Fermanich to talk ‘Green Land vs. Green Water’ in Friday’s NAS Seminar

Prof. Kevin Fermanich will discuss his research on the Green Bay watershed this Friday (March 28) in the Natural and Applied Sciences Seminar Series. His lecture at 3:45 p.m. in Room 301 of the Environmental Sciences Building follows a 3:15 p.m. social in ES 317.

Lower Green Bay and the Fox River were designated as areas in need of remediation in the 1980s because of undesirable algae, poor water clarity, hypoxia and habitat degradation. Phosphorous loading has long been a significant driver of impaired water quality. More than two-thirds of the phosphorus entering Green Bay comes from the Fox River, and a majority of that comes from agricultural lands subject to erosion and runoff. Additionally, Fermanich says monitoring shows that as few as a dozen or so storm events per year can contribute the majority of that phosphorus loading. Soil disturbance, soil phosphorus content, animal manure applications, and vegetative cover are key variables. In his talk, “Green Land vs. Green Water,” Fermanich will discuss strategies for reducing soil and nutrient loss. All NAS seminars are free and open to the public.