Join us in welcoming Dr. Peter Levi, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Sustainability at Drake University. Healthy watersheds impart many ecosystem services to humans, providing water filtration, flood protection, and recreation among other benefits. The state of Iowa is dominated by agricultural and urban land-use, which can degrade streams and, therefore, limit the ability of these freshwater ecosystems to deliver the same services as streams flowing through more natural land-use, such as prairies or forests. Our recent research has sought to understand the drivers of water quality at the landscape scale and how conservation land can improve ecosystem function. In this presentation we’ll explore the ecological value of county conservation land on stream health and seasonal patterns in water quality of the Raccoon River, an ecologically and socially important river in Central Iowa.

http://www.pottcoconservation.com/calendar/details.aspx?ID=542