Evaluating Seasonal Nutrient Fluxes in Emerging and Eroding Wetlands of the Louisiana Delta Plain

Emerging Wetlands From River Diversions Can Sustain High Denitrification Rates in a Coastal Delta

“…During each season, undisturbed soil cores in vegetated wetland habitats were collected by hand insertion of an acrylic tube (length: 36 cm; internal diameter: 10.1 cm) on the soil surface of an open space among either individual herbaceous plants or trees and carefully pushing 16 cm into the sediment while avoiding any compaction (Eriksson et al., 2003; Upreti, 2019). Cores were collected such that no leaves or large stems were present inside the core; lateral roots were carefully cut once the core was inserted to facilitate extraction and avoid disturbing the soil layers.…”

“…The caps were equipped with electronically controlled stirrers to maintain a homogeneous water column inside each core. Two independent ports located on the top of each lid allowed simultaneous water sampling and water replacement in the core by a reservoir filled with site-specific filtered water (Upreti, 2019). Dissolved O 2 (DO) concentrations inside the cores were monitored throughout the duration of the experiment using a microelectrode oxygen sensor (Unisense, Inc.).…”