Environmentally Sound Practices for Water Quality Improvement
Water Quality and Ecology Research
2012 Annual Report
1a.Objectives (from AD-416):
The objectives of this cooperative research project are to conduct research (1) on the use of aquatic plants and/or various wetland ecosystems to reduce agricultural contaminants that contribute to non-point source pollution of downstream aquatic ecosystems and (2) that contributes to a better understanding of the causes of aquatic impairment and recommendations for contaminant reduction, with emphasis on the hill lands and delta of Mississippi.
1b.Approach (from AD-416):
Controlled experiments using biological and water quality indicators in mesocosms and constructed wetlands will be used to evaluate the extent of impairment and, conversely, recovery from specific agricultural contaminants that are of national and international concern, i.e. sediments, nutrients, and pesticides. Aquatic plants will be tested for their ability to process simulated agricultural storm runoff.
Several small-scale laboratory and field experiments were conducted to examine nutrient uptake effects by various species of aquatic plants. DNA extractions and enzyme assays have also been conducted in collaborative phytoremediation studies examining potential pesticide degraders in field soil in the Mississippi hill land and Delta. Collaborators have presented research at regional, national, and international scientific conferences.