Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program

This technical report (TR) outlines strategies for identifying and managing iron sulfide minerals in dredged sediments used for wetland restoration. It offers guidance to reduce acidification risks and support sustainable project outcomes.

This technical note (TN) synthesizes common stream assessment methods and highlights their scope, data requirements, and ecological functions to assist practitioners and researchers in selecting appropriate tools for evaluating and managing stream ecosystem impacts and benefits.

This special report (SR) reviews past efforts to assess ecosystem goods and services (EGS) in USACE project planning, highlighting communication benefits and key challenges. Using case studies, it identifies obstacles to incorporating EGS that future planning efforts should address.

Project partners from the USACE ERDC (Environmental Laboratory [EL] and Geospatial Research Laboratory [GRL]), USACE Pittsburgh District (LRP), Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program/Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (PNHP/WPC), Allegheny National Forest (ANF), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) came together to visit a scenic section of the Allegheny River and discuss future remote sensing and riparian & submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat survey and mapping work.

River sediment diversions are large-scale restoration techniques intended to rehabilitate Louisiana's degraded coastal wetlands by mimicking historic crevasse splays, thereby stimulating land building and vegetation growth. In this research, monospecific sods of three foundational marsh species (Spartina patens, Spartina alterniflora, Typha latifolia) were studied with a range of anticipated sediment diversion scenarios in a mesocosm setting.

Each month, this series will highlight an exciting project from the next generation ecological modeling collaboration between the US Army ERDC and Texas State University. January 18 - Dr. Todd Swannack, PhD; February 15 - Dr. Weston Nowlin, PhD.

Dr. Todd Swannack and Ms. Carra Carrillo will be offering a weeklong training course on agent-based modeling and applications for ecosystem restoration. Tentatively course will be in Galveston, TX, dates to be determined.

Researchers from the ERDC Environmental Laboratory (EL) and Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), in partnership with the New Orleans District and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators from the Mobile District, participated in coordinated airborne and field sampling surveys at two coastal restoration sites in Louisiana, 23-29 October 2022.

Time-series data offer wide-ranging opportunities to test hypotheses about the physical and biological factors that influence species abundances. Although sophisticated models have been developed and applied to analyze abundance time series, they require information about species detectability that is often unavailable. We propose that in many cases, simpler models are adequate for testing hypotheses.

Research projects funded in FY22 by Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program (EMRRP) will be presented to the Environmental Research Area Review Group (ERARG). Will be virtual. Please contact Brook Herman (brook.d.herman@erdc.dren.mil) for link to meeting.

This technical note (TN) describes an approach for evaluating system quality, which generally includes the computational integrity, numerical accuracy, and programming of a model or modeling system, providing ecological modeling practitioners with a rapid guide for evaluating system quality.