Chicago Botanic Garden

Plant Science — OUR SCIENTISTS

PHOTO: Robert KirschnerRobert Kirschner

Director, Restoration Ecology
Woman's Board Endowed Curator of Aquatic Plant and Urban Lake Studies

B.S. Limnology, University of Illinois, 1978


phone (847) 835-6837


RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Urban lake water quality and habitat enhancement
  • Aquatic invasive plants
  • Bioengineering approaches to control shoreline erosion
  • Citizen stakeholder involvement in environmental conservation

 

RESEARCH SUMMARY

My research studies over the past 30 years have focused on urban aquatic ecosystems, primarily in the northeastern Illinois region. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s 60 acres of lakes and nearly six miles of lakeshore provide exceptional opportunities for scientists to study the stressors inherent to urban lake environments and to explore sustainable approaches for enhancing lake water quality and aquatic habitat. Since joining the Garden in 1999, I have overseen the rejuvenation of over three miles of lake shoreline using nearly 50 different treatment strategies. Nearly all of these approaches combine the soil stabilizing characteristics of emergent and submergent plants with structural and fluvial engineering principles to create stable, ecologically diverse, and visually attractive shoreline habitats. Some of these techniques are presented on www.cbgscience.org/shoreline, a special Web page created by the Garden about lake shoreline enhancement.

Throughout all of my research and resource management activities, I am continually seeking new opportunities for making conservation of native ecosystems relevant and of value to our visitors and our region's residents. Each year, the Garden's Aquatic Plant and Urban Lake Studies Program provides workshops, lectures and written materials on individual- and community-based approaches for enhancing aquatic systems. In partnership with the U.S. EPA, for the past 21 years I have coordinated the Annual National Conference on Enhancing the States' Lake Management Programs.


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Kirschner, R. 2005. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lake Enhancement Program. Public Garden 20(4):22-25.

Kirschner, R. 2005. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lake Enhancement Program. LakeLine 25(2):14-19.

Kirschner, R. 1991. A Guide to Illinois Lake Management. Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, Chicago, Ill. 31 pp.