Monitoring is essential to evaluate the effects of wetland restoration projects. Assessments were carried-out after 6 years of restoration efforts on a wetland located in two agro-ecological zones (AEZ): the Mountains agro-ecological zone–Khalongla-lithunya (KHL) and the Foot Hills–Ha-Matela (HM). The former was under conservation and the latter non-conserved. Mini-pits were dug along transects for soil sampling. Runoff water was collected from installed piezometers into pre-rinsed plastic bottles with de-ionized water once a month for between 3 and 6 months. Soil and water samples were analyzed in the laboratory for Ca, Mg, K, Na, total nitrogen, and phosphorus, and soil samples were further analyzed for Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn and vegetation isotopic N15. Water quality, soil organic matter (SOM), carbon pools, base cations, ratios (silt:clay & SOM:silt clay), texture, and N-15 isotopes were chosen as indicators. Results showed that base cations were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the groundwater and soils of KHL wetlands compared with those from the HM. The soils of the KHL wetlands have higher (p < 0.05) clay, silt contents, SOM, and silt clay ratios compared with the HM. Furthermore, results of the N15 isotopes were between 2.52 and 2.93% (KHL) compared with 2.00 and 6.18% (HM). Similarly, the results of the δ13C showed significant negative values at KHL (28.13–28%) compared with HM (11.77–12.72%). The study concludes that after five years of rehabilitating the KHL wetlands, the soil indicators showed that restoration efforts are positive compared with the HM wetlands that are non-conserved.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.