DOI: 10.5063/aa/duc_merp.36.14
title: Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP): Water chemistry data (1980-1989)

description: The Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP) was a long-term interdisciplinary study on the ecology of prairie wetlands. A scientific team from a variety of disciplines (hydrology, plant ecology, invertebrate ecology, vertebrate ecology, nutrient dynamics, marsh management) was assembled to design and oversee a long-term experiment on the effects of water-level manipulation on northern prairie wetlands. Ten years of fieldwork (1980 -1989), combining a routine long-term monitoring program and a series of short-term studies, generated a wealth of new and diverse information on the ecology and function of prairie wetlands (Murkin, Batt, Caldwell, Kadlec and van der Valk, 2000). This data set includes water chemistry data collected as part of MERP. The main objectives for monitoring water chemistry samples originating from a variety of sources in the Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP) complex were to observe how the concentration of various elements and compounds changed with the flooding schedule, what was present in the surface and interstitial water pools, and what was entering and leaving the experimental cells through various hydrologic routes (Kadlec, 1986). Background conditions were also described by sampling during the baseline phase of the MERP. These data, along with measurements made during the Physical Environment and Hydrology sections of the project, were used to calculate the net movement of nutrients in and out of the MERP experimental complex (Kadlec et al., 1989) For further information on the Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP), please visit: http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/research/projects/merp/index.html References: Kadlec, J.A., Stainton, M.P., and J.A. Boughen. 1989. Nutrient Dynamics. In Marsh Ecology Research Program: Long-term Monitoring Procedures Manual. (Eds.) E.J. Murkin and H.R. Murkin, pp. 8-11. Manitoba, Canada: Delta Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Station. Murkin, H.R., B.D.J. Batt, P.J. Caldwell, J.A. Kadlec and A.G. van der Valk. 2000a. Introduction to the Marsh Ecology Research Program. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk and W.R. Clark. pp. 3-15. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Resulting Publications on MERP Water Chemistry data: Kadlec, J.A. 1986. Input-output nutrient budgets for small diked marshes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 43: 2009-2016. Kadlec, J.A. 1987. Nutrient dynamics in wetlands. In Proceedings of Conference on Applications of Aquatic Plants for Water Treatment and Resource Recovery. (Eds.) K.R. Reddy and W.H. Smith, pp. 393-419. Orlando: Magnolia Publishing, Inc. Kadlec, J.A. 1989. Effects of deep flooding and drawdown on freshwater marsh sediments. In Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. (Eds.) R.R. Sharitz and J.W. Gibbons, pp. 127-143. USDOE Symposium Series 61, Oak Ridge: USDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Kadlec, J.A., van der Valk, A.G., and H.R. Murkin. 2000. The MERP Nutrient Budgets. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds.) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk, and W.R. Clark, pp. 37-54. Iowa: Iowa State University Press. Kadlec, J.A., Murkin, H.R., and A.G. van der Valk. 2000. The Baseline and Deep Flooding Years. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds.) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk, and W.R. Clark, pp. 55-74 Iowa: Iowa State University Press Murkin, H.R., van der Valk, A.G., and J.A. Kadlec. 2000. Nutrient Budgets and the Wet-Dry Cycle of Prairie Wetlands. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds.) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk, and W.R. Clark, pp. 99-121. Iowa: Iowa State University Press van der Valk, A.G., Murkin, H.R., and J.A. Kadlec. 2000. The Drawdown and Reflooding Years. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds.) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk, and W.R. Clark, pp. 75-97. Iowa: Iowa State University Press.