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Dredging Impacts on Soil Properties of the Kankakee River System 150 Years after Perturbation

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Abstract

Freshwater marshes provide ecosystem services such as improving water quality by storing water and filtering nutrients from upland runoff, minimizing erosion and flooding by reducing stream and river velocity and peak flows, and carbon sequestration by storing organic matter for long extended periods of time. These ecosystem services have increased interest in the protection and restoration of marshes and soil properties and are an important consideration for successful restoration. This study was conducted in Indiana, USA, within the historical extent of the Grand Kankakee Marsh that once encompassed 202,343 ha, until the dredging of the Kankakee River from 1852 to 1917 to convert the marsh to cropland. Current (in 2019) soil properties (organic matter mass and concentration, bulk density, moisture content, and carbonate concentration) were compared between (1) marshes that were dredged and presently in other land-use categories such as cropland and forests, and (2) remnant marshes that were not impacted by dredging. On average, organic matter mass and concentration were not significantly different between dredged areas and marshes (p > 0.05). However, marshes tended to have lower bulk densities, greater moisture contents, and greater carbonate concentrations compared to dredged areas. The soil properties of remnant marshes in this study can be used to evaluate the success of marsh restoration efforts in regions with similar soils, climate, and land-use history.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported under the National Geographic Grant EC-5515OR-18 to Katherine Glover. We thank the Indiana Department of Natural Recourses, The Nature Conservancy, Kankakee Valley Historical Society, and the private landowners who allowed us to collect soil samples on their lands. We also thank Jacquelyn Gill (University of Maine) for providing access to laboratory facilities and equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine, 101 Nutting Hall, 04469, Orono, ME, USA

    Jack V. Ferrara

  2. School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, 04469, Orono, ME, USA

    Joshua J. Puhlick

  3. Great Lakes Science Center, US Geological Survey, Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station, Chesterton, IN, 46304, USA

    Tamatha A. Patterson

  4. Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Sawyer Environmental Research Building, 04469, Orono, ME, USA

    Katherine C. Glover

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  1. Jack V. Ferrara
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  2. Joshua J. Puhlick
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  3. Tamatha A. Patterson
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  4. Katherine C. Glover
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Correspondence to Jack V. Ferrara.

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Ferrara, J.V., Puhlick, J.J., Patterson, T.A. et al. Dredging Impacts on Soil Properties of the Kankakee River System 150 Years after Perturbation. Wetlands 40, 2577–2584 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01347-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01347-9

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