PARENT SESSION
Oral Session 17: Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
Presiding: E Sulzman
Monday, August 2, 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Meeting Room F 151.
Habitat suitability for northern wild rice restoration: The role of pickerelweed in seedling establishment.
Costello, James*,1, Kimmerer, Robin1, 1 State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York
ABSTRACT- Harvest and preparation of northern wild rice (Zizania palustris var. palustris) was once a traditional subsistence activity of the people of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Territory (Akwesasne), but development along the St. Lawrence River corridor in New York State and Canada reduced northern wild rice populations to remnant patches. There is renewed interest in restoring a sustainable supply of wild rice at Akwesasne. The goal of this study is to examine habitat suitability for restoration of northern wild rice. Information from traditional wild rice harvesters in the upper Great Lakes suggests that pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) may be associated with conditions favorable to northern wild rice establishment. Habitat characteristics of northern wild rice and pickerelweed were assessed along the Raquette River within Akwesasne during the fall of 2003, and traditional ecological knowledge of wild rice habitat characteristics were obtained through interviews with elders of the Akwesasne community. Manipulative experiments were established to evaluate the possible relationship between pickerelweed and establishment of northern wild rice. Northern wild rice seed was sown into the following treatment plots: 1) intact pickerelweed patches; 2) pickerelweed removed; 3) adjacent to pickerelweed patches; and 4) intact wild rice patches. Seedling establishment and growth to maturity are evaluated among treatments. Experiments are designed to evaluate the role of pickerelweed in facilitation of northern wild rice establishment. Analysis of variance on water depth, water velocity, and soil sediment variables, with the exception of pH, revealed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between the habitat characteristics of an existing northern wild rice bed and the habitat characteristics inside and outside patches of pickerelweed. Field patterns of association between pickerelweed and northern wild rice were also evaluated.
Key words: seedling establishment, traditional ecological knowledge, northern wild rice, pickerelweed