Gregory Noe
Research Interests: Wetland ecosystem ecology, focusing on the interactive influences of hydrology, geomorphology, climate, and biology on nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and sediment biogeochemistry and transport in watersheds, as well as plant community ecology and restoration ecology.
Greg Noe has been a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA, since 2002, where he leads the Wetland Ecosystem Ecology & Biogeochemistry Laboratory (WEEBL) in the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center. Dr. Noe’s research centers on wetland ecosystem ecology and watershed processes. His dissertation research identified the complex controls on annual plant germination in the salt marshes of southern California. This was followed by post-doctoral research on phosphorus biogeochemistry and enrichment effects in the Florida Everglades. When joining the USGS, he started a research program on nutrient cycling, transport, and retention in wetlands associated with floodplains.
He is currently the Immediate Past President of the Society of Wetland Scientists, serves on the Science and Technical Advisory Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Program, serves on the editorial board of Wetlands and previously of Wetlands Ecology and Management, is the recipient of the President's Service Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists, and has served on the program committees of national and international scientific conferences and numerous graduate student committees. Greg is a recipient of the Meritorius Service Award from the Department of the Interior.
Current projects:
- Quantifying and modeling nutrient retention by riverine floodplains from site to watershed scales across the U.S.
- Evaluating the impacts of watershed restoration on water quality and stream health in the Chesapeake
- Identifying the effects of sea level rise, salinization, and sediment availability on tidal freshwater wetland ecosystem resilience along the Atlantic Coast
- Measuring the water quality functions in created wetlands, stream restoration projects, and floodplain restorations, and how to optimize their design
Science and Products
A method to quantify and value floodplain sediment and nutrient retention ecosystem services
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to local and downstream communities by retaining floodwaters, sediments, and nutrients. The dynamic nature of floodplains is such that these areas can both accumulate sediment and nutrients through deposition, and export material downstream through erosion. Therefore, estimating floodplain sediment and nutrient retention should consider the net flux
A floodplain continuum for Atlantic coast rivers of the Southeastern US: Predictable changes in floodplain biota along a river's length
Floodplain trapping and cycling compared to streambank erosion of sediment and nutrients in an agricultural watershed
Tidal extension and sea-level rise: recommendations for a research agenda
Increasing floodplain connectivity through urban stream restoration increases nutrient and sediment retention
Comparison of sediment and nutrient export and runoff characteristics from watersheds with centralized versus distributed stormwater management
Planting richness affects the recovery of vegetation and soil processes in constructed wetlands following disturbance
Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA
Salinity influences on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity in tidal wetlands
Richness, biomass, and nutrient content of a wetland macrophyte community affect soil nitrogen cycling in a diversity-ecosystem functioning experiment
Contemporary deposition and long-term accumulation of sediment and nutrients by tidal freshwater forested wetlands impacted by sea level rise
Head-of-tide bottleneck of particulate material transport from watersheds to estuaries
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A method to quantify and value floodplain sediment and nutrient retention ecosystem services
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to local and downstream communities by retaining floodwaters, sediments, and nutrients. The dynamic nature of floodplains is such that these areas can both accumulate sediment and nutrients through deposition, and export material downstream through erosion. Therefore, estimating floodplain sediment and nutrient retention should consider the net flux
AuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, Gregory B. Noe, Fabiano Franco, Emily J. Pindilli, Stephanie Gordon, Marina Metes, Peter R. Claggett, Allen C. Gellis, Cliff R. Hupp, Dianna M. HoganA floodplain continuum for Atlantic coast rivers of the Southeastern US: Predictable changes in floodplain biota along a river's length
Floodplains are among the world’s economically-most-valuable, environmentally-most-threatened, and yet conceptually-least-understood ecosystems. Drawing on concepts from existing riverine and wetland models, and empirical data from floodplains of Atlantic Coast rivers in the Southeastern US (and elsewhere when possible), we introduce a conceptual model to explain a continuum of longitudinal variatAuthorsDarold P. Batzer, Gregory B. Noe, Linda Lee, Mark GalatowitschFloodplain trapping and cycling compared to streambank erosion of sediment and nutrients in an agricultural watershed
Floodplains and streambanks can positively and negatively influence downstream water quality through interacting geomorphic and biogeochemical processes. Few studies have measured those processes in agricultural watersheds. We measured inputs (floodplain sedimentation and dissolved inorganic loading), cycling (floodplain soil nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P] mineralization), and losses (bank erosioAuthorsJaimie Gillespie, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Allen C. Gellis, Edward R. SchenkTidal extension and sea-level rise: recommendations for a research agenda
Sea-level rise is pushing freshwater tides upstream into formerly non-tidal rivers. This tidal extension may increase the area of tidal freshwater ecosystems and offset loss of ecosystem functions due to salinization downstream. Without considering how gains in ecosystem functions could offset losses, landscape-scale assessments of ecosystem functions may be biased toward worst-case scenarios of lAuthorsScott H. Ensign, Gregory B. NoeIncreasing floodplain connectivity through urban stream restoration increases nutrient and sediment retention
Stream restoration practices frequently aim to increase connectivity between the stream channel and its floodplain to improve channel stability and enhance water quality through sediment trapping and nutrient retention. To measure the effectiveness of restoration and to understand the drivers of these functional responses, we monitored five restored urban streams that represent a range of channelAuthorsSara K. McMillan, Gregory B. NoeComparison of sediment and nutrient export and runoff characteristics from watersheds with centralized versus distributed stormwater management
Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are used to retain stormwater and pollutants. SCMs have traditionally been installed in a centralized manner using detention to mitigate peak flows. Recently, distributed SCM networks that treat runoff near the source have been increasingly utilized. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences among watersheds that vary in SCM arrangement by assessing diffeAuthorsKristina G. Hopkins, J.V. Loperfido, Laura S. Craig, Gregory B. Noe, Dianna M. HoganPlanting richness affects the recovery of vegetation and soil processes in constructed wetlands following disturbance
The resilience of constructed wetland ecosystems to severe disturbance, such as a mass herbivory eat-out or soil disturbance, remains poorly understood. In this study, we use a controlled mesocosm experiment to examine how original planting diversity affects the ability of constructed freshwater wetlands to recover structurally and functionally after a disturbance (i.e., aboveground harvesting andAuthorsMary M. Means, Changwoo Ahn, Gregory B. NoeStorms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA
Determining erosion and deposition rates in urban-suburban settings and how these processes are affected by large storms is important to understanding geomorphic processes in these landscapes. Sediment yields in the suburban and urban Upper Difficult Run are among the highest ever recorded in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, ranging from 161 to 376 Mg/km2/y. Erosion and deposition of streambanks, chaAuthorsAllen C. Gellis, Michael Myers, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward Shenk, Luke MyersSalinity influences on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity in tidal wetlands
Tidal freshwater wetlands are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change and rising sea levels. However salinification within these systems is poorly understood, therefore, productivity (litterfall, woody biomass, and fine roots) were investigated on three forested tidal wetlands [(1) freshwater, (2) moderately saline, and (3) heavily salt-impacted] and a marsh along the Waccamaw andAuthorsKathryn N. Pierfelice, B. Graeme Lockaby, Ken W. Krauss, William H. Conner, Gregory B. Noe, Matthew C. RickerRichness, biomass, and nutrient content of a wetland macrophyte community affect soil nitrogen cycling in a diversity-ecosystem functioning experiment
The development of soil nitrogen (N) cycling in created wetlands promotes the maturation of multiple biogeochemical cycles necessary for ecosystem functioning. This development proceeds from gradual changes in soil physicochemical properties and influential characteristics of the plant community, such as competitive behavior, phenology, productivity, and nutrient composition. In the context of a 2AuthorsAlicia R. Korol, Changwoo Ahn, Gregory B. NoeContemporary deposition and long-term accumulation of sediment and nutrients by tidal freshwater forested wetlands impacted by sea level rise
Contemporary deposition (artificial marker horizon, 3.5 years) and long-term accumulation rates (210Pb profiles, ~150 years) of sediment and associated carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) were measured in wetlands along the tidal Savannah and Waccamaw rivers in the southeastern USA. Four sites along each river spanned an upstream-to-downstream salinification gradient, from upriver tidal fAuthorsGregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Ken W. KraussHead-of-tide bottleneck of particulate material transport from watersheds to estuaries
We measured rates of sediment, C, N, and P accumulation at four floodplain sites spanning the nontidal through oligohaline Choptank and Pocomoke Rivers, Maryland, USA. Ceramic tiles were used to collect sediment for a year and sediment cores were collected to derive decadal sedimentation rates using 137Cs. The results showed highest rates of short- and long-term sediment, C, N, and P accumulationAuthorsScott H. Ensign, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Katherine Skalak - Software
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