Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Decadal Changes Of Soil Physiochemical Properties In A Freshwater Wetland After Hydrologic Reconnection, Alina Spera

LSU Master's Theses

Sediment, nutrient deprivation and salt water intrusion, among other factors, are driving widespread organic soil collapse and marsh loss in the Mississippi River Delta. Freshwater diversions were designed to reintroduce Mississippi River water and dissolved nutrients into the adjacent basins to manage salinity and slow land loss by maintaining marsh vegetation and nutrient cycling functions. These diversions are controversial by a few, suggesting that nutrient enrichment without a sediment subsidy can lead to further wetland loss in the receiving basins. In this study, a soil characterization is presented for the receiving marsh of the Davis Pond diversion in 2007, just …