Financial support is one of the main ways in which the Swedish government can encourage restoration and construction of wetlands. Despite having the tool of financial support for constructing wetlands in place, there is little information on how the support systems are structured and how they compare to each other. Another knowledge gap is the regional variation in wetland construction among counties and how this differs between them.  The purpose of this study is therefore two-part. Firstly, to map and compare the three main financial systems for constructing wetlands in Sweden, namely LOVA (the Local Water Preservation Grant), LONA (the Local Initiative for Nature Conservation) and the RDP (the Rural Development Programme). Results from the national comparison among financial systems shows that the RDP is the significantly most influential grant in wetland construction, whereas LOVA make up 9% and LONA 1% of the sum of hectares of constructed wetlands. These findings are the reason why this study only uses the RDP as a basis for the second purpose of this study, which is to investigate the regional variation in wetland construction. These results reveal two main findings, firstly that Skåne is the county with the most constructed wetlands, both in terms of hectares and number of wetlands. Finally, the purposes of the constructed wetlands which are financed by the RDP, are reviewed in this study. The purposes differ greatly between counties and do not necessarily align with the targets set in the Regional Action Plans.  The reasons for the large variations between counties, the low numbers of constructed wetlands within LONA and the administrative process of the RDP are topics which are recommended to research further.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The research was driven by a need to increase the knowledge base concerning wetland ecological responses, as well as to identify and evaluate the factors driving the functioning of the Franschhoek Trust Wetland. An ecohydrological study was undertaken in which vegetation cover, depth to groundwater, water and soil chemistry were monitored at 14 sites along three transects for a 12 month period. The parameters used include temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, chloride, bicarbonate, sulphate, total nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphorus. T-tests and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to analyze trends and to express the relationship between abiotic factors and vegetation. Results reflect the strong influence of hydrology, microtopography and nutrient availability in structuring vegetation composition in the wetland. The wetland has been classified as a palustrine valley bottom with channel wetland, which is predominantly groundwater-fed (phreatrotropic), but receives surface water inputs as well. Small scale gradients of microtopography allow for differences in flooding frequency and duration resulting in hydrologically distinct sites which differ chemically. Three zones were distinguished in the wetland. Hollows or low sites were characterized by intermittent flooding and drying and higher nutrient concentrations in soil and groundwater. High sites which were rarely or never flooded exhibited higher groundwater temperature and ammonia as well as iron in soils and groundwater. The inundated sites remained flooded throughout the year and were characterized by high nitrate and nitrite in soil as well as high EC, magnesium, bicarbonate, sulphate and phosphorus in groundwater. The limited availability of nitrogen in the wetland favoured plant types Typha capensis, Paspalum urvillei and Juncus .kraussii which are able to either fix nitrogen or store nitrogen during more favorable conditions. The main chemical concentration changes take place between summer and winter. The Principal Component Analyses suggest that sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia and phosphorus are the dominant ions determining the chemistry of groundwater. Increased abstraction from the table mountain aquifer to supplement human demand may put the wetland at risk of degradation. Intensified agriculture and other land use in the area are likely to increase pollution loads into the wetland causing shifts in nutrient availability and vegetation composition. Continued and long term monitoring is essential to ensure effective management of the wetland and is highly recommended. Closer partnerships between wetland managers and scientists as well as community awareness and involvement through a volunteer monitoring programme should be encouraged

Näringsrika våtmarker i odlingslandskapet tenderar med tiden att växa igen vilket innebär förlust av biologisk mångfald. Att bekämpa igenväxning och föryngra den ekologiska successionen genom våtmarksrestaurering är ett sätt att få tillbaka fågellivet i våtmarker. Kvismarens naturreservat har restaurerats vid flera tillfällen och Kvismare fågelstation har inventerat fågellivet sedan 60-talet till idag. Hur har art- & individrikedomen bland häckande våtmarksfåglar förändrats i takt med att restaureringar i Kvismaren utförts? Sex restaureringar har valts ut som studieobjekt. För dessa sex restaureringar sammantaget uppvisas en tydligt ökande trend för både antal häckande arter och antal häckande par men utan statistisk signifikans. Vissa enskilda restaureringar uppvisar en signifikant ökning av både antal häckande arter och par (t.ex. Fågelsjöns restaurering 1986). Somliga artgrupper inom våtmarksfåglar kan efter vissa restaureringar visa stort uppsving, t.ex. vadare (Charadrii) som ökade med 464% efter Rysjöns restaurering 1997. Om målet med en restaurering är att öka biodiversiteten av häckande våtmarksfåglar föreslår min data att förvaltare bör satsa mer resurser på s.k. totalrestaureringar (t.ex. Rysjön 1981 & Sörbysjön 2013) hellre än s.k. nyrestaureringar. Vid en jämförelse av våtmarksinventering för Kvismarens totala yta med 40 års mellanrum (1980 & 2020) påvisas en ökning med 4 fler häckande våtmarksarter och 1 039 fler häckande par. Resultaten tyder på att restaureringar i Kvismarens våtmarker under 40 år har lönat sig, i synnerhet tack vare totalrestaureringar. / Nutrient-rich wetlands in agricultural landscape tend to become overgrown over time which means loss of biodiversity. Combating overgrowth and rejuvenating ecological succession through wetland restoration is an approach to get bird life back in wetlands. Wetlands in Kvismaren’s nature reserve, central Sweden, has been restored on several occasions and Kvismare Bird Observatory has inventoried bird life since the ‘60s until today. How has species & individual richness among breeding wetland birds changed as various wetland restorations in Kvismaren have been carried out? Six restorations in four sub-areas in Kvismaren have been selected as study objects. For these six restorations combined, a clearly increasing trend is shown for both the number of breeding species and pairs, but without statistical significance. Some restorations individually, however, show a significant increase in the number of breeding species and pairs (e.g. Fågelsjön's restoration in 1986). Some species groups within wetland birds can after certain restorations show great upswing, e.g. waders (Charadrii) that went from 14 to 79 breeding pairs (+464%) after Rysjön's restoration in 1997. If the goal of a restoration is to raise the biodiversity of breeding wetland birds, my data suggests that managers should invest more resources in so-called total-restorations (e.g. Rysjön 1981 & Sörbysjön 2013) rather than so-called new-restorations. A comparison of the wetland census for Kvismaren's total area at 40-year intervals (1980 & 2020) shows an increase of 4 more breeding wetland species and 1,039 more pairs. These results show that wetland restorations in Lake Kvismaren for 40 years have paid off, especially thanks to total-restorations.

Diatoms have a successful history of use in assessments of wetland biological condition. In North America and across Europe, diatom assemblages are used for routine wetland condition assessments to meet the statutory requirements of the European Water Framework Directive and the National Aquatic Resource Survey by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In South Africa, the use of diatom assemblages as indicators of wetland condition may be a promising alternative to the traditional biotic assemblages employed, such as macroinvertebrates or macrophytes, which have proven to be ineffective. We present a preliminary investigation on the feasibility of diatoms in wetland biological assessments in South Africa by evaluating the use of diatoms as indicators of biological condition for depressional wetlands in the Mpumalanga Highveld region of South Africa. Depressional wetlands typically found in this region are either temporary (seasonally inundated) or permanent depressions. Temporary depressional wetlands are expected to be affected by natural environmental disturbances (e.g., seasonal fluctuations in water-level which may cause changes in water chemistry) as compared to relatively stable permanent ones. Establishing whether diatoms are suitable indicators of natural environmental disturbances in temporary depressional wetlands in this region is necessary for further investigations of anthropogenic disturbances. We sampled epiphytic diatoms from three least human-disturbed temporary depressional wetlands during various stages of inundation and showed that the species composition of epiphytic diatom communities were strong indicators of temporally changing environmental conditions. Using the same diatom and physical and chemical data, we also demonstrated that simplifying the taxonomy by using the functional composition (ecological guilds, life-forms) of the epiphytic diatom communities, can assess temporally changing environmental conditions as effectively as the species composition. Moreover, these functional groups provide valuable ecological information that is not available from the species data. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the predominant stressor in permanent depressional wetlands of the Mpumalanga Highveld region, where coal mines utilise these wetlands for storage of AMD, which has severe impacts on the structure and function of the ecosystem. In order to develop an approach for impact assessment and management of depressional wetlands in the region, we developed an epiphytic diatom multimetric index (MMI) for AMD impacted permanent depressional wetlands. This is also the first diatom index to quantify AMD impacts in wetland habitats. Data collected from 34 sites that represented a range of conditions along an AMD gradient within the Mpumalanga Highveld was used to select responsive diatom metrics which we combined into a multimetric index. We developed separate MMIs for classes of depressional wetland types in order to account for natural variation among diatom assemblages, and compared their performance with an MMI that did not account for natural variation. To account for natural variation, we classified reference sites based on diatom typologies and hypothesised that by using this approach, we would improve MMI performance. Overall, all MMIs performed considerably well, although grouping sites by diatom typology to account for natural variation improved MMI performance, especially the precision, responsiveness and sensitivity to disturbance. We conclude that diatoms have strong potential for use in wetland ecological assessments in South Africa. The experimental and statistical approaches used in this study should expand our knowledge of diatom ecology and further advance the research and development of diatom bioassessment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Paraclinical Sciences / PhD / Unrestricted

The purpose of the study is to determine how the population of the ruff in Sweden has changed over the past 20 years and which reasons for the changes, if any, there are. The study also includes how the tourism regarding the ruff in Sweden is today and how it could be developed. The study is based on non-fiction literature, reports, diagrams and interviews. The population of the ruff in Europe has declined over the past years. In Sweden, the breed is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list of threatened species due to the fast decline. The results show that the population of the ruff has changed in the whole country of Sweden. Today almost 99% of the population lives on tundra and wetlands in northern Sweden. Most of the decline has occurred in the south of Sweden where the population almost is extinct. In northern Sweden, the population also has declined but not as much as in the south. Nowadays the ruff only breeds in 8 out of 22 counties it used to occur in. Reasons of the decline are primarily changes in habitats, drainage of watercourses and wetlands, urbanization, agriculture and forestry. The decline also depends on changes along the migration routes and in northwest Africa where the breed winters. Also, climate change and higher predation are reasons for the decline. No tourism with focus on the ruff exists in Sweden today. There is a potential in developing a specific tourism focused on the ruff lek.

Revegetation projects in wetlands are challenging due to questions surrounding where to obtain plant materials and how hydrologic conditions, which are often unpredictable at restoration sites, may impact restoration success. We used a two-pronged approach to inform decisions on seed sourcing. Our study species, Schoenoplectus maritimus (alkali bulrush), is a widely distributed wetland plant. First, we investigated how genetic diversity was partitioned within and among populations of S. maritimus. We found five weakly differentiated populations and one distinct population. We found high levels of genetic diversity with the majority (92%) of diversity found within rather than among sites (8%). Also, the proportion of viable seed produced was surprisingly high within stands (mean = 0.64 ± 0.02) given the supposed prevalence of asexual reproduction in the species. Second, we conducted two studies to look at the influence of hydrology, population of origin, and genetic diversity of seeds on the productivity of S. maritimus. In a field survey we measured environmental variables and productivity within established S. maritimus stands. In a greenhouse experiment we determined how source population identity and the genetic diversity of seeds impacted emergence and productivity under different hydrologic conditions. We found that stands of S. maritimus differed in proportion of time with water present, mean water level, and soil conditions. Productivity also differed, with 3-fold differences in stem density and biomass among sites. In the greenhouse experiment, we found that water treatment impacted all productivity measures; source population impacted seedling emergence and biomass allocation; and, number of source populations impacted sensitivity to drought. Advice for future restoration projects includes (1) limiting translocation of seeds among populations to conserve historic lineages, (2) when it is necessary to translocate seeds, collect seeds from many parent plants within populations that are in close geographic proximity to the restoration site, and (3) water level management is extremely important at all life stages of S. maritimus and should be an important consideration in wetland restoration and management in this water-limited region.

abstract: Nitrogen is an essential, often limiting, element for biological growth that can act as a pollutant if present in excess. Nitrogen is primarily transported by water from uplands to streams and eventually to recipient lakes, estuaries, and wetlands, but can be modulated by biological uptake and transformation along these flowpaths. As a result, nitrogen can accumulate in aquatic ecosystems if supply is high or if biological retention is low. Dryland and urban ecosystems offer interesting contrasts in water supply, which limits transport and biological activity in drylands, and nitrogen supply that increases with human activity. In my dissertation, I ask: What is the relative balance among nitrogen retention, removal, and transport processes in dryland watersheds, and what is the fate of exported nitrogen? My dissertation research demonstrates that water is a major control on where and when nitrogen is retained and removed versus exported to downstream ecosystems. I used a mass-balance model based on synoptic surveys to study seasonal and spatial patterns in nitrate loading to a dryland stream network. I found that irrigation diversions transport nitrate from agricultural areas to the stream network year-round, even during dry seasons, and are an important driver of nitrate loading. I further explored how seasonal precipitation influences flood nutrient export in an intermittent desert stream by coupling long-term data of flood-water chemistry with stream discharge and precipitation data. I found that higher precipitation prior to a flood fills water storage sites in the catchment, leading to larger floods. In addition, higher antecedent precipitation stimulates biological nitrogen retention in the uplands, leading to lower nitrogen concentration in floods. Finally, I evaluated the consequences of nitrogen export from watersheds on how urban wetlands attenuate nitrate through denitrification that permanently removes nitrogen, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) that retains nitrogen in another biologically reactive form. I found that DNRA becomes proportionally more important with low nitrate concentration, thereby retaining nitrogen as ammonium. Collectively, my dissertation research addresses how dryland and urban ecosystems can be integrated into models of watershed nitrogen cycling. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2019

The Swamp Land Act of 1849, originally intended to give the state of Louisiana the unproductive swamplands within its borders and use the proceeds to construct the drains and levees necessary to reclaim these lands, was extended to Oregon in 1860. Oregon did not act on the matter until 1870, but once begun, it became a prolific source of political corruption, fiscal irresponsibility, fraud, and land speculation and monopolization. Even though the physiography of Oregon was much different than the states in the Mississippi Valley, millions of acres of "swampland" were filed upon and the state sold hundreds of thousands of acres long before it received legal title to these lands. In most cases final patents were never issued by the federal government. Rather than the proceeds of the sales of these lands going toward reclamation, the funds often went to the friends of state officials for dubious services. Appropriations, based on the anticipated sale of swampland, were made for the owners of wagon roads for projects never completed. This created a state indebtedness which the sale of swampland alone could not erase. A major result of the Swamp Land Act in Oregon was the withholding of arable land and water rights from actual settlers in the predominantly semiarid regions of Oregon by land speculators and by cattle barons who used it to monopolize vast tracts of grazing land. Litigation over disputed swampland claims occurred well into the twentieth century. Because little has been written on this topic, primary sources have been extensively relied upon for the research. The most important of these sources were the Portland Oregonian, government documents of the state of Oregon, and the documents of the United States Department of Interior.

The Florida Everglades presents a model setting for studying animal-habitat relationships in a dynamic landscape that is heavily influenced by seasonal hydrology and water management. I used dynamic, high-resolution habitat classification maps and radio-telemetry to examine habitat preference of Largemouth Bass, Bowfin, and Florida Gar before and after a field-scale manipulation was established to address uncertainties with Everglades restoration and water management practices. Results indicate preference for the canal habitat by all three species, which represents only a small portion of the submerged landscape even in the driest conditions. Bowfin and Florida Gar were more likely to be relocated within marsh habitats than Largemouth Bass. Preference for the canal habitat increased after landscape alteration and was influenced by water management practices rather than hydrological or environmental factors. Partial canal backfilling may assist with accomplishing restoration goals while maintaining preferred habitat for economically and ecologically valuable predatory fishes.

No description available.