- Courses Offered
ENV 309 Seminar on Key Wetland Ecology Issues
Wetland functions, hydrology, biogeochemistry, decomposition, community habitat, and productivity are discussed in an ecosystem context along with current management issues. Topics vary each semester and cover such areas as wetland restoration, constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment, and wetland delineation. Students will be expected to make oral presentations as well as critique advanced readings in class. May be repeated. 2 units. Richardson
ENV 312 Wetland Ecology and Management
The study of bogs, fens, marshes, and swamps. Emphasis on processes within the ecosystem: biogeochemical cycling, decomposition, hydrology, and primary productivity. Ecosystem structure, the response of these systems to perturbations, and management strategies are discussed. A research project is required. Prerequisites: one course in ecology and chemistry. 3 units. Richardson
ENV 298.17 Wetland Field Skills
Wetland Field Skills will focus on the basics of wetland soils, hydrology and vegetation needed for classification, assessment and delineation. Other topics will include the wetland classification system used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and overview of the wetland types found in the Piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina, wetland delineation methods used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a brief introduction to functional assessment. It should be emphasized that this is not a course in wetland delineation, though a delineation exercise will provide an opportunity to apply and synthesize many of the field skills learned in the course.
ENV 298.05 Nutrient Biogeochemical Cycling in Estuaries
This course focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur) in estuarine environments, with a special focus on the abiotic and biotic processes that control the biogeochemical cycling of these nutrients. Specifically, this course will be taught using a river-dominated estuary as a model system to tease out the differences in the sediment characteristics (abiotic component), the biotic components (macrophytes and microbes), and the nutrient transformation processes that occur as a function of changes along an estuarine salinity gradient. Students, in addition to developing a basic understanding of nutrient cycling in estuarine environments, will also be introduced to the linkages between the cycling of all these major nutrients at the ecosystem level. Students will also be introduced to current problems in coastal zones, government programs to tackle these problems, and information on potential funding opportunities for students pursuing careers in research in estuarine environments.
