Baltimore Ecosystem Study: Long-Term Monitoring of Riparian Water Table Depth and Groundwater Chemistry

Long-term monitoring of riparian water tables and groundwater chemistry began in 2000 along four first or second order steams in and around the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore City and County, MD. One site (Oregon Ridge) is in the completely forested Pond Branch catchment that serves as a ""reference"" study area for the Baltimore LTER (BES). Two sites (Glyndon, Gwynbrook) were in suburban areas of the watershed; one just upstream from the Glyndon BES long-term stream monitoring site in the headwaters of the Gwynns Falls, and one along a tributary that enters the Gwynns Falls just above the Gwynnbrook BES long-term stream monitoring site farther downstream. The final, urban site (Cahill) was along a tributary to the Gwynns Falls in Leakin Park in the urban core of the watershed. Water table data and more detailed descriptions of soils, vegetation, stream channel properties and microbial processes at these sites can be found in Groffman et al. (2002, Environmental Science and Technology 36:4547-4552) and Gift et al. (2010, Restoration Ecology 18:113-120).

2000年，研究团队针对美国马里兰州巴尔的摩市及巴尔的摩县境内的格温斯福尔斯流域（Gwynns Falls watershed）及其周边的4条一级、二级溪流，启动了河岸地下水位与地下水化学特征的长期监测工作。其中1处监测点（俄勒冈岭，Oregon Ridge）位于完全被森林覆盖的庞德分支（Pond Branch）集水区，该区域作为巴尔的摩长期生态研究站（Baltimore LTER, BES）的参照研究区。另外2处监测点（格林登，Glyndon；格温布鲁克，Gwynbrook）位于流域的郊区地带：一处紧邻格温斯福尔斯源头河段内的格伦登BES长期溪流监测点上游，另一处沿一条支流分布，该支流在下游更远处的格温布鲁克BES长期溪流监测点上方汇入格温斯福尔斯。最后1处城市监测点（卡希尔，Cahill）位于流域城市核心区利金公园（Leakin Park）内的格温斯福尔斯支流沿岸。上述监测点的地下水位数据，以及土壤、植被、河道特征与微生物过程的详细描述，可参阅Groffman等人（2002，《Environmental Science and Technology》，36卷：4547-4552）以及Gift等人（2010，《Restoration Ecology》，18卷：113-120）的相关研究成果。