Download or read book An Assessment of Plant Community Composition and Structure of Forested Mitigation Wetlands and Relatively Undisturbed Reference Forested Wetlands in Ohio written by John Edward Reinier and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: The ecological functions provided by mature forested wetlands are continually being lost through permitted impacts associated with residential, commercial and agricultural development. In response, regulatory agencies require that forested wetlands be restored, established, enhanced or preserved (i.e., wetland mitigation) to replace those ecological functions. Assessments of wetland mitigation projects often focus on plant community characteristics as indicators of ecological integrity. Using the Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity (VIBI) sampling protocol, we collected herbaceous and woody plant community data as well as physical habitat attribute data at four forested mitigation areas and four relatively undisturbed reference forested wetlands within the Erie/Ontario Drift and Lake Plains and Eastern Corn Belt Plains ecoregions of Ohio. The objectives of the study were to compare the plant community composition and structure of these areas and to identify factors that may be influencing their development. Our analyses revealed both compositional and structural differences between mitigation and reference areas and indicated that certain physical habitat features (e.g., hummocks, macrotopographic depressions and coarse woody debris) may influence plant community development. Past land use, disturbance history and landscape setting also likely played an important role in shaping the plant communities of the sampled areas. Mitigation areas supported fewer ecologically conservative species than reference areas and lacked a subcanopy of native, shade-tolerant wetland tree and shrub species. VIBI results indicated that reference areas were characterized by the presence of seedless vascular plants, a high Floristic Quality Assessment Index score, the importance of native, shade-tolerant species as well as high percent cover of sensitive species, hydrophytes and bryophytes. Mitigation areas were characterized by ecologically tolerant species, the importance of canopy tree species, and many trees in small diameter classes. These results suggest that forested mitigation wetlands may support plant communities dominated by species with a wide range of ecological tolerance and may lack the structure that characterizes mature forested wetlands. Assuming mitigation areas are on a desirable trajectory, several decades may pass before areas currently used for forested wetland mitigation begin to resemble relatively undisturbed areas in terms of plant community composition and structure. As more and more forested wetlands are negatively impacted by residential, commercial and agricultural development, there will likely be a continual decline in the functions provided by mature forested wetlands throughout Ohio.
Download or read book Structure and Function of Vascular Plant Communities in Created and Restored Wetlands in Ohio written by Kay Christine Stefanik and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structural and functional characteristics of the dominant vegetation of mitigation bank wetlands (
Download or read book Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-11-06 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognizing the importance of wetland protection, the Bush administration in 1988 endorsed the goal of "no net loss" of wetlands. Specifically, it directed that filling of wetlands should be avoided, and minimized when it cannot be avoided. When filling is permitted, compensatory mitigation must be undertaken; that is, wetlands must be restored, created, enhanced, and, in exceptional cases, preserved, to replace the permitted loss of wetland area and function, such as water quality improvement within the watershed. After more than a dozen years, the national commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands has been evaluated. This new book explores the adequacy of science and technology for replacing wetland function and the effectiveness of the federal program of compensatory mitigation in accomplishing the nation's goal of clean water. It examines the regulatory framework for permitting wetland filling and requiring mitigation, compares the mitigation institutions that are in use, and addresses the problems that agencies face in ensuring sustainability of mitigated wetlands over the long term. Gleaning lessons from the mixed results of mitigation efforts to date, the book offers 10 practical guidelines for establishing and monitoring mitigated wetlands. It also recommends that federal, state, and local agencies undertake specific institutional reforms. This book will be important to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the "no net loss" issue: policy makers, regulators, environmental scientists, educators, and wetland advocates.
Download or read book Sedges written by Robert H. Mohlenbrock and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2001-07-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One half of a two volume set that presents illustrations and descriptions of all of the known sedge plants located in Illinois. In addition to the descriptions, information is presented on habitat, range, and distribution of the plants. The black and white illustrations detail all parts of the plant from flowering parts to the root system. This new edition of the 1976 work adds six additional taxa of sedges and takes into account a number of nomenclatural changes and distributional records that have been added. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.
Download or read book Long Term Hydrology Patterns and Plant Community Composition of Disturbed and Undisturbed Wetlands in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio USA written by Nathan Manning and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The hydrology of wetlands is a key abiotic factor in the determination of the type of wetland and the maintenance of these important ecosystems. By understanding the typical hydrologic and ecological response of these systems at a landscape scale it may be possible to predict how groups of similar wetlands will behave when large scale impacts are planned. This study consists of just that sort of investigation. This research was conducted within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) in northern Summit and southern Cuyahoga counties in northeastern Ohio. Sixteen wetlands were selected for this project. The selection of these sites was based on size, type of wetland, location within sub-watersheds, and anthropogenic impacts within the sub-watersheds. Monitoring wells were used to monitor water levels within the sites and determine minimum, maximum and median water levels for each site as well as determining the variance and range of water level for each site. A modified Vegetative Index of Biotic Integrity (VIBI) protocol was used to collect plant community data. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to determine the interactions of several different environmental factors in determining water level and plant community composition in disturbed and undisturbed wetlands. The results of this study show that there is a strong interaction effect between disturbance and environmental factors such as wetland and watershed size, and wetland type. This interaction makes it possible to begin to predict the reaction of different wetland types when human impacts encroach on natural areas."--abstract.
Download or read book Wildlife Community Habitat Evaluation written by Richard L. Schroeder and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual written by U. S. Army Corps Of Engineers and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aldo Leopold, father of the "land ethic," once said, "The time has come for science to busy itself with the earth itself. The first step is to reconstruct a sample of what we had to begin with." The concept he expressedâ€"restorationâ€"is defined in this comprehensive new volume that examines the prospects for repairing the damage society has done to the nation's aquatic resources: lakes, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems outlines a national strategy for aquatic restoration, with practical recommendations, and features case studies of aquatic restoration activities around the country. The committee examines: Key concepts and techniques used in restoration. Common factors in successful restoration efforts. Threats to the health of the nation's aquatic ecosystems. Approaches to evaluation before, during, and after a restoration project. The emerging specialties of restoration and landscape ecology.
Download or read book Methods for evaluating wetland condition 16 vegetationbased indicators of wetland nutrient enrichment written by Christopher Craft and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Effects of Restoration Treatments and Flooding Regime on Plant Community Composition in Restored Geographically Isolated Wetlands written by Kimberley Russell and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wetland plant community diversity is an important structural quality to assess in wetland creation or restoration projects because it is typically used as a proxy for other functional processes that are more difficult to measure. To determine the drivers of plant community diversity, eight wetlands within Jackson Lane, a large scale, fragmented wetland mitigation project, were sampled for species richness and fourteen additional environmental variables almost a decade after mitigation. Results show that size, straw type, and soil chemistry and texture are influential variables on plant species diversity. In addition, differences in average percent vegetative cover, average percent litter cover, coarse woody debris (CWD), and soil chemistry and texture are related to differences in wetland plant community composition. Coarse woody debris application and applications of straw are restoration practices that should be used in any depression wetland mitigation in order to increase plant diversity.
Download or read book Tree Growth and Hydrologic Patterns in Forested Mitigation Wetlands written by Debra Lynn Gamble and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Tree growth and hydrologic patterns in three forested mitigation wetlands in Central Ohio were compared with a reference forested wetland and with previous data collected at these wetlands. Trees in two of these forested wetlands had been planted around deep water basins, while the other two wetlands, including a reference wetland, had established forests around vernal pools. Hydroperiod and precipitation data were used to quantify aspects of the hydrology of these wetlands and to create a vernal pool model. Tree growth, survival and recruitment data were used to assess the persistence of the trees and their productivity and to validate a previously created tree growth model. Groundwater and surface water fluctuations in these wetlands reflect different water sources, their connectivity to those sources and the size of their watershed. The two planted sites received their primary water sources from streams but their hydrographs were decidedly different. One site is connected to a stream with a large watershed, but the site is separated from the streamfiow by an inlet weir until the stream floods over the weir, which only occurs several times a year. Vernal pools at two of the wetland sites received their primary water from precipitation, but the mean depth and duration of inundation of vernal pools was significantly higher at the created vernal pool site than at the natural vernal pool site. Trees at the planted sites had significantly higher growth in DBH per year than the established sites. However, the established forest sites had significantly larger trees and, as a result, significantly higher basal area growth per year than the planted sites. Total basal area of the reference site was 38 m2/ha while at the planted sites it was around 2 m2/ha. Diversity and species richness was highest at the reference site (H' = 2.7, richness = 29) while the planted sites averaged H' of 2.05 and richness of 12.5. Tree species response to elevation varied according to site. The established sites, with larger and flood tolerant trees at lower elevations, exhibited greater growth there, while the planted sites showed the highest growth at mid-elevations. Fraxinuspennsylvanica exhibited the greatest growth in DBHJyr and basal area/yr at 0.9 cm/yr and 11.5 cm2/yr, respectively. The most dominant species at the planted sites was Acer saccharinum and the tree growth model predicted its growth within 10%. Using this model it was estimated that Acer saccharinum trees would need 44 years to meet the reference site's average DBH. Quercus palustris was the planted species with the lowest mortality at both sites. Volunteer trees made up 60% of the trees at the planted sites. Planting did speed up growth as the mean DBH of planted Fraxinus pennsylvanica was 13.0 cm while volunteer trees' was 2.6 cm. The three created sites each exemplified a property that enhanced tree growth, density or productivity. The site with the greatest hydrologic pulsing produced the greatest growth in DBH/yr; the site closest to an existing bottomland forest had the greatest tree density, volunteer tree DBH and height; and the site created in an existing forest generated the highest basal area increase per year.
Download or read book Forested Wetlands written by Ariel E. Lugo and published by Elsevier Publishing Company. This book was released on 1990 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hardbound. Forested wetlands are experiencing an unprecedented level of impact by human exploitation. There is a fundamental need to bring together existing information on ecological processes and composition of vegetation. Perhaps more urgent at this time is the need to chart fruitful research directions that will provide information on the management of this ecologically pivotal resource. This book is timely in contributing to both of these needs.Written for the professional ecologist and ecosystem manager, this unique book explains how forested wetlands function ecologically and how they vary floristically throughout the world. Chapters by the editors provide the framework for a simple functional classification of wetlands (riverine, fringe, and basin) that is gaining popularity among ecologists and resource managers worldwide. Both a world perspective and local flavor is provided by sections written by fifteen seasoned professionals in countri
Download or read book Riparian Areas written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-10-10 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.
Download or read book Impact of Water Level Changes on Woody Riparian and Wetland Communities Central forest region written by Robert O. Teskey and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bioindicators for Assessing Ecological Integrity of Prairie Wetlands written by Paul R. Adamus and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Functional Assessment of Mitigation Wetlands in Ohio written by Siobhan Fennessy and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Vascular Plants of Unglaciated Ohio written by Allison W. Cusick and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
