Downed woody material (DWM) is an important ecosystem component that performs many critical functions includinginfluencing soil temperature and moisture, which affects plant growth and survival. Residential development along lakeshores has increased dramatically in recent decades in the northern Great Lakes region. Such development often leads to reductions in terrestrial and aquatic woody material. Although lakeshore restoration projects have occurred in the past few years in the region, there has been little effort to evaluate success. In 2007, a collaborative lakeshore restoration research project began on two lakes in Vilas County, Wisconsin. We investigated the benefits of the addition of DWM as part of these restoration projects. We randomly assigned three coverage treatments (0, 25, and 50%) of DWM on 3 × 3-m experimental plots (n = 10 per treatment) and monitored soil temperature and volumetric soil water content at a depth of 10 cm. All plots were planted with two native shrub species and five native understory herbaceous species. Mean maximum soil temperature, mean difference in daily high and low soil temperature, and percent change in soil moisture content were significantly lower in the 25 and 50% DWM plots. Plant canopy volume growth for snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and Barren strawberry (Waldstenia fragaroides) was significantly greater in the 25 and 50% DWM plots. We conclude that the addition of DWM had a significant positive effect on regulating soil temperature extremes, soil moisture, and plant volume growth for two species of native plants used for restoration projects.

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Lake riparian areas provide wildlife habitat for a wide variety of species. Residential development throughout such lakeshore areas of the United States has increased exponentially in recent decades. Awareness of the vulnerability and importance of lakeshore ecosystems has increased concurrently. Lakeshore habitat restoration projects have been implemented to mitigate some of the negative impacts of human shoreline development, and containerized (CT) trees are frequently one of the highest costs associated with such restoration projects. As an alternative, we tested the effectiveness of using dormant bare‐root (BR) trees in restoration projects along two lakeshores in northern Wisconsin, U.S.A. In addition, we experimented using BR stock that was incorporated into gravel medium at a local nursery and planted later in the summer months. We monitored growth and survival of four native tree species in these three planting treatments over a 3–4‐year period. CT red maple (Acer rubra), paper birch (Betula paperifera), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra) increased in size significantly faster than BR and/or gravel culture (GC) counterparts, whereas CT showy mountain ash (Sorbus decora) growth rates were similar to those of BR and GC stock. Mortality was generally low, but for those species/planting treatments with higher mortality (paper birch and red oak), CT trees were more likely to survive than BR or GC trees. Our results show that the success of deciduous BR and/or GC tree stock relative to CT trees is species dependent, and for some species, CT trees' higher growth rates and survivorship could offset their higher costs.