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Established in 1977, the LSU Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute investigates chemical and ecological interactions in marshes, mangroves, swamps, and flood plains of deltaic coastal settings. Research topics include chemical and biological behavior of plant nutrients and toxic substances in wetlands to understand structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The environmental impacts of plant nutrients, pesticides, toxic heavy metals, and hydrocarbons in wetlands are areas of faculty expertise. |
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Current research includes studies on the processing of primary nutrients in coastal ecosystems (including sources and sinks), response of wetland plants to various environmental stressors such as anaerobic soil conditions and salinity, factors affecting the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and toxic synthetic organic compounds in wetlands, and physiochemical reactions of toxic metals in soils and sediment-water systems affecting their mobility and biological activity, and fate of non-point source pollutants associated with agricultural run-off. |
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Other important current research activities include comparative ecosystem ecology of wetlands, mercury chemistry of wetlands, and chemical, physical, and biological factors affecting coastal marsh stability, including strategies for effective wetland restoration, and the relationship of global climate change to biogeochemical cycles and habitat change. |