Ecohydrology and vegetation of the areas with high groundater level

Abstract

The changes in hydrology, hydrochemistry and vegetation occurring along with conversion to organic farming and re-wetting of the fen “Duvenseebachniederung” are observed by a monitoring program. The scientific focus is on the functional role of surface waters and wetlands as well as their interactions in the nutrient cycle of agricultural lowland catchments. We calculate nutrient budgets for a small nutrient-rich stream, the “Duvenseebach”, on the basis of automated daily sampling. The study of retention dynamics and forcing functions of nutrient processes aim at deriving seasonal and event-related retention coefficients. An hourly resolution of water levels, temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and oxygen concentration allows detailed investigation of different diel and seasonal patterns of the hydrological and biogeochemical processes in the stream.

Keywords

monitoring, wetland, stream, nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, retention, automated measurement stations, water quality

Subproject Information

Project runtime: Since 2001-06-01

Scientific coordination: Prof. Dr. Joachim Schrautzer

Scientific staff: Dr. Kirsten Rücker; Ali Mongol; Hui Zhang