Biogeochemistry of Wetland Soil at Depth within the Prairie Pothole Region.

Wetland ecosystems in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are influenced by humans due to the shallow nature of the prairie potholes, for example through agricultural practices.  Wetlands are natural pollutant filters and with limited fresh water availability to sustain human population, industry, and agriculture, it is necessary to have a foundation of multi-element biogeochemistry understanding to aid in restoring debilitated wetlands to proper wetland ecosystem functions.  Soil chemistry is a fundamental characteristic of wetlands and is often overlooked in wetland mitigation, monitoring, and assessments due to evaluation complexity and limited knowledge of chemical parameters of surface substrates.  Landscape influences on prairie pothole have been established but there is limited understanding of the influence on multi-element chemistry concentrations.  Establishing a baseline of multi-element chemistry composition in the PPR is needed to identify the historical baseline that recognizes anthropogenic and natural impacts over time. The objectives of this study are to: 1) assess the vertical variation in multi-element composition of wetlands soils; 2) interpret the variation differences between good quality, relatively undisturbed wetlands and poor quality, disturbed wetlands; 3) identify if the multi-element chemistry composition baseline can be used to determine wetland restoration feasibility; and, 4) discern if the multi-element chemistry composition can be linked to past historic events. This study will provide information for future guidelines on wetland management.    The field study was conducted on 12 ND PRR wetlands (6 disturbed and 6 undisturbed) and landscapes. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, texture, and multi-element concentrations. The following results will be discussed:  1) disturbed wetlands having distinctly different concentrations of multi-elements within the topsoil and are related to anthropogenic activity; 2) linkages of soil multi-element concentrations at depth to historical events; and 3) use of multi-element concentrations as a foundation for restoring wetland functions and be incorporated as a factor in wetland assessments.