A Model For Assessing Interdisciplinary Approaches to Wetland Research

Abstract

An interdisciplinary approach to research in wetlands is necessary to avoid incorrect extrapolations and projections about broad wetland functions based on limited knowledge. The values of several lesser-used disciplines or fields of study are often overlooked and therefore not incorporated into study designs. To address this problem, a model was developed that relates ten ecological and environmental science disciplines to each other (geohydrology, surface water hydrology, water chemistry, soil/sediment chemistry, stratigraphy/sedimentology, paleoecology, plant ecology, animal ecology, remote sensing, and seedbank studies). A matrix and compartmentalized model cross-identify each discipline as a research tool and as a type of study for which a given tool can be used in data collection. Use of the model is demonstrated by assessing the research approach utilized in the study of three wetland systems (shallow dune ponds, bog, fen) at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the study of the pocosin wetlands as presented in a comprehensive volume on that subject.