MSRA Webinar Series - Soil Health Metrics for Assessment of Floodplain Restorations feat. Dr. Shree Inamdar and Joe Galella
MSRA is excited to continue our series of webinars featuring leading industry researchers and partners, as we strive to offer opportunities for discussion and promote advancement of the stream restoration science. Visit our website and social media channels for upcoming webinars.
Continuing Education Credits will be offered for the MSRA Webinar Series!
We hope you will join us:
When: Wednesday - February 26, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: GoToWebinar
Following your registration, and prior to the event, you will receive a webinar link from GoToWebinar which will give you access to the webinar.
Will you be attending?
Register Today! Registration will Close at 3pm Tuesday, February 25th.
EVENT DETAILS:
Cost: Free for members, $10 for non-members
Presentation Abstract:
Stream and floodplain restoration has become a billion-dollar industry in the United States (US) and is a popular management practice in the mid-Atlantic US. Floodplains are being restored to enhance hydrologic connectivity, reduce sediment erosion, and enhance runoff nitrogen removal via processes like denitrification. While these restorations have yielded important water quality benefits, much of the restoration focus is on enhancing stream form and function and very little attention is given to soil health on the restored floodplains. Compacted soils and poor soil conditions can undermine ecosystem functions and services and prevent the restoration from attaining its full potential. In this webinar, identify and discuss specific soil metrics that can provide short and long term assessment of soil health post restoration. These metrics were identified through a study of 67 soil physical, chemical, and microbial metrics from 13 floodplain restoration sites spanning a period of 1-22 years post restoration. All floodplain restorations were located in the mid-Atlantic. Soil metrics were also compared against values for reference benchmark sites to assess the extent and rate of recovery post restoration. Selected metrics will allow practitioners to evaluate effectiveness of floodplain restoration and their recovery over time. Metrics could also provide a quantitative measure to meet/receive restoration credits. Healthy soils and floodplains will not only provide valuable water quality and aquatic habitat benefits, but will also contribute towards rewilding our landscapes and improving human health.
Presenter's Abstracts:
Dr. Shree Inamdar is a Professor in the Plant & Soil Sciences department at the University of Delaware (UD). He received his PhD from Virginia Tech in Biological Systems Engineering. Until 2023, he was also the founding Director of the Water Science & Policy Graduate Program at UD. His research interests are in studying water quality and watershed management, biogeochemistry and ecology of riparian ecosystems, human land use legacies and their impacts on our environment, and soil health. He has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. In his free time he likes to jog, hike, do gardening, and travel to nature & historic destinations across the world.
Joe Galella earned his undergraduate degree in Geology from Franklin and Marshall College in 2011, his masters in Geo-environmental Studies from Shippensburg University in 2016 and his PhD from the University of Maryland in 2023. He has experience studying road salt pollution, stream restoration and the biogeochemistry of Mid-Atlantic streams. His current research helps quantify how soil health metrics evolve over time by analyzing floodplain soils in restored, unrestored, and reference streams.
