• Research

• Longleaf Pine Research
• Aquatics Research
• Wetlands
• Streams/Rivers
• Groundwater
• Preliminary Aquatic Assessment of the Chickasawhatchee Swamp
• Baseline Hydrology of the Chickasawhatchee Swamp
• Effects of the Chickasawhatchee Swamp on Surface-Water Quality
• Nitrogen and Carbon Transformations in the Chickasawhatchee Swamp
• Biogeochemical Studies of the Upper Floridan Aquifer
• Evaluation of Groundwater and Surface-Water Exchanges in the Lower Flint River Basin, Georgia
• Land-Use Impacts
• Wildlife Research
• Research Publications
• Graduate Projects

Preliminary Aquatic Assessment of the Chickasawhatchee Swamp

The Chickasawhatchee Swamp is an expansive palustrine wetland located primarily in western Dougherty, eastern Calhoun, and northern Baker Counties, Georgia, in the Dougherty Plain district of the Coastal Plain physiographic province. It is the second largest southern deepwater swamp and riparian wetland in the State, only exceeded in areal extent by the Okefenokee Swamp of southeastern Georgia. The Chickasawhatchee Swamp is underlain by a shallow carbonate aquifer that may have a pronounced effect on the hydrologic function of the wetlands. Its hydroperiod is the result of the balance between inflow (streamflow, groundwater discharge from the aquifer to the streams, and rainfall) and outflow (groundwater recharge from the streams to the aquifer, regional groundwater flow, evapotranspiration, and streamflow) of water; the aquatic budget. Moreover, the wetland may have a dynamic interconnection with the underlying carbonate aquifer and seasonally function as either a recharge or discharge area. The hydrology of the Chickasawhatchee Swamp creates unique physiochemical conditions that affect the species composition and richness, primary productivity, and organic accumulation of the wetland. These, in turn, control the effectiveness of the wetland to filter and convert dissolved and adsorbed chemical constituents contained within the waters of the braided streams that flow through the swamp.

Balancing the goals of protecting natural resources with the anthropogenic use of our lands requires a detailed knowledge of environmental factors that affect ecologically sensitive areas. In the case of southern deepwater swamps and riparian wetlands, understanding the interactions among wetland water regimes and the shallow carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer; variable inflow loads from Chickasawhatchee, Kiokee, and Spring Creeks and the chemical mitigating capacity of the wetlands; and the relation between hydrology and ecosystem primary productivity is critical for effective natural resource management and protection.

The overall objectives of this long-term research effort are to:

1. describe the baseline hydrology;
2. provide identification of source-waters to the wetland and identify flow paths;
3. assess the chemical quality of streamflow into, and exiting the Chickasawhatchee Swamp; and
4. evaluate the chemical (carbon and nitrogen) processes within the Swamp.