Imperiled Ecosystems in a Shifting Climate
2016 Atlantic White Cedar Symposium
May 24-26, 2016

Hotel 1620, 180 Water St., Plymouth, MA

Nitrogen Dynamics of Wetland Restoration: A Field Example from the Cranberry Bogs of Tidmarsh Farms

Casey D. Kennedy
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, East Wareham, Massachusetts
casey.kennedy@ars.usda.gov

Abstract

The origin of the cranberry industry is firmly rooted in the natural peat bogs of southeastern Massachusetts, where commercial production of cranberries has existed for nearly two centuries.  Once the worldwide leader in cranberry production, Massachusetts now ranks a distant second behind Wisconsin, which produces close to two-thirds of global cranberry supply. As low-yielding farms continue to be retired in Massachusetts, best management practices for wetlands once cultivated for cranberry production will need to be addressed. At Tidmarsh Farms, a large abandoned “flow-through” cranberry farm, the current management strategy is large-scale manipulation of stream hydrology and ecology to dramatically accelerate the wetland restoration process.  This paper discusses the objectives, design plans, and preliminary results of a four-year research project that examines the water quality effects of the wetland restoration effort at Tidmarsh Farms.

Biography: Casey is a research hydrologist with USDA-ARS. He is a member of the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit and is stationed in  East Wareham, where he oversees a research program aimed at enhancing water quality in Massachusetts.  His research interests include hydrogeology, chemical and isotope hydrology, and water and nutrient management of cranberry agriculture.