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum was surface-applied on a poorly drained cultivated Coastal Plain soil in Maryland containing excessive amounts of plant-available phosphorus (P). Using a constant head double-ring infiltrometer, a field experiment indicated a slight increase in final infiltration rate (FIR) at 10 and 15 Mg ha-1 application rates, however a laboratory rainfall simulation showed no significant effect of FGD gypsum on FIR. Water extractable phosphorus (WEP) decreased by 13-47% one year after application of FGD gypsum. Linear relationships were established between Mehlich 3 (M3) and ammonium oxalate extractions of P and aluminum (Al) (r2 = 0.83, 0.56, respectively), supporting previous research on the reliability of M3 in place of ammonium oxalate to predict P loss. One year after FGD gypsum application total S was 3-150% higher at 15 cm and 44-74% higher at 30 cm depths. No significant difference in total S was apparent at deeper depths.Item FATE AND TRANSPORT OF NITROGEN AT A DEEP ROW BIOSOLIDS APPLICATION HYBRID POPLAR TREE FARM(2012) Maimone, Diana; Felton, Gary K; Biological Resources Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study evaluates deep row applied biosolids as a nutrient source for hybrid poplar trees grown on a gravel mine reclamation site in Brandywine, Maryland from November 2003 to April 2009. The study included biosolids application rates of 386, 773, and 1,159 dry Mg/ha (172, 345, and 517 dry ton/ac.) and hybrid poplar tree densities of 0, 716, and 1,074 trees/ha (0, 290, and 435 trees/ac.). Soil water samples taken from suction lysimeters located 15 - 120 cm (6 - 48 in.) vertically below the biosolids were analyzed for total ammoniacal-nitrogen (TAN) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). The majority (96.3%) of NO3-N values were less than EPA drinking water MCL of 10 mg/L. No NO3-N values within the tree plots exceeded 2 mg/L. The TAN concentrations increased with application rates, but decreased with distance from the biosolids, except there was no difference between 60 cm (24 in.) and 120 cm (48 in.).Item VEGETATION PATTERNS IN DEPRESSIONAL RESTORED, NATURAL REFERENCE, AND PRIOR-CONVERTED WETLANDS IN THE USA MID-ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN.(2012) Yepsen, Metthea; Baldwin, Andrew; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Vegetation responds quickly to environmental changes, making it a useful tool for assessing the success of wetland restorations. Plant community composition was compared in 47 sites across the coastal plain of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina, USA. Fifteen of the sites were isolated depressional wetlands (natural reference), 16 were farmed "prior-converted cropland" sites (ditched and drained former wetlands), and 17 were restored wetlands. Prior-converted sites were highly disturbed and dominated by non-wetland conventional row crops. Natural reference sites were dominated by native woody species and restored sites were dominated by herbaceous wetland species. Natural reference sites had lower Anthropogenic Activity Index scores, higher average coefficients of conservatism, and higher Floristic Quality Assessment Index scores than restored and prior-converted sites. Wetland restorations have succeeded in developing wetland plant communities, but have not developed plant communities that match natural reference wetlands. This is likely due to continued human disturbance, age, and a lack of proper propagules.Item Nutrient Levels and Organic Matter Decomposition in Response to Prescribed Burns in Mid-Atlantic Coastal Marshes(2012) Geatz, George Walter; Needelman, Brian A.; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Prescribed winter burning is a commonly used management practice in coastal marshes along the Atlantic Coast. I conducted a manipulative field study to explore the mechanisms by which fire increases plant productivity. I found that prescribed fire does not provide a fertilization effect for vegetation through ash deposition due to the low amounts of nutrients in ash. Modeling biomass nutrient stocks in other marshes with similar vegetation types shows that this lack of a fertilization effect likely exists across all coastal marsh types. Through the mechanism of canopy removal, organic matter decomposition rates in marsh areas tended to decrease later in the growing season, corresponding with a decrease in porewater ammonium and phosphate, which were taken up in much higher quantities in the biomass. These effects were stronger and more consistent in areas dominated by the sedge species, as these areas showed more of a biomass response to canopy removal.