Video shows where nature’s kidneys get their name

Posted August 4th, 2016 in Stormwater & Green Infrastructure

David Kovacic from the Illinois Natural History Survey says constructed wetlands are “more fail safe” than some of the other nitrogen loss reduction practices highlighted in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Through droughts and floods, heat waves and early frosts, these shallow depressions placed at the edge of farm fields remove an annual average of 25-60 percent of the nitrogen in water carried through tile lines.

Those reductions are key for water quality in Illinois and downstream. By most estimates, the Prairie State is the largest contributor of nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. More than 400 million pounds of nitrate-nitrogen leave the state through the Mississippi River system each year. And according to the science assessment at the root of the state’s strategy, the bulk of that comes from the tile-drained region of central and northern Illinois.

Hear more from Kovacic, along with University of Illinois’ Lowell Gentry and The Nature Conservancy’s Maria Lemke, on the benefits of constructed wetlands in the latest video from IISG and the Illinois Water Resources Center.

Special thanks to University of Illinois Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service for their contributions.

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

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🚨🚨 New episode alert!🚨🚨 Teach Me About the Great Lakes episode 104 is out!

This episode is a scientist’s dream and a nightmare of would-be organizational acronyms. Dr. Drew Gronewold, with his multiple titles and international work, introduces the TMATGL team to the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters and the value of data. (As if we didn’t know…)

Tune in via the link in bio.

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🚨🚨 New episode alert!🚨🚨 Teach Me About the Great Lakes episode 104 is out!This episode is a scientist’s dream and a nightmare of would-be organizational acronyms. Dr. Drew Gronewold, with his multiple titles and international work, introduces the TMATGL team to the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters and the value of data. (As if we didn’t know…)Tune in via the link in bio.

Join us in welcoming IISG’s new communications coordinator, Natty Morrison, to the team! Housed in Purdue University’s campus, Natty will develop and maintain the programs and products that promote and highlight IISG’s research, outreach and education efforts.

Full story at the link in bio.

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Join us in welcoming IISG’s new communications coordinator, Natty Morrison, to the team! Housed in Purdue University’s campus, Natty will develop and maintain the programs and products that promote and highlight IISG’s research, outreach and education efforts. Full story at the link in bio.

Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.

Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral.

Application deadline: February 19.

To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.

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Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: February 19.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.
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