Mountain wetland restoration: The role of hydrologic regime and plant introductions after 15 years in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

Cooper, David J.; Kaczynski, Kristen M.; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy; Gaucherand, Stéphanie; Hazen, Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.01.017

Cited by 31 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Only during the dry water year of 2013 did the water table in the reference area drop more than 30 cm below the soil surface. These water table dynamics are similar to those of other fens in Colorado, indicating that under natural conditions, they have a shallow and stable water table (Chimner & Cooper ; Schimelpfenig et al ; Cooper et al ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…Summer depth to the water table typically decreases after blocking ditches and often matches reference peatland water table depths (Cooper & MacDonald 2000;Patterson & Cooper 2007;Armstrong et al 2009;Schimelpfenig et al 2014). Re-wetting a peatland may cause changes to vegetation composition reflecting the new wetter conditions (Cooper & MacDonald 2000;Cooper et al 2017) and restore carbon cycling processes and trigger the resumption of carbon accumulation (Vasander et al 2003;Schimelpfenig et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new method for restoring ditches in peatlands: ditch filling with fiber bales

Chimner

Cooper

Bidwell

et al. 2018

Restoration Ecology

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Ditching is a common practice to dewater wetlands, including peatlands, and ditch blocking is a common method for restoring wetlands because substrate is often unavailable for filling the ditches. However, filling has many advantages compared to blocking ditches. Our goal was to test whether ditches could be filled in a Colorado sloping fen (Chattanooga Fen) using bales created from shredded aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree‐fiber. We monitored water table levels before and after we filled two ditches (combined length of approximately 165 m × 3 m wide) as well as an undisturbed reference portion of Chattanooga fen. The reference site had stable water tables that rarely dropped more than 20 cm below the soil surface. The ditches had been dewatering large areas of the fen for at least 100 years. Filling the ditches with fiber bales resulted in a water table increase between 2 and 22 cm in an area up to 150 m below the ditch. Native sedges now cover the area where we filled the ditches, with no erosion or compression/settling of the ground observed and no water backing up behind the filled ditches. Filling the ditches with shredded fiber bales is a good option for restoration in wilderness areas, or areas lacking peat or mineral soil fill because it is a natural material that is easily transported and placed in the ditches.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new method for restoring ditches in peatlands: ditch filling with fiber bales

Chimner

Cooper

Bidwell

et al. 2018

Restoration Ecology

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“…Therefore, restoration processes of mountain fens involved blocking the outflow of water from drainage ditches without removing the peaty-muck surface layer (Schimelpfenig et al 2014;Grand-Clement et al 2015;Cooper et al 2017). To prevent introducing foreign materials to habitats undergoing restoration process, e.g., concrete, and to reduce negative impact on the natural environment, valves blocking the outflow of water from drainage ditches were made of dried spruce and ash trees, which were introduced to these habitats in the 1960s and 1970s (Fig.…”

Section: Restoration Approach and Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apart from technical difficulties, another obstacle is the transportation of the material and its depositing. For the reasons set out above, restoration processes of mountain fens involved blocking the outflow of water from drainage ditches witho u t r e m o v i n g t h e p e a t y -m u c k s u r f a c e l a y e r (Schimelpfenig et al 2014;Grand-Clement et al 2015;Cooper et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of restoration processes on the selected soil properties and organic matter transformation of mountain fens under Caltho-Alnetum community in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland

et al. 2017

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Purpose The objective of this study was to determine the impact of restoration processes on the selected soil properties and organic matter transformation of mountain fens under the Caltho-Alnetum community in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians. Materials and methods Restoration processes were conducted on three degraded mountain fens in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland. The degradation degree of soils was the criterion for the selection of habitats for further studies. To determine the influence of restoration processes on mountain fen soil properties and organic matter transformation, samples were collected in 2011 and 2013. The soil samples were assayed for pH, base cation concentration, hydrolytic acidity, organic carbon and total nitrogen content, total exchangeable base cation concentration, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation. Organic matter fractions were extracted by IHSS method. Quantitative and qualitative study of organic matter was based on fraction composition analysis and the ratio of humic acid carbon to fulvic acid carbon. The research results were statistically verified. Results and discussion Based on morphological and chemical properties, the studied mountain fen soils can be classified as Sapric Dranic Eutric Histosols and Sapric Dranic Dystric Histosols according to WRB guidelines (2015). Before restoration processes, the mountain fen soils subjected to a different water regime showed various contents of total nitrogen and organic carbon. The decreasing of the groundwater level was reflected in pH, calcium ion content, exchangeable base cation concentration, and base saturation. The increase of the groundwater level had influence on chemical properties of mountain fen soils such as pH, total exchangeable base cation concentration, hydrolytic acidity, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation. Three-year restoration processes did not cause significant changes in the composition of humic substance fractions. Conclusions Mountain fens under Caltho-Alnetum community are priority habitats in Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland. These habitats responded to restoration processes in varying degrees depending on the extent of their degradation. The least degraded mountain fen was characterized by a short response time on the restoration processes. The reaction of higher degraded habitats was weaker.

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“…Clonal plant cover provides significant soil stability while bare slopes are vulnerable to erosion by overland flow (Loch ). Wetland sedges transplanted into bare soil areas of Rocky Mountain wetlands took 4–5 years to clonally spread and reach reference‐plot shoot density (Cooper et al ). Maximizing plant growth by reducing potential limiting factors, such as soil compaction, minimizes the duration that bare soil is vulnerable to erosion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood chip soil amendments in restored wetlands affect plant growth by reducing compaction and increasing dissolved phenolics

Wolf

Rejmánková

Cooper

2019

Restoration Ecology

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Adding chipped wood to soil ameliorates compaction, allowing faster plant growth that is critical to successful wetland restorations. Following the filling and planting of an erosion gully in Halstead Meadow, Sequoia National Park, the tallest leaf height and maximum clone width of transplanted Scirpus microcarpus seedlings were negatively correlated with soil compaction. Plant height decreased by 9.8 cm and width decreased by 11.9 cm per MPa of soil compaction (range of 0.74–4.50 MPa). We experimentally amended mineral soil in a test trench and found that every 0.10 cm3/cm3 addition of wood chips (range of 0.00–0.75 cm3/cm3) reduced compaction by 0.174 MPa. Had the Halstead Meadow gully fill contained an equivalent volume of wood chips to the reference area soil organic matter content (0.64 cm3/cm3), we predict compaction would have been reduced by 1.11 MPa, increasing individual transplant width spread by 36%, approximately doubling the vegetated area after two growing seasons. In a greenhouse phytometer experiment, conifer bark leachate (phenolics 211 mg/L) significantly reduced plant growth and, in the presence of added nutrients, increased the production of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO). However, phenolics concentration in bark‐free conifer wood leachate (12 mg/L), similar to field‐sampled concentrations, did not affect plant growth or PPO production. Pure conifer bark is not recommended as a soil amendment, but the addition of low‐bark‐content wood chips to gully fill may be a feasible and effective means of reducing soil compaction, accelerating plant establishment, and lowering wetland restoration project costs.

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Mountain wetland restoration: The role of hydrologic regime and plant introductions after 15 years in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

Cited by 31 publications

References 39 publications

A new method for restoring ditches in peatlands: ditch filling with fiber bales

A new method for restoring ditches in peatlands: ditch filling with fiber bales

The impact of restoration processes on the selected soil properties and organic matter transformation of mountain fens under Caltho-Alnetum community in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland

Wood chip soil amendments in restored wetlands affect plant growth by reducing compaction and increasing dissolved phenolics

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