Dr. Brian Needelman- Research Projects

Research Project: Managing Nutrient Transport in Ditch-Drained Agroecosystems

Research Area(s): Pedology, Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management

This study is being conducted on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Research Farm in Princess Anne, Maryland. This project is an assessment of the fundamental processes controlling the fate and transport ofnutrients and sediments within ditch-drained agroecosystems. The study location contains a network of drainage ditches within an agroecosystem that has been fertilized with nutrient rich poultry manure, making this site ideal for conducting research on nutrient transport in drainage ditches. Learn more!

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Research project: Carbon Sequestration in Restored Tidal Marshes at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

The objective of this project is to quantify and better understand rates of carbon sequestration in restored tidal marshes at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and along the Chesapeake Bay. Blackwater is considered a wetland of international importance, has been identified as 1 of 6 priority wetland areas by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and is called one of the “Last Great Places” by the The Nature Conservancy. An estimated 8,000 acres of tidal marsh have been lost since the 1930’s at Blackwater due to sea-level rise, subsidence, erosion, salt water intrusion, and herbivory by invasive species. Current tidal marsh loss rates are estimated at 150-400 acres per year. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently developing a long-term project to use clean dredged material from the shipping channel in the Chesapeake Bay to restore up to 20,000 acres of tidal marsh at Blackwater and surrounding private lands.

For more information, contact Kintija Eigmina, Web and Communications Coordinator

Last updated: 08/19/2009