Management and Monitoring of Spring Peeper Meadow. Julia L. Bohnen University of Minnesota

Transcription

1 Management and Monitoring of Spring Peeper Meadow Julia L. Bohnen University of Minnesota 2003

2 Three Essential Restoration Steps Site Preparation Revegetation Ongoing Management

3 Invasive Species Reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea Cattail Typha angustifolia T. x glauca Purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica Frangula alnus

4 Ongoing Management Restoration details documented: Seeding/planting plan Seeds: species/quantity Plants: species/quantity Labor hours by task Hydrology restored Weeding cattails Spot treatment Treated reed canary grass

5 Ongoing Management Prescribed burn Water level management

6 Monitoring at Spring Peeper Meadow How is the plant community changing over time? How does hydrology affect the plant community? What do bird and amphibian populations tell us about the quality of the restored habitat? How can monitoring inform restoration management?

7 Monitoring Data Data Gathered Regularly: Surface hydrology Photo points Floristic cover

8 Monitoring Data Other Data Gathered: Amphibian Breeding bird Water chemistry Seed bank assay Monarch

9 Surface Hydrology % of Season Inundated Feet above sea level Emergent Marsh 1997 Sedge Meadow Wet Prairie Data derived from weekly staff gauge readings 2008

10 Vegetation Change

11 Plant Community Composition & Species Distribution Every 4 years 26 large plots Modified releve Cover of each species Cover Class % <1 <

12 SPM Floristic Survey 1EYR 2EYR 1NSYR 1WRP 2WRP 1ERP 2ERP Guild Species HNA Acalypha rhomboidea WN Acer negundo WN Acer rubrum WN Acer saccharum HNP Achillea millefolium HNP Acorus calamus HNP Agastache foeniculum GIP Agrostis gigantea GIP Agrostis stolonifera HNP Alisma plantago-aquatica HIA Amaranthus retroflexus HNA Ambrosia artemisiifolia HNA Ambrosia trifida HNA Amphicarpaea bracteata 0.5 GNP Andropogon gerardii HNP Anemone canadensis HNP Anemone cylindrica HNP Apocynum cannabinum HIA Arctium minus HNP Asclepias incarnata HNP Asclepias syriaca HNP Aster lanceolatus HNP Aster novae-angliae HNP Aster puniceus HNP Aster umbellatus HNA Bidens cernua HNA Bidens comosa HNA Bidens frondosa HNP Boltonia asteroides GIP Bromus inermis GIA Bromus japonicus Vegetation Monitoring Data GNP Bromus kalmii GNP Calamagrostis canadensis

13 Cover/Distribution Change - Dominant Native Species Lake sedge Carex lacustris Years post restoration Plots Plots Canada bluejoint grass Calamagrostis canadensis Years post restoration Wet prairie Sedge meadow Emergent marsh Cover Class % <1 <

14 Cover/Distribution Change - Dominant Native Species (cont.) Burreed Sparganium eurycarpum Years post restoration Arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia Plots Plots Years post restoration Wet prairie Sedge meadow Emergent marsh Cover Class % <1 <

15 Vegetation Change August 2009 August 2013

16 Cover/Distribution Change - Invasive Species Reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea Years post restoration Cattails Typha x glauca Plots Plots Years post restoration Wet prairie Sedge meadow Emergent marsh Cover Class % <1 <

17 Restoration Monitoring & Adaptive Management Management Monitoring Scouting Scouting Management

18 Long-term Monitoring Outcomes at Spring Peeper Meadow We have a sense of how well we re achieving our restoration goals We can efficiently identify changes in the plant community We can say where management is needed because the data is spatial We have a permanent record of changes in species cover/distribution

19 Thank you!

20 Spring Peeper Meadow Pre-Restoration Historically a stream headwaters wet meadow Wetland drained and farmed for more than 80 years Uplands in a corn-soybean rotation 30 acres acquired in 1995, including 14.6 acre basin Monoculture of reed canary grass in basin Goal: Restore a biologically diverse sedge meadow wetland

21 Site Preparation RoundUp Phalaris arundinacea Post Herbicide Burn off canopy Break tile

22 Revegetation Seed Collecting Greenhouse Production Nursery Production Seeded 1996 Planted 1997