GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED WETLANDS (GIWS) ARE FRESHWATER WETLANDS THAT ARE NOT CONNECTED TO A NAVIGABLE WATERBODY, SUCH AS A RIVER OR LAKE. THEY LACK THE LEGAL PROTECTIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT THAT APPLY TO OTHER WETLANDS. MUCH OF THE WATER THAT FLOWS INTO GIWS FROM THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE DRAINS INTO GROUNDWATER. GIWS ARE WIDESPREAD IN MANY AGRICULTURAL REGIONS, AND HEALTHY GIWS MAY BE ABLE TO STORE AND REMOVE NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS FROM FERTILIZER BEFORE THEY REACH AND POLLUTE GROUNDWATER.THESE POLLUTANTS, PARTICULARLY NITRATE, CAN CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS IN PEOPLE WHO RELY ON GROUNDWATER FOR HOUSEHOLD USE AND CAN MAKE GROUNDWATER UNSUITABLE FOR IRRIGATION. RESTORING OR CONSERVING GIWS MAY BE A GOOD STRATEGY TO PROTECT GROUNDWATER FROM POLLUTION. OUR RESEARCH SEEKS TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GIW THAT MAKE IT EFFECTIVE IN STORING AND REMOVING NUTRIENTS. WE WILL PERFORM THE WORK ON THE DOUGHERTY PLAIN OF SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA, A REGION WITH NUMEROUS GIWS AND INTENSIVE PRODUCTION OF PEANUTS, COTTON, AND CORN. WE WILL MEASURE THE CONTENT AND TYPE OF POLLUTANTS PRESENT IN WETLANDS AND THE SOIL OF THE FIELDS THAT SURROUND THEM FOR GIWS SPANNING A RANGE OF SIZES, LOCATION TYPES, AND LAND USE HISTORIES. WE WILL ALSO MEASURE RAINFALL AND WATER LEVEL IN THE WETLAND TO DETERMINE HOW RAINFALL IS INVOLVED IN MOVING POLLUTANTS FROM THE FIELD TO THE WETLAND. RAINFALL CAN CHANGE A LOT FROM YEAR TO YEAR, AND IT IS UNLIKELY THAT WE WILL SEE BOTH VERY DRY AND VERY WET CONDITIONS DURING OUR THREE YEAR STUDY. ALSO, OTHER RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT THE AMOUNT OF POLLUTANTS FLOWING OFF OF AGRICULTURAL FIELDS CHANGES OVER YEARS AND DECADES AS THE SOILS ADJUST TO BEING FARMED IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THEREFORE, WE NEED TO STUDY HOW WETLANDS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE 50-70 YEARS SINCE LARGE-SCALE FARMING WAS INTRODUCED IN OUR STUDY REGION. WE DO THIS BY TAKING SAMPLES OF THE SEDIMENT THAT HAS COLLECTED IN THE BOTTOM OF A WETLAND. THE SEDIMENT COLLECTS IN LAYERS EACH YEAR, SO SHALLOW SEDIMENT WAS DEPOSITED IN THE WETLAND MORE RECENTLY THAN DEEPER SEDIMENT. BY STUDYING THE LAYERS IN THE SEDIMENT, WE CAN ESTIMATE HOW MUCH POLLUTION WAS ENTERING AND STAYING IN THE WETLAND IN THE PAST. ALL OF THE DATA WE COLLECT WILL HELP US DESCRIBE HOW AND WHY GIWS ARE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER AND HOW THEY CHANGE OVER TIME. WE WILL APPLY WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING WHICH GIWS TO USE LIMITED RESOURCES TO RESTORE OR CONSERVE TO GAIN THE MOST BENEFIT IN TERMS OF REDUCING POLLUTION. THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, THE FARMERS WHO WORK ON THE LAND WE ARE STUDYING WILL BE INVOLVED IN HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAKE WETLAND CONSERVATION AND PRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURE WORK TOGETHER. WE WILL MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS PROCESS TO HELP FARMERS IN OTHER REGIONS, STUDENTS, AND PEOPLE LIVING RURAL COMMUNITIES LEARN ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF HEALTHY WETLANDS. ADDITIONALLY, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE STUDENTS AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY WILL LEARN ABOUT THE PROJECT AS PART OF THEIR COURSEWORK, SOTHE NEXT GENERATION OF PROFESSIONALS WILL BE AWARE OF THE VALUE WETLANDS.