Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP): Soil nutrients and groundwater well site characterization data (1980-1985)

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 soil nutrient and site vegetation characetization data for all groundwater well sites.
The main objective for monitoring soil nutrients in the MERP was to quantify sediments as a nutrient pool in wetlands and to characterize the sediments of the MERP cells over time. Along with monitoring the other major nutrient pools (surface water, plants and plant litter, animals and interstitial waters), yearly changes in the sediment nutrient pool can provide important information on the nutrient cycling within wetlands. In addition, the effects of deep flooding and drawdown on nutrients in marsh sediments was also evaluated (Kadlec, 1985a; Kadlec, 1985b; Kaldec, 1989).

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. 1985a. Nutrient dynamics. In: Marsh Ecology Research Program: Long-term Monitoring Procedures Manual. (Ed.) H.R. Murkin, pp. 27-40. Manitoba , Canada: Delta Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Station.
Kadlec, J.A. 1985b. Physical environment In: Marsh Ecology Research Program: Long-term Monitoring Procedures Manual. (Ed.) H.R. Murkin, pp. 15-17. Manitoba , Canada: Delta Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Station.
Kadlec, J.A. 1989. Effects of deep flooding and drawdown on freshwater marsh sediments. In: Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. (Eds.) R.R. Sharitz and J.W. Gibbons, pp. 127-143. USDOE Symposium Series 61, USDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Oak Ridge.
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.

Resulting Publications on MERP soil nutrients data:
Kadlec, J.A. 1989. Effects of deep flooding and drawdown on freshwater marsh sediments. In: Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. (Eds.) R.R. Sharitz and J.W. Gibbons, pp. 127-143. USDOE Symposium Series 61, USDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Oak Ridge.