WETLANDSCAPES: SIZE, CONNECTIVITY AND ECOHYDROLOGY AT THE LANDSCAPE SCALE
Our research addresses questions like:
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Our study in the Prairie Pothole region shows that wetland loss follows a strong pattern, with smaller, isolated wetlands being lost in much greater numbers than larger wetlands. We further showed using meta-analysis and modelling that small wetlands were more efficient biogeochemical reactors than larger ones of equivalent area -- or in other words ten 1-ha wetlands can remove more nutrients than one 10-ha wetland. This work led to multiple newspaper articles and interview in CBC radio. I am a member of the USGS Powell Center Group on Wetland Connectivity and the Global Wetland Ecohydrology Network, and as part of these groups I have contributed to multiple papers in high-impact journals on the need for protection of geographically isolated wetlands.
Relevant Publications
Cheng, F. Y., Van Meter, K. J., Byrnes, D. K., & Basu, N. B. (2020). Maximizing US nitrate removal through wetland protection and restoration. Nature, 588(7839), 625–630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03042-5
Cheng, F. Y., & Basu, N. B. (2017). Biogeochemical hotspots: Role of small water bodies in landscape nutrient processing. Water Resources Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020102
Van Meter, K. J., & Basu, N. B. (2015). Signatures of human impact: size distributions and spatial organization of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole landscape. Ecological Applications, 25(2), 451–465. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0662.1
Marton, J. M., Creed, I. F., Lewis, D. B., Lane, C. R., Basu, N. B., Cohen, M. J., & Craft, C. B. (2015). Geographically isolated wetlands are important biogeochemical reactors on the landscape. BioScience, 65(4), 408–418. http://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv009
Cohen, M. J., Creed, I. F., Alexander, L., Basu, N. B., Calhoun, A. J. K., Craft, C., … Walls, S. C. (2016). Do geographically isolated wetlands influence landscape functions? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(8), 1978–1986. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512650113
Cheng, F. Y., Van Meter, K. J., Byrnes, D. K., & Basu, N. B. (2020). Maximizing US nitrate removal through wetland protection and restoration. Nature, 588(7839), 625–630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03042-5
Cheng, F. Y., & Basu, N. B. (2017). Biogeochemical hotspots: Role of small water bodies in landscape nutrient processing. Water Resources Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020102
Van Meter, K. J., & Basu, N. B. (2015). Signatures of human impact: size distributions and spatial organization of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole landscape. Ecological Applications, 25(2), 451–465. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0662.1
Marton, J. M., Creed, I. F., Lewis, D. B., Lane, C. R., Basu, N. B., Cohen, M. J., & Craft, C. B. (2015). Geographically isolated wetlands are important biogeochemical reactors on the landscape. BioScience, 65(4), 408–418. http://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv009
Cohen, M. J., Creed, I. F., Alexander, L., Basu, N. B., Calhoun, A. J. K., Craft, C., … Walls, S. C. (2016). Do geographically isolated wetlands influence landscape functions? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(8), 1978–1986. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512650113