Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP): Total suspended soilds data (1980-1989)

The Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP) was a long-term interdisciplinary study on the ecology of prairie wetlands. A scientific team from a variety of disciplines (hydrology, plant ecology, invertebrate ecology, vertebrate ecology, nutrient dynamics, marsh management) was assembled to design and oversee a long-term experiment on the effects of water-level manipulation on northern prairie wetlands. Ten years of fieldwork (1980 -1989), combining a routine long-term monitoring program and a series of short-term studies, generated a wealth of new and diverse information on the ecology and function of prairie wetlands (Murkin, Batt, Caldwell, Kadlec and van der Valk, 2000). This data set includes total suspended solids data, collected as part of the physical environment portion of the MERP.

Several aspects of the physical environment have important bearings on the measurement or estimation of variables critical to understanding nutrient cycling. Some of these relate to hydrology, others to sediment structure, and some to chemical and biological processes or states. The measures of the physical environment were chosen to provide data to help calculate or interpret processes important to nutrient cycling. These include soil and water temperatures, water levels, sediment bulk density and organic matter, sediment nutrient content, suspended solids import and export and bottom contours. Import - export nutrient budgets depend on good hydrologic data, an important part of which is the volume of water present at a given water level. Hence data on bottom topography were essential for calculating water level – volume relationships. Similarly, significant amounts of sediment pumped with water into or out of the ponds could have important long term impacts on bottom sediment composition and topography. Finally, sediment bulk density and organic matter determine the relative quantities of water and solids in a volume of sediment, which has an important bearing on the quantities and distributions of many chemical species in the plant rooting volume. Because these physical attributes do not change rapidly with time, measurements were needed less frequently in the MERP. Input and output of suspended solids in pumped water were determined monthly, sediment bulk density and organic matter twice a year, and contours once early in the study with later spot checks (Kadlec, 1989).

Note: The additional MERP physical environment data, including soil and water temperatures, water levels, sediment bulk density and percent organic matter and sediment nutrient content, has been archived in separate data packages on the KNB.

For further information on the Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP), please visit: http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/research/projects/merp/index.html

References:
Kadlec, J.A. 1989. Chapter 3: Physical environment. In: Marsh Ecology Research Program: Long-term Monitoring Procedures Manual. (Eds.) E.J. Murkin and H.R. Murkin, pp. 6-7. Manitoba, Canada: Delta Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Station.
Murkin, H.R., B.D.J. Batt, P.J. Caldwell, J.A. Kadlec and A.G. van der Valk. 2000a. Introduction to the Marsh Ecology Research Program. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk and W.R. Clark. pp. 3-15. Ames: Iowa State University Press.

沼泽生态研究计划（Marsh Ecology Research Program, MERP）是一项针对草原湿地生态的长期跨学科研究项目。由水文学、植物生态学、无脊椎动物生态学、脊椎动物生态学、营养动力学、沼泽管理学等多学科成员组成的科研团队，旨在设计并监管一项关于水位调控对北部草原湿地影响的长期实验。该项目历时十年（1980年—1989年），结合常规长期监测计划与一系列短期研究，产出了大量关于草原湿地生态与功能的新颖多元数据（Murkin、Batt、Caldwell、Kadlec与van der Valk, 2000）。本数据集包含作为MERP物理环境组成部分采集的总悬浮固体（total suspended solids）数据。

若干物理环境维度对理解营养循环至关重要的变量的测量与估算具有关键影响。其中部分关联水文学特征，部分涉及沉积物结构，还有部分与化学及生物过程或状态相关。研究人员选取物理环境指标，旨在为计算或解读营养循环相关关键过程提供数据支撑，这些指标包括土壤与水温、水位、沉积物容重与有机质含量、沉积物营养盐含量、悬浮固体输入输出量以及底部地形。营养盐输入输出预算依赖可靠的水文数据，其中核心一环便是特定水位下的水体体积，因此底部地形数据对计算水位-体积关系至关重要。同理，随水体被泵入或泵出池塘的大量沉积物，可能对底部沉积物组成与地形产生长期的显著影响。此外，沉积物容重与有机质含量决定了单位体积沉积物中水与固体物质的相对占比，这对植物根系层内多种化学物质的含量与分布具有重要影响。由于此类物理属性不会随时间快速变化，MERP项目中对其的测量频率较低：泵入/泵出水体中的悬浮固体输入输出量按月测定，沉积物容重与有机质含量每年测定两次，底部地形则在研究初期完成一次整体测绘，后续仅进行抽样核查（Kadlec, 1989）。

注：MERP其余物理环境数据，包括土壤与水温、水位、沉积物容重、有机质占比及沉积物营养盐含量，已以独立数据包形式归档于KNB。

如需进一步了解沼泽生态研究计划（MERP），请访问：http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/research/projects/merp/index.html

参考文献：
Kadlec, J.A. 1989. 第3章：物理环境。载于：《沼泽生态研究计划：长期监测操作手册》。（编者）E.J. Murkin与H.R. Murkin，第6-7页。加拿大马尼托巴省：德尔塔水禽与湿地研究站。
Murkin, H.R., B.D.J. Batt, P.J. Caldwell, J.A. Kadlec与A.G. van der Valk. 2000a. 沼泽生态研究计划导论。载于：《草原湿地生态：沼泽生态研究计划的贡献》。（编者）H.R. Murkin、A.G. van der Valk与W.R. Clark，第3-15页。艾姆斯：爱荷华州立大学出版社。