Andrea J. Hebb1,2
Adaptation and
Impacts Research Group
Meteorological
Service of
Environment
c/o Faculty of
Environmental Studies
Peter J. Deadman
Department of Geography
Faculty of Environmental Studies
and
Linda D. Mortsch
Adaptation and Impacts
Research Group
Meteorological
Service of
Environment
c/o Faculty of
Environmental Studies
A spatiotemporal
trend analysis was conducted within a geographic information system (GIS)
to determine the effects of water level fluctuations on wetland vegetation
and land cover at the Long Point wetland complex from 1945 to 1999.
Interpreted aerial photograph maps for seven years of data representing
low, medium, and high water levels and declining and rising conditions were
digitized into a GIS. Changes in the structure and composition of
ten wetland communities were documented in FragStats, a landscape structure
and spatial pattern analysis program. The
communities included (from wettest to driest): lake, open water, floating
emergent, emergent, tall wet emergent, tall dense dry emergent, short wet
meadow, meadow, treed, and upland. Inter-community
changes and the location of the changes were also documented using spatial
overlay techniques in ARC/INFO. During drier periods, there were significant
increases in the amount of drier emergent and meadow vegetation, especially
within the
CONTACT1/PRESENTER2/AUTHORS:
Jorg Helmschrot1, 2
Department
of Geoinformatics
Geohydrology
and Modelling
Loebdergraben
32
D
– 07743
++49
0-3641-9-48858; Fax: ++49 0-3641-9-48852
W.-A. Flügel,
International Water Management
Institute
++94 – 1 – 787404; Fax: ++94 – 1 –
786854
R. Mäusbacher
Department
for Physical Geography
Loebdergraben
32
D
– 07743
++49
0-3641-9-48812; Fax: ++40 0-3641-9-48812
Impact of land use change on the degradation and eventually extinction of wetlands have received increasing scientific and public awareness. As a result, their natural and socio-economical functions and importance for the water and nutrient cycles are subject for research worldwide and there are numerous definitions for different types of wetlands. Summarizing the ongoing research it is understood that the process dynamics within wetlands are complex, and that their response to land use changes in their catchments is different in terms of temporal scale and magnitude as well. Therefore research methods aiming to improve the understanding of such complex systems and their response to land use changes such as large scale afforestation must comprise a multidisciplinary and integrated approach. Such an approach was applied by the research project in a palustrine wetland type in the semi-arid headwater basin of the Umzimvubu river in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Integrating disciplines from hydrology, geomorphology, biology and geoinformatics the project’s overall objective is to identify criteria that have relevance for the sustainable functioning of such inland wetland systems within a basin perspective. Remote sensing analysis, field survey and rainfall-runoff simulations will be jointly applied to identify the impact of large scale afforestation within the catchment during the last ten years. First results of the study indicate significant evidence that the wetland extend had been changed, but the investigations also revealed that such changes are different regarding the type of the specific wetland. The project will furthermore investigate these dynamics and the outcome will be fed into an integrated generic landscape model comprising the different wetland process dynamics and considering the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of their respective scales.
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
Erica Hernandez, ES
III
Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blairstone Road, MS 2500
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245 8533; Fax: (850)
245 7571
Erica.Hernandez@dep.state.fl.us
The goal of the Florida Wetland Restoration Information
Center (FWRIC) is to develop the framework for a statewide ecological
restoration program for wetlands and their associated uplands using ecosystem
management and ecological principles.
FWRIC has been developed to aid local governments
and community organizations with their restoration efforts by providing online
tools and research materials needed for the implementation and management of
restoration projects.
FWRIC
products currently available online include the interactive Florida Ecological
Restoration Inventory, a searchable restoration funding database, a restoration
library of research links and a searchable bibliography. A handbook for restoration techniques and a
review of restoration policy in the state of Florida are still being developed.
The FWRIC
consolidates many aspects of restoration into a single resource as well as
enables project access and update capabilities for public and private
entities. Contributors can provide
feedback online to continually update current restoration projects and needs. FERI
increases the functionality of tracking restoration in the state by maintaining
and tracking spatial data in relational databases. Restoration practitioners can visit the
mapping site and see their project components on an aerial photograph as well as
visualize other restoration projects in that landscape.
Visit the
Florida Wetland Restoration Information Center, (www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/fwric) and browse the
tools it has to offer.
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
Helen Hoffpauir
Land Manager
Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources
Coastal Restoration Division
P.O. Box 44027
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4027
(225) 342-9420; Fax: (225) 342-9417
This presentation focuses on landrights acquisition for the
large-scale restoration program of the LDNR. The LDNR Land Section faces daily
challenges daily in dealing with the private landowners who own approximately
80% of Louisiana=s 20 parishes comprising
approximately 9,000,000 acres. This
includes the five agencies who are federal partners with the state in the
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, or CWPPRA, which has
been the major funding source for coastal restoration projects.
This presentation gives an overview of LDNR coastal
restoration activities, and focuses on the broad landrights acquisition issues
as pertains to coastal restoration project building. Topics include:
·
Background
of CWPPRA
·
Coast
2050 Plan
·
LDNR
landrights policies
·
Landowner
legal issues
·
Land
reclamation process and private land ownership
·
Oyster
lease acquisition process
·
Purchase
of easements for freshwater/sediment introduction projects
·
Landrights
acquisition for the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System
·
Use
of conservation easements
In addition, an overview of several large-scale activities
currently in development for the further long-range restoration of Louisiana’s
coastal areas will be discussed, such as:
·
Louisiana
Coastal Area Comprehensive Coastwide Ecosystem Restoration Study
·
America’s
Wetland Campaign
·
Current
state coastal restoration legislative actions
CONTACT1/PRESENTER2/AUTHORS:
A portion
of this study is funded by the National Wetlands Science Institute. Instrumentation and technical support is
being provided by the Global Change Initiative, the National Soil Survey
Laboratory and the National Water and Climate Center. This study is also receiving technical
support and assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England
Division, U.S.E.P.A. Region 1 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The project includes involvement from the
New Hampshire Wetlands Bureau, New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Services and the New Hampshire Office of State Planning. The project has the endorsement from the New
Hampshire Association of Natural Resource Scientists and the Society of Soil
Scientists of Northern New England.
A 40 acre
parcel was selected at the headwaters of the Mascoma River in Dorchester, New
Hampshire. The property is under a
conservation easement and is owned by Mr. Jordy Everts, who has granted
permission for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to conduct soil
investigations. A point grid, serving as intensive ground control, was
installed over the entire 40 acres. A
global positioning system, was used to georeference each control point, and the
parcel boundary itself, for digitization into the New Hampshire NRCS GRASS Geographic
Information System. Preliminary
piezometers and thermisters were installed to monitor ground water and soil
temperature.
In the
Spring of 1996, teams of scientists from NRCS, USCOE and USEPA mapped and
recorded the boundary of the three criteria used to identify and delineate
wetlands. A 1:1,200 base map was used to
delineate the boundary of wetland hydrology, hydrophytic plant communities and
the hydric soil boundary. All of these
maps were digitized into the GRASS GIS for comparative evaluation.
The initial
comparative evaluation revealed a need to suggest some revisions in hydric soil
indicators and to re-evaluate the start and length of the growing season. Initial findings indicate a soil temperature
of 5°C at 50cm is not a good indicator for the start of the
growing season in the frigid temperature regime of Northern New England. This supports the findings of the National
Research Council in their 1995 report titled: Wetlands: Characteristics and
Boundaries.
As a result
of preliminary findings, several recommendations have been submitted to the
National Technical Committee on Hydric Soils.
The intensity of the data collection on soil properties and behavior has
increased and an intensive study and documentation to determine more suitable
indicators for identifying the duration of the growing season has commenced
based on recommendations made by the National Research Council. In the Fall of 1996, four vegetative plots
were established to monitor bud swelling, vegetative emergence and growth in
the Spring. Since that time, an additional
four vegetative plots have been established.
Soil temperature probes and dataloggers were installed at most of the
plots.
During the
summer of 1997, NRCS engineers in New Hampshire surveyed the 40 acre parcel to
develop a 2-foot contour map. The NRCS
soil scientists have completed a high intensity soil survey. Both maps have been digitized into the GRASS
GIS.
The Global
Change Initiative approved funding to provide instrumentation at three
locations within the 40 acre study site to collect continuous readings on soil
temperature, soil moisture, groundwater level, redox potential, air
temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. With assistance from the National Soil Survey
Laboratory, representative soils were described and sampled for complete
characterization. During the Summer of
1998, the National Water and Climate Center established the first Soil Climate
Analysis Network (SCAN) site in the Country.
This data collection site has a complete weather station in addition to
collecting soils data, in real time, that is transmitted to the National Water
and Climate Center three times a day. In
addition to collecting the soils data as mentioned previously, the SCAN site
collects data on precipitation, air temperature, wind speed and direction,
solar radiation, snow pack depth and water content of the snow pack.
Armed with
substantially more information on environmental conditions and soil behavior
within the 40 acre parcel, the teams of scientists are re-mapping the boundary
of wetland indicators. A revised start
to the growing season is being tested, and the requested revisions to field
indicators of hydric soils will be employed.
Soil water behavior is being compared against soil morphology to help
document measurable soil features indicative of significant saturation. Results of these findings are being submitted
to the National Wetlands Science Institute, Global Change Initiative, the
National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils, as well as the other cooperators
in this project.
In 2001
assistance from the Grafton County Conservation District with grant funding
from the New Hampshire Wetlands Bureau provided support to purchase new
equipment and fund mapping and field data collections activities. During the spring of 2002, collaborative
field testing of new technologies that have recently been developed at Purdue
University to indicate hydric soil conditions, will be evaluated at Mascoma.
This Comparative
Field Study of Wetland Boundary Indicators is the only one of its kind in
New England. It is receiving wide-spread
interest because of the documentation it is providing to accurately identify
and delineate wetlands as well as providing technical support for carrying
out federal and state wetland regulations. The study is also providing a wealth of information
on the morphology of hydric soils and their behavioral characteristics adding
valuable data to our reservoir of knowledge about wetland ecosystems.
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
John
Hummer
Great
Lakes Commission
Eisenhower
Corporate Park
2805
South Industrial Highway, Suite #100
Ann
Arbor, MI 48104-6791
(734)
971-9135; Fax: (734) 971-9150
The Great
Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium, funded by the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National
Program Office, is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary, binational collaborative
body that was formed to develop a long-term monitoring program for Great Lakes
coastal wetlands. The Consortium brings
together the experience, expertise and resources of federal, state and
provincial governments; regional organizations; tribes; academia; and other
non-governmental organizations. The ultimate mission of the Consortium is to
develop a monitoring implementation program.
The program will include the coordinated collection of data to report on
the status and trends of biological, physical and landscape-scale indicators of
coastal wetland quality in the Great Lakes.
In its first year of work, the
Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium administered six pilot studies that
will lead to a long-term Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring strategy. This
research tested the usefulness and applicability of various methods and metrics
across the basin in a collaborative fashion.
Project field work took place in over 30 wetland sites distributed
across the Great Lakes basin. Much of the analysis focused on the development
of multi-metric Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBI) to use for regional
comparison.
The Consortium will provide scientific support for this monitoring program; create a database that is publicly accessible; recruit the leadership required to implement the long-term monitoring program; and develop a network of funders and agencies to support the monitoring program. Ultimately, the information generated by this regional monitoring effort will help target management, regulatory and restoration efforts.
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
Amy Deller Jacobs
Delaware Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control
820 Silver Lake Blvd., Ste 220
Dover, DE 19904
(302) 739-4590; Fax: (302) 739-6140
The State
of Delaware has been working with other government and private groups in the
region to develop hydrogeomorphic (HGM) models for nontidal wetlands. While these methods provide detailed information
about the sites compared to reference, they also require at least a half-day
of field work with a 4-person crew and a half day of data entry and analysis.
To complete the field data collection for 50 wetland sites using the
comprehensive method would take approximately 25 sampling days time and 112
person-days of effort. At this level of effort, it would not be feasible
for Delaware to implement a state-wide monitoring program for wetlands because
only a limited number of wetlands could be sampled each year. Therefore, we have been developing a rapid assessment
method based on our experiences with using HGM models. Sites are evaluated based on the number and
type of stressors that are present at a site.
Four categories of stressors are evaluated, those that affect hydrology,
habitat, and biogeochemical cycling processes, and a fourth category of stressors
that are present in the surrounding landscape. Each stressor is weighted based on its relative
impact to a site and then scores for each category are combined to calculate
an overall score that represents the condition of the site. Based on preliminary testing of this method,
sampling 50 sites would require approximately 10 sample days time and 20 person-days
of effort. This is a difference of
15 sampling days and 92 person-days compared to using the HGM method.
We believe that using a combination of these two methods to implement
wetland monitoring at the state level would maximize the number of sites that
we could sample while at the same time providing high quality data on the
condition of our wetland resource.
CONTACT1/PRESENTER2/AUTHORS
Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration
Program
One-Winter Street – 5th
Floor
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 348-4085
NOAA Restoration Center
One Blackburn Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
and
Christy Foote-Smith
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
Mary E. Kentula
National Health and Environmental Effects
Laboratory
Western Ecology Division
200 SW 35th Street
Corvallis, OR 97333
(541) 754-4478
kentula.mary@epa.gov
The recent
report of the National Research Council on wetland mitigation again highlighted
the need for regional watershed evaluation as a context from which to determine
the efficacy of past regulatory decisions and to improve the effectiveness
of future actions. Collaborative studies
are bringing together scientists from the USEPA’s
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP),
EPA’s Regional Offices, state agencies and academia to develop and eventually
implement regional monitoring and assessment strategies and tools to report
on wetland condition. The overall strategy
involves three levels of assessment (landscape, rapid and intensive) which
are chosen for use depending on the objective of the assessment,
availability of resources, and the degree of confidence needed in the results.
Tools needed to implement the strategy are being developed and evaluated.
In particular, methods for obtaining a representative sample of the
resource and samples at multiple scales are now available. Sample design provided by EMAP
results in a spatially well-dispersed sample, with each site sampled having
a known probability of being selected. This
ensures the sample drawn is representative of the wetland resource.
The design also provides for adjustments in the results to account
for biases in the data that could occur as a consequence of denial of access
to private property. Development of guidance on rapid assessment methods is
underway involving review and field testing of existing methods.
This will result in approaches that use intensive methods to regionalize
and validate rapid methods and that customize rapid methods for special uses
such as evaluation of mitigation projects.
Results from monitoring at the three levels can be used to report on
the ecological condition of the wetland resource, to improve the design and
targeting of restoration, to provide data for developing scenarios for future
actions, and to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation, and evaluate effectiveness
of management actions.
CONTACT1/PRESENTER2/AUTHORS:
Matt
Collins
The Bioengineering Group
(978) 740-0096, Ext. 511
Darby
Kiley1,2
The Bioengineering Group
(978) 740-0096, Ext. 604
Christine
Bethke
and
Robert
Limbeck
A variety of riparian corridor assessment techniques have
been developed in the Delaware River Basin (DRB), a 13,000 square mile basin
covering four states. The purpose of our
study was to inventory and review riparian corridor assessments developed in
the DRB to date, digitally map the spatial extent of completed work, and
recommend a protocol for future basin-wide riparian corridor assessments. The inventory was conducted using on-line
databases and internet keyword searches, as well as personal contacts with
federal, state, regional, and local agencies.
Of the completed riparian assessments to date, eight methods are
GIS-based, six are field-based, and two include a combination of GIS and field-based
methods. Only one method covers multiple
states. The methods are generally
categorized in 2 groups, large-scale GIS-based methods and site-scale
field-based methods. We recommend a
protocol for basin-wide implementation with components that have precedence in
the reviewed methods, but are not encapsulated in any one method. We propose that an effective riparian
corridor assessment protocol include adequate delineation of riparian corridors
for all DRB streams; assessment of corridor integrity/health; and
prioritization of sites based on assessment goals, selected socioeconomic
factors, and potential funding. Riparian
corridor delineation would be accomplished in a GIS using a variable-width
approach based on hydrologic conditions.
The GIS would also be used to preliminarily assess corridor
health/integrity and prioritize sites.
Next, priority sites would be field assessed to refine the preliminary
corridor health/integrity evaluation. A
final step would include funding program linkages that are keyword searchable
and georeferenced.
CONTACT/PRESENTER/AUTHOR:
V. Klemas
R. Field
O. Weatherbee
(302) 831-8256
Remote
sensing has been used successfully for several decades to map physical and
biological properties of the open ocean and upland areas. However, coastal features such as wetlands
and estuaries, require much finer spatial, spectral and temporal resolution and
therefore present a challenge to sensors currently deployed on satellites and
aircraft. This is particularly true, as
we try to detect losses of small, isolated freshwater wetlands which have
recently lost federal protection.
We are
developing remote sensing techniques for observing health related properties of
wetlands and estuaries. Wetland losses,
biomass changes, invasive species, riparian buffers, suspended sediment and
chlorophyll concentrations were studied and mapped to provide much needed
information to coastal managers. A
particularly relevant result is a unique method for remotely sensing wetland
changes, using biomass as an indicator.
To detect biomass changes we use the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation
Index (MSAVI) with red and near-infrared reflectances derived from Landsat/TM
images. The MSAVI is linear over a wide
range of biomass values and is insensitive to soil background variations. This biomass algorithm is applied to a time
series of Landsat/TM images and used with selected thresholds to detect
significant wetland changes. To minimize
natural variations between images in the time series (e.g. atmospheric,
weather, seasonal, etc.) we assume that the relative distribution of biomass in
each sub-basin will remain essentially constant over time. Wetland pixels whose MSAVI deviation from the
sub-basin mean changes from its previous deviation by more than a selected
threshold value are considered as having changed. To minimize the cost of data acquisition,
only the changed sites “flagged” by Landsat/TM are studied in more detail with
high-resolution systems, such as IKONOS or airborne hyperspectral/multispectral
scanners.