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Aquatic, Wetland, and Water Resource Research

Southwest Georgia has an abundance of aquatic and wetland habitats including limesink wetlands, seasonally flooded riparian zones, swamps, streams, and rivers. In general, aquatic and wetland habitats provide a broad array of goods and services to society, such as clean water, flood protection, wildlife habitat, and recreation. While extensive human development has occurred on the Dougherty Plain--the physiographic province where Ichauway occurs--portions of some wetlands and riparian systems in the region remain relatively undisturbed. Thus, the Jones Center has a unique opportunity to study relatively undisturbed aquatic habitats and be a regional leader in their conservation. In addition to research on the structure and function of wetlands and aquatic systems, Jones Center staff members also work to solve regional water resource problems that involve ecological and socioeconomic issues related to this essential, but limited, resource.

Wetland research is focused on the following topics: the contribution of wetlands to the transfer of surface water to groundwater, the role wetlands play in protecting groundwater and surface water quality, the importance of depressional wetlands in preserving regional biodiversity and as wildlife habitat, the impacts of adjacent land use on wetlands, and wetland restoration. Research is conducted at Ichauway in limesink and riparian wetlands as well as in other wetland systems in the region, such as the Chickasawhatchee Swamp.

Stream and riparian research is conducted on-site in Ichawaynochaway Creek and at larger scales in the lower Flint River basin. As the lower Flint River and its tributaries meander through the Dougherty Plain, they cut directly into the Ocala Limestone of the Upper Floridan aquifer, creating a dynamic interchange between surface water and groundwater. Stream and riparian research at the Jones Center focuses on the following issues: the relationship between riparian zones and water quality and quantity, impacts of surrounding land use on these systems, effects of groundwater withdrawal on water quality and quantity, and other linkages between surface water and groundwater.