WEDA webinar this Monday: A Multi-Decadal Assessment of Dredged Sediment Beneficial Use Projects

     

Dr. Jacob F. Berkowitz, Research Soil Scientist
US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center.
jacob.f.berkowitz@usace.army.mil

Zoom Facilitator: Kathryn Thomas, Vice President, ANAMAR Environmental Consulting, Inc.

PDH Credit:
A certificate for one (1) professional development hour will be available for all participants who attend this webinar or view the recorded webinar online.

Dredged sediment has been used to create and restore wetlands and other landforms for decades as part of beneficial use initiatives. Previous studies demonstrate that beneficial use projects yield ecological functions such as habitat maintenance, floodwater detention, and biogeochemical cycling. However, questions persist about the long-term ecological trajectory of beneficial use projects due to:

1 ) short monitoring timeframes and
2) the paucity of beneficial use sites that have reached maturity since most beneficial use projects were recently constructed.

In response, ecological functions were assessed at six > 40-year-old dredged sediment beneficial use projects and adjacent reference areas with available historic post-construction monitoring data. Results indicate that after four decades the beneficial use projects:

1) generally achieved and maintained their target habitats,
2) became more similar to reference areas over time while remaining on unique trajectories,
3) display similar responses to environmental conditions as reference areas despite some persistent differences, and
4) continue to provide a wide array of ecological functions.

Findings suggest that the establishment of beneficial use success criteria should not over-emphasize replicating reference conditions but should focus on achieving specific ecosystem functions and desirable outcomes.

Dr. Jacob Berkowitz is the Environmental Laboratory team leader for wetlands research focusing on ecological assessment and restoration, soil biogeochemistry, and the improvement of approaches to wetland management. Additionally, Dr. Berkowitz serves as an adjunct professor at Louisiana State University and the University of South Florida. He has conducted wetland investigations in >35 states; resulting in >50 peer-reviewed journal publications, technical reports, and book chapters examining wetland processes in wide variety of landscapes ranging from coastal Alabama to the North Slope of Alaska. Current research projects include evaluation of ecological restoration trajectories, development of novel wetland assessment approaches, and the investigation of soil physical and microbial community response under a variety of Engineering With Nature scenarios.

Registration:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2016681022382/WN_gcyKpVfCQHWelqUKswBXWQ

Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you online!

~ WEDA Education Commission