EESC W4835 Fall 2003:

Wetlands and Climate Change

Tuesday,Thursday 2:40-3:55
506 Schermerhorn
Dorothy Peteet [peteet@ldeo.columbia.edu], Instructor
Miriam Jones [mj234@columbia.edu], TA

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Suggested Text and Readings:
Mitsch, W.J. & Gosselink, J.G.2000, Wetlands, [3rd edition, John Wiley and Sons, NY],
and weekly readings on current problems which will be announced.
 

Course Evaluation:
The course will include a midterm, final, 3 field trips with lab write-ups, and weekly readings and discussion.
 

Course Credit: 3 points 
 

TA office hours: I will be happy to meet with you whenever possible. Please email me to schedule a time. I'll be at Lamont most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Firdays. You can reach Lamont via the shuttle Click on the Lamont Bus Schedule in the left frame.

Week
Dates
 Subject Readings and
Additional Refs
[add. refs not required reading, just additional background]
Tuesday
Thursday
Problem Thursday
1
9/2, 4 
Introduction
Mitsch and Gosselink
Chaps. 1-4
add. refs
Importance of Wetlands

Plant o' Day
Phragmites
Additional info of news
in the metro area
Wetland definitions and examples 

Plants o' Day
Typha [Cattail]
red maple [Acer rubrum]
black tupelo [Nyssa sylvatica]
Some ancient Hudson Valley tupelo
HW 1: Climatic Impacts
2
9/9, 11 
Hydrological cycles in wetlands
Mitsch and Gosselink
Ch. 5
add. refs
Overall water budgets

Specific Effects of Hydrology on Wetlands

 Plants o' Day
Atlantic white-cedar
[Chamaecyparis thyoides]
eastern white pine
[Pinus strobus - 
tallest tree in E US] 
FIELD TRIP #1 
September 14, 2003 

Glycerin Hollow,
Black Rock Forest, NY -
Northern Swamp & Riparian Wetland 

Field Trip Scenes (2001)

Lab Objectives:
Species identification, distribution, richness, Coring techniques

Soil links:
Soil Survey Manual
national soil survey handbook


HW 2: Watershed Hydrology
3
9/16, 18 
Biogeochemistry of various wetland types
Mitsch and Gosselink
Ch. 6
add. refs
Nutrient cycles and energy flow
Readings
Primary productivity, decomposition & Ecosystem Models

Plants o' Day
willow
[Salix spp.]
cottonwood
[Populus deltoides - 
Homework Due 9/25/01 
4
9/23, 25 
Inland Wetland Ecosystems - structure & function
Mitsch and Gosselink, 
Chapter 12,14,15
add. refs
Freshwater Swamps & Riparian Systems
Inland Freshwater Marshes, Everglades, Great Lakes, Playas
Readings

5
9/30, 2 
Southern Swamps - structure & function
Mitsch and Gosselink, 
Chapter 14
add. refs
Inland Wetlands 
homework discussion & fieldtrip overview 
Homework Due 10/9/01 
6
10/7, 9 
Coastal Wetland Ecosystems: structure and function
Mitsch and Gosselink, 
Chapter 9,10
add. refs
Tidal Salt Marshes 
Tidal Freshwater Marshes 
Field Trip #2
October 11, 2003

Staten Island, NY -
Tidal Marsh

Field Trip Scenes (2001)

Lab Objectives:
Species identification, plant distribution, salinity, remediation discussions

Plant Web Pages
Spartina spp.
Spartina alternifolia
Spartina patens
- Salt hay  Distichlis spicata
Juncus spp.
Scirpus spp.
7
10/14, 16 
Coastal Wetland Ecosystems- structure & function
Mitsch and Gosselink, 
Chapter 11
MIDTERM
Mangrove Wetlands 
Homework Due 10/16/01 
8
10/21, 23
Northern Peatlands- structure & function (Emphasis on Alaska, Canada, & Siberia)
Mitsch and Gosselink
Ch. 13
add. refs
Bogs 




Fens


 

 Problem Thursday Homework
Due 10/23/01

 


9
10/28, 10/30 
Ecologicial Adaptations, Ecosystem pattern and process
Mitsch and Gosselink
Chaps. 14
add. refs
 

Problem Thursday Homework
Due 10/30/01 
10
11/4, 6
Paleoecology
view these slides
Election Day Holiday
Paleoecology papers on bogs
Problem Thursday Homework
Due 11/06/01 

FIELD TRIP #3 
November 8 2003 

Harriman State Park, NY -
Green Pond & Bog

Directions
11
11/11, 13 
Paleovegetation & Paleoenvironment from Wetlands - laboratory instruction
refs
Palynology, Diatoms,

Pollen Images online
Pollen of the month [page down for past pollen of the month]

Catalog of Internet Pollen and Spore Images

Light Micrographs of Pollen Images
Macrofossils, Isotopes 

maple, maple - image; 
birch, birch - image; 
alder, alder - image; 
beech; 
oak, oak - image; 
spruce, 
pine, pine - images; 
hemlock, sweetgum; hickories & walnuts; sycamore; Nyssa; 
- 
12
11/18, 20 
Landscape Processes Recorded in Wetlands -lab instruction
refs
Fire - charcoal, Hydrological change- bryophytes, Earthquakes - discontinuities, Eutrophication, acidification - geochemical signals, Isostatic uplift 
Turkey Day Holiday
- 
13
11/25, 27 
Climate Change
refs
Past Climate change from Wetlands
List of papers to report on - regional emphasis 
Carbon Cycle in Wetlands
Northern peatlands, source or sink?
Carbon exchange with climate change 
14
12/2, 4 
Wetland Valuation & Management
Mitsch and Gosselink, 
Chapter 16,17
add. refs
Wetlands as Environmental Recorders Wrapup 
Wetland Valuation 
Problem Thursday 
Wetland Valuation Homework
Due 12/04/03 
15
12/9
-
-
 Review

Reading day
16
12/17 
-
-

- 
- 
Download a rough draft of the class syllabus here in Word 98 format.





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