Wetland restoration projects across the United States are failing. Restored sites commonly lack the species and hydrology of the targeted community being restored. A better understanding of natural wetlands would help restoration project designers achieve community composition and hydrologic regimes that more closely resemble natural conditions. I investigated two different methods to identify patterns in hydrologic regime useful to restoration design. The first method was based on success criteria commonly used by North Carolina wetland mitigation projects. The second method was based on The Nature Conservancyâs Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. In order to test these two methods, I collected hydrologic and compositional data across the natural variation of nonriverine wet hardwood forest stands, a rare wetland community type commonly restored in North Carolina. My results show that hydrologic parameters from the first method, based on current success criteria used in North Carolina, are not related to community composition. Hydrologic parameters from the second method, e.g. the maximum water table level over a 3-day span, explained much of the variation in nonriverine wet hardwood forest community composition. My results found that clear relationships do exist between hydrologic regime and community composition. Hydrologic parameters that are related to community composition need to be used as success criteria in future restoration designs. This will ensure that projects establish the appropriate hydrologic regime necessary to foster the desired wetland community type.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-01082010-164831 |
| Date | 15 January 2010 |
| Creators | Johnson, Yari Ben |
| Contributors | Theodore Henry Shear, April Lynda James, Joshua L. Heitman |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-01082010-164831/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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