Daniel McLaughlin, Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech

Join us for the livestream January 18, 11:45am ET: https://youtu.be/k56m_94N2Nw 

(Please visit our YouTube channel main page for the stream if there are any issues with the direct link.) 

ABSTRACT

Depressional wetlands, often considered as geographically isolated wetlands, are common landscape elements in many low-relief regions, ranging from West Coast vernal pools and Midwestern prairie potholes to myriad systems in the Southeastern coastal plain. These wetlands are characterized by limited surface water connectivity to other waters, augmenting water storage both locally and cumulatively across landscapes. This water storage enables specific hydrologic (e.g., floodwater attenuation and groundwater regulation), biogeochemical (e.g., sediment and nutrient retention), and biological (e.g., refugia) functions.  Quantifying these water storage functions at local to regional scales requires a portfolio of empirical and modeling approaches to examine hydrologic and associated biogeochemical processes.  Our group’s work focuses on empirical observations and explicitly representing water storage functions within models that range in spatial scales. In doing so, we seek to better understand the drivers of wetland water storage and flows and their associated functions, ranging from habitat for threatened species to carbon processing. In this talk, I will give an overview of projects that demonstrate datasets and modeling approaches to assess wetland functions and to inform landscape management.

BIO

Dr. Daniel McLaughlin is an associate professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.  His research integrates hydrological and ecological processes and includes interests in watershed hydrology, forested ecosystems, and wetland and stream processes.  Research projects span systems and scales to better understand abiotic and biotic drivers of ecosystem function, and are broadly focused on informing water resource management.  Dr. McLaughlin’s current teaching responsibilities include graduate and undergraduate courses in Wetland Hydrology and Biogeochemistry and Watershed and Water Quality Monitoring.  He has a Ph.D. in Systems Ecology and Ecological Engineering from the University of Florida, a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Clemson University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clemson University. 

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