Within Ontario's Area of the Undertaking, “an area consisting of 385,000 square kilometres (38.5 million hectares) of Crown land on which forest management activities are conducted”, peatlands and lakes account for as much as 40% of the landbase, and collectively, riparian zones, aquatic ecosystems, and peatlands can account for more than three quarters of the boreal forest carbon pools. The quality of subsurface hydrologic exchange is heavily influenced by anaerobic microbial activities and can further have a tremendous impact on stream ecosystem functioning. Additionally, forest riparian zones are sites of intense carbon cycling, and microorganisms, as members of complex communities, play a critical role in environmental biogeochemical transformations within the riparian ecotone. Particulate and dissolved organic matter, supplied by riparian vegetation, is generally well retained in this zone, driving the microbiological processes that are closely linked to geochemical reactions. In order to preserve soil productivity and mediate the effects of forest management practices on watershed health and function in Ontario's boreal forest, a better understanding of factors influencing its water quality, nutrient cycling, and sediment and streamwater chemistry is needed. As such, field and laboratory results will be presented from a boreal mixedwood forested watershed located in northeastern Ontario.
See more of Constructed Wetlands and Wetland Delineation: II
See more of S10 Wetland Soils
See more of The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 6-10, 2005)