PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #49: Restoration of Public Lands.
Presiding: D. Gordon
Wednesday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Mohave Meeting Room, TCC.
Restoration of a ground-water driven peatland.
AMON, JAMES*,1, 1 WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY, DAYTON, OH
ABSTRACT- A one-ha wetland was restored by removing fill from its surface, improving the flow of ground water to the surface and by planting with native flora. The restoration began in 1992 and by now we have about ten years of change to report. About half the area was planted heavily with plugs from nearby wetlands, seeds and greenhouse grown plants from the adjacent wetlands. About 90 species were planted. The other half was unplanted. Succession in the unplanted area has imposed wide swings in species composition and diversity while the planted area has remained essentially stable. Unplanted areas were dominated by near monotypic stands of cattails, but were invaded by muskrats, which all but eliminated the cattails. Cattails are now being replaced by a variety of sedges, shrubs and forbs. Open water areas are developing a floating mat composed of filamentous algae and Ranunculus scleratus and the mat is beginning to support sedges and spike rushes. It appears that a permanent floating-mat will form a quaking fen. I conclude that planting of a restoration site may help prevent invasion of rapidly growing species, but that natural seeding or seeds distributed from a sparsely planted restoration can, under fortuitous circumstance and sufficient time, create a similar stable wetland community. Uprooting of first-year cattails did little to control the growth of the species in the unplanted areas. Maintaining ground water flow probably has a strong influence on the development of restored fens. Exclusion of animals like muskrats is not necessarily a desirable goal. After nearly ten years of development the restoration site is diverse in both plants and animals but appears to be continuing in biological succession.
KEY WORDS: FEN, GROUNDWATER, RESTORATION, SUCCESSION