LAND COVER AND ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES OF A LOCAL WATERSHED NATURE PRESERVE

An undergraduate-graduate student team is conducting fundamental research on land cover change as part of an NSF-funded GEOPATHS project. The study site, a former city sewage lagoon located in southwestern Illinois, consists of woodland, wetland, and prairie habitats that are being restored in order to improve the integrity of native habitats. The area is designated as a city park and consists of a welcome center and walking trails that encircle the nature preserve and its two stormwater retention ponds. Although small stormwater retention ponds play a crucial role in flood control and pollution filtration, relatively few studies have examined hydrological processes in these local settings.

The GEOPATHS project is providing students with a two-year research experience beginning in their second year at university, with the goal of increasing understanding of geosciences and related career opportunities early in students’ undergraduate program. The undergraduate student began the project in the summer following her sophomore year at a regional Midwestern university. Using aerial photography, drone footage, and field observations, the research team is determining land cover types and areas to use in an ecosystem services model. Ecosystem services may be classified as provisioning, regulating, cultural, or supporting services. Water purification and flood control are important regulating service of wetlands, one of the predominant ecosystem types in the study preserve. By determining the area of wetlands and applying published coefficients for each ecosystem type, this undergraduate project is providing a valuation for the preserve’s regulating services, as well as a baseline land cover map that can be used to examine changes in land cover over time. The drone footage provides high resolution imagery and enables the creation of a three-dimensional model of the area for future studies.

This undergraduate research experience lies at the intersection of geosciences, ecology, and social sciences. The data will inform local decision makers and support restoration and conservation efforts. The ecosystem services model also serves as a tool for communicating science to the general public. Conducting research that is relevant to local communities helps reinforce the importance of the geosciences to society among the undergraduate researchers.