Mn/DOT - Restoration Wetlands Success

Project summary:

How wetland restoration success is affected by selecting more or less disturbed sites has not been studied in inland wetlands of North America. Nor is information available that assesses the effectiveness of interventions to ottset site selection in maximizing the likelihood of wetland restoration success. This proposed study will address these issues by answering the following questions: (1) How is biological recovery in restored wetlands affected by selecting sites near natural wetlands vs. selecting sites that are isolated? (2) To what extent can revegetation stimulate overall biological recovery in isolated sites? Wetland restoration success will be evaluated on 8-12 MnDOT projects and one University of Minnesota project to be completed within the next few years. Sites connected to nearby natural wetlands will be compared to isolated, naturally revegetating sites and isolated, planted sites. Aspects of ecosystem function and structure will be used to characterize recovery rates. Indices of biotic integrity for plants, invertebrates. birds and amphibians will be used to track ecosystem structure and organic matter cycling will be the primary measure of ecosystem function. During this first year of the study, we will develop the biotic indices and establish baseline monitoring on each site including an as-built topographic survey, installation of groundwater and surface water stations, characterization of soils and vegetation. By the end of this study establishment phase