RESTORATION FROM THE GROUND UP: APPLYING SURFACE RUNOFF PROCESSES TO INFORM RESTORATION OF MEADOWS ON THE WELLESLEY COLLEGE CAMPUS IN WELLESLEY, MA

Surficial runoff serves as a highly important control on the biogeochemical cycling within soils in closed systems such as the highly saturated West Meadow located on the Wellesley College Campus in Wellesley, MA. This meadow, fed by a pipe that directly discharges roof runoff from the nearby Science Center, is constrained by gentle elevation gradients and thus has no method of drainage. As part of a larger restoration initiative, known as the Science Hill Project, our interdisciplinary study combines ecology, potential phytoremediation techniques, and surficial geologic processes in order to inform restoration of native plant biodiversity within Wellesley College’s East and West Meadows.

Our investigation begins by identifying both point and nonpoint sources of runoff from the Science Center Complex and their impacts on the elemental composition of soils in these two meadows. The West Meadow receives roof runoff collected from the roof of the Science Center while the East Meadow receives nonpoint source road runoff from Science Hill. The East Meadow is also uniquely affected by the presence of the invasive Phragmites, a plant which has dominated the meadow and prompts further investigation. By observing changes in concentration of elements of interest as a function of distance away from source and type of runoff, we aim to gain an understanding of the processes which influence soil composition and ultimately determine the types of vegetation able to grow in these soils after disturbance from construction in the Complex.

Upon preliminary analysis of the West Meadow elemental soil composition performed with a handheld Niton XRF, we observed significant variability in the relative abundance of certain elements such as Zn, Pb, Ti, and Ba as measured at 3 locations from the source of runoff to the other side of the meadow. This variance will be further explored within this research project.

Through our continued research, we hope to identify specific plants which could be implemented in the meadows to not only restore native biodiversity, but remediate possible contamination resulting from landscape changes due to construction in the Science Center Complex.