Aquatic Ecosystems:
Maryland has many water bodies in the form of rivers,
streams, and lakes. It also is within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which is one of
the world’s most productive estuarine systems. These aquatic systems provide many
services including recreation, fishing, boating, etc. However, improper management
of our inputs from terrestrial ecosystems can damage these systems and jeopardize
these services.
Donald F. Boesch is a professor in and President of the University of Maryland Center
for Environmental Science, which includes four laboratories across the state and
administers the Maryland Sea Grant College Program. He also serves as ViceChancellor for Environmental Sustainability of the University System of Maryland. Don has extensive
experience in coastal ecosystems around the world and management efforts for their restoration and
adaptation to climate change. He serves on Governor O’Malley’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet and was appointed
by President Obama to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Future of
Offshore Drilling.
Abstract
Large-scale restoration programs for coastal ecosystems, including the Chesapeake Bay, Mississippi Delta, and
Baltic Sea, generally consider ecosystem services only implicitly. Specific considerations may be given to some
provisioning services, such as seafood production, or cultural services, such as recreation or aesthetics, but
these seldom form explicit goals for which metrics are established. There are fewer direct considerations of
regulating services, such as climate regulation or flood control, or supporting services, such as nutrient cycling.
However, many of these functions are incorporated into management models, such as the Chesapeake Bay
Program’s watershed and water quality models. Suggestions will be offered on the quantitative inclusion of
ecosystem service metrics into decision making that can help guide restoration toward more resilient
outcomes.
Lisa Wainger is a Research Associate Professor of environmental economics at the University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Science. Her primary research interest is in developing integrated ecological and
economic analysis tools to communicate changes in ecological conditions in terms of socio-economic impacts.
For over 20 years she has applied that understanding nationally and internationally to issues of agroecosystem management, invasive species control, wetland mitigation, habitat preservation, and water quality
enhancement. She received her PhD in ecological and environmental economics at the University of Maryland,
College Park, with support from a MacArthur Fellowship.
Abstract
The loss of aquatic ecosystem services is felt broadly throughout watersheds and the ability to protect these
services in the face of population growth and climate change will present enormous challenges. Dr. Wainger
will describe why economic and ecological perspectives must be thoughtfully merged in order to be successful
at preserving and restoring ecosystem services in aquatic systems. She will discuss opportunities to use market
forces to correct the “market failures” that prevent optimal and equitable production of ecosystem services
from aquatic systems.
Wetland Ecosystems:
Wetlands are considered the kidneys in our
ecosystem, thus their proper management is vital. They provide services
such as filtering impurities in water, and serve as a trap for nutrients and
sediment. Protecting and enhancing these systems is vital to restoring the
Chesapeake Bay.
Andy Baldwin is an Associate Professor of Wetland Ecology and serves as
Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Environmental Science and
Technology Department at University of Maryland. He is interested in the vegetation of natural and restored
wetlands and how they respond to environmental and biotic factors such as hydrology, nutrients, salinity, and
non-native species. Broadly, his major research projects have dealt with the effects sea level rise and
eutrophication on the plant ecology of coastal wetlands and factors controlling the establishment of native
and invasive plants in wetland restoration projects.
Abstract
The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and watershed contain a diversity of wetland types spanning
freshwater and saline environments. Because of their landscape position between uplands and waterways,
these ecosystems improve water quality and store floodwaters, in addition to providing vital habitat for plants
and wildlife. However, direct and indirect effects of human activities have resulted in degradation or loss of
wetlands and the services they provide, driving awareness for the need to restore them, either to predisturbance conditions or to provide specific benefits. Establishment of vegetation in restored wetlands
depends on creation of suitable soil and hydrologic conditions, but even so may require many years before
resembling that of undisturbed wetland sites. Restoration can be complicated by colonization of invasive plant
species, and their control is often a necessary part of adaptive management of restored wetlands.
Bill Lamp is an Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland. The
theme of his research is the ecology of insects in the human environment, and is based in such diverse areas
as IPM, ecotoxicology, biological control, plant physiology, land use, and climate change. His lab investigates
applied aspects of insect ecology in two disciplines within entomology: plant-insect interactions and aquatic
entomology.
Abstract
Wetlands are characterized by dynamic seasonal changes in water levels and vegetation. Wetland
invertebrates have adapted to these changes and, as a consequence, contribute to wetland ecological
functions and ecosystem services in a variety of ways. For example, invertebrates are important in trophic
linkages both within the water and between the aquatic-terrestrial interface. Also, because of the dominance
of aquatic insects as predators in wetlands, they serve as major biological control agents for harmful species
such as mosquitoes. Finally, burrowing behaviors of invertebrates alter nutrient dynamics between wetland
soils and water. Thus, the biology of wetlands interacts with their physical and chemical processes to
influence ecosystem services.
Forest Ecosystems:
What social value does our working forest
(urban and rural) provide beyond the production of fiber? Ecosystem
services like carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge and wildlife
habitat will be considered.
Marla McIntosh is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and
Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her
research interests include urban forests and their ecological services. She
teaches “Introduction to Urban Forestry”, “Greening Cities: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Who Cares”, “Issues in
Sustainability: Clashing Views” and “Sustaining the Wooded Hillock: a Living Classroom”. She has been a longterm member of the Baltimore-Washington Partners for Forest Stewardship Science Committee. Her BS in
Forestry, MS in Forest Ecology, and PhD in Crop Breeding are from the University of Illinois-Champaign. She is
a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and a Fellow for the Academy for Teaching Excellence at UMD and has been
elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society
of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSA).
Abstract
The forests of Maryland serve to help mitigate against global climate change. However, this begs this
paraphrased famous quote, “Ask not what Maryland forests can do for us, but what we can do for Maryland
forests”. Weather station data from Western, Central, and Eastern Maryland show increasing seasonal
temperatures over recent decades. Using these results in conjunction with regional climate change models,
temperatures predicted for 2050 will be presented for each state region and the potential consequences of
these predicted temperature changes on the functions and services of Maryland forest ecosystems will be
discussed.
David Tilley is an Associate Professor of Ecological Engineering in the Department of Environmental Science
and Technology at the University of Maryland. He defines ecological engineering as “the emerging field that
combines natural and applied sciences, especially systems ecology, with the discipline of engineering to design,
build, and operate new ecosystem-types that connect society with nature for the benefit of both.” Currently,
Dr. Tilley’s Ecosystem Engineering Design Lab (enst.umd.edu/tilley) is focused on fostering the expansion and
preservation of ecosystem services in rural and urban environments by designing and integrating living
technologies (e.g., green walls) into the built environment and by developing an innovative and
entrepreneurial approach that would create an Ecological Investment Corporation to pay forest land stewards
with revenue generated from the consumer of ecosystem services. He received his doctoral degree from the
University of Florida’s Environmental Engineering Sciences program in 1999. In 2011 he and colleagues from
the University of Maryland’s Colleges of Engineering and Architecture won 1 st Place in the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Solar Decathlon for their sustainable home, WaterShed (2011.solarteam.org).
Abstract
Forests provide a multitude of vital benefits to the ecosystems, economy and people of Maryland. Forests
regulate atmospheric gas exchange, ameliorate micro-climates, stabilize coastlines and riverbanks, provide
wildlife habitat, generate and maintain soils, improve water quality, dampen stormwater flows, abate air
pollution, and provide food, fiber, and fuel. While financial markets exist to set the price for economic goods
like timber, many of the ecosystem services are poorly valued, if at all. While there are some financial
mechanisms and land management programs available to increase the preservation and conservation of
forests, none directly link the production and consumption of ecosystem services. We propose that an
Ecological Investment Corporation (EIC) could be a new tool for society to achieve better forest land
conservation and restoration by directing payments from consumers of ecosystem services to land stewards
to encourage the production of ecosystem services. We will review findings from our preliminary study on the
EIC, focusing on the public values and fair payment prices for forest ecosystem services. In addition to
producing $210 million of timber, Maryland’s forests produced $4.4 billion of public value as ecosystem
services. Based on our biophysical evaluation, forest land-stewards should receive compensation of $230 to
$660 million in excess of their receipts for timber to ensure the continued production of ecosystem services.
Agro-Ecosystems:
Beside the production of food and fiber what
ecosystem services do our working farms provide society and what we are
doing to preserve these functions and services in an economically and
environmentally sustainable manner?
Ken Staver is an Associate Research Scientist with the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources at the Wye Research and Education Center. He has a
B.A. from Cornell University, M.S. in Estuarine Sciences, and a Ph.D. in
Engineering from the University of Maryland. He has worked at the Wye Research and Education Center since
1984 conducting research on water, nutrient and energy flows in Coastal Plain watersheds. The emphasis of
his work has been on the development of strategies to minimize negative environmental impacts of
agricultural activities while maintaining agricultural productivity and enhancing soil and water resources.
More recently, his research also has focused on nutrient and energy flows at larger scales, including
developed areas, and the potential of biofuel production to increase overall nutrient use efficiency in
agricultural systems and to reduce net carbon emissions. He has been actively involved in varying roles as
technical advisor to Maryland state agencies and the US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program to bring research
findings into the watershed management process. He also is an owner/operator of a grain farm in Queen
Anne’s county where he lives with his wife and three children.
Abstract
Despite being highly managed to maximize production and economic return, cropland generates a quasinatural hydrologic cycle, especially in comparison to developed landscapes. The use of annual crops, primarily
corn, soybeans, and wheat, reduces annual transpiration relative to native forest, but the basic processes of
infiltration, soil storage, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge and discharge closely follow those in
more undisturbed landscapes. The typical seasonal water table decline and development of soil moisture
deficits in predominately agricultural watersheds minimizes nutrient losses in summer months in comparison
to more developed watersheds. While dissolved nutrient losses from cropland remain a problem, the
cropland hydrologic cycle is relatively favorable for down-stream aquatic ecosystems in comparison to more
developed land uses. The Choptank River is an example of a Bay tributary with high nutrient loads but with
functioning living resource systems, including spawning of several economically significant species of
anadromous fish. The intense focus on reducing N and P loads without consideration of other watershed
processes that are critical to aquatic ecosystem function creates potential for land use and nutrient control
policies that allow damage to currently functioning aquatic/estuarine ecosystems.
Robert Tjaden is an Extension Specialist/Professor, Environmental/Natural Resource Management and Policy,
Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, C.P. Educational
accomplishments include: A.S. Forest Management & B.S. Forest/Wildlife Management (University of Maine
at Orono-1978), Masters Forest Management/Economics (Duke University-1985) and PhD Environmental/
Natural Resource Policy (University of Maryland, College Park-2002). His current interests include: Forest Tax
Policy; Ecosystem Services; Ecological Economics; and Forest/Wildlife Management. Research focus is on
socio-economic related issues including assessing farmer and Tree Farmers knowledge and attitudes towards
ecosystem services; assessing the Future Sustainability of MD’s Forest Industry; and cooperating with several
scientists in ENST and DNR on determining the socio-economic effects of salt marshes and ecosystem services
to Deal Island residents.
Abstract
Our agro-ecosystems provide a wide range of ecosystem services, such as wildlife habitat, pollinators, soils,
and groundwater recharge. These services are provided within a very complex system. It is difficult for many
people to understand the complexities of these systems and the services they provide. Many landowners do
not understand the term or concept of ecosystem services, which provides a challenge for managers and
policy makers as new programs are designed to protect and enhance our agro-ecosystem services. To
address this issue, a contingent valuation and conjoint analysis study was developed and a mail survey
designed and sent to 2,000 farmers and tree farmers April 2012. Results of this research study titled, “An
analysis of Maryland Farmers and Tree Farmers Knowledge and Attitudes Towards a Payment for Ecosystem
Service Program” will be discussed.
Urban Ecosystems The urban environment provides places for people to
live and work. However, without proper management these systems can
damage our environment (air and water) and cause human health issues.
How can we modify these urban systems to increase ecosystem functions to
minimize these stresses?
Dennis Burton is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the University of
Maryland Wye Research and Education Center. Before joining the faculty at
the University of Maryland, he served from 1980-1991 as a Senior Professional Staff and Principal Staff
member at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Dr. Burton was an Assistant and
Associate Curator of Limnology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia from 1971-1980. He
earned his B.S. degree in Applied Science at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1965; Ph.D. in Zoology at
Virginia Tech in 1970; and completed a subsequent year of post-doctoral study in environmental
contamination issues at Virginia Tech. Dr. Burton’s primary research interests are the effects on aquatic
organisms of surface and sub-surface water quality changes induced by municipal, utility, and industrial
facilities. He has worked for a number of years on aquatic and terrestrial risk assessments at various
Superfund sites. Dr. Burton has written more than 150 technical publications including three books on power
plant chlorination, condenser biofouling control, and toxicity reduction and identification evaluations for
effluents and other aqueous media.
Abstract
The release of hazardous inorganic and organic contaminants at a former industrial site at the Aberdeen
Proving Ground led to the contamination of soils, groundwater, and an adjacent wetland. Historically, the site
was used during World War II for the testing of explosives; chemical decontamination of munitions, open
detonation, and disposal activities; and burning of chemical warfare materiel (e.g., nerve agents, mustard, and
VX). As urban development encroached on the site, the Army began a series of environmental and
engineering studies to determine the extent of the contamination on ecological receptors and potential
methods to remediate the site for non-industrial uses. The extent of contamination of the soils, groundwater,
and wetland sediments and surface water prior to site remediation, remedial actions taken to reduce
environmental impact to representative ecological receptors, and post-remediation monitoring at the site will
be discussed.
Victoria Chanse - As a researcher and community planner/designer, Dr. Chanse's research and teaching arenas
link cross-disciplinary design and planning approaches to civic engagement across multiple scales in the built
environment. Her current research includes advancing the understanding of transdisciplinary approaches to
sea level change design and planning responses on Maryland's Eastern shore and community-based
participatory research along the Anacostia River. She serves as an officer for the Environmental Design
Research Association's Board of Directors.
Abstract
The growing complexities of addressing stormwater runoff and sea level change in Maryland lead to the need
for cross-disciplinary research and design/planning responses that incorporate human needs. Dr. Chanse will
discuss how social and cultural contexts inform design and planning responses to stormwater and sea level
change across different scales. She will draw upon her transdisciplinary community-based collaborative
stormwater and civic engagement on sea level change projects here at the University of Maryland.