Wetland
on the Heron Trail at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Paul Smith,
NY.Wetland Hydrology
Wetland
on the Heron Trail at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Paul Smith,
NY.
Photograph: Edwin Romanowicz
Wetlands
have a very interesting hydrologic setting. In many cases a symbiotic
relationship exists between the hydrology and the ecology. The vegetation
and animal communities occupy the wetland because they are well adapted to the
stress caused by the hydrologic setting. Vegetation and animals
(particularly beavers) can affect the hydrology. Vegetation resists the
flow of water through wetlands. With the low hydraulic gradient that
exists in many wetlands this resistance can be substantial. Vegetation can
alter the landscape. Most notable are raised bogs. Peat accumulation
creates mounds that alter the hydrology by creating areas that are separated
from groundwater, receiving the bulk of their water from precipitation.
Presently
I am working with the Adirondack Nature Conservancy (ANC) and Allison Aldous
(formally of Cornell University, presently with the Nature Conservancy)
monitoring changes in the equipotential surface and vertical hydraulic gradients
at Spring Pond Bog (north of
Tupper Lake, New York).
Spring Pond Bog during
October, 2000
Photograph: E. Romanowicz
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