Restoration Response of Relict Broadleaf Marshes to Increased Water Depths

Toth, Louis A.

doi:10.1007/s13157-010-0028-8

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…This apparent inconsistency with prevailing flood pulse theory (Junk et al 1989) may be due to the duration and intensity of annual flood disturbances (Romme et al 1998) on the Kissimmee, which have been restored to reflect somewhat unique hydrologic regimes. However, plant species richness in the restored wet prairie was at least 50% higher than in restored broadleaf marsh (Toth 2010b), the dominant plant community on historic floodplain, and conforms with predicted patterns for lateral connectivity gradients in river corridors (Ward and Tockner 2001).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Predictability of flood pulse driven assembly rules for restoration of a floodplain plant community

Toth

Valk

2011

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Community assembly rules were formulated to evaluate the restoration of wet prairie along the periphery of the floodplain of the Kissimmee River in central Florida. Restoration of this plant community is expected to be driven by the reestablishment of flood pulse hydrology following the ongoing dechannelization of the river. Assembly rules were assessed with plant species composition and cover data from 15 permanent plots on the restored floodplain and 6 control plots on the channelized floodplain. These sites were sampled biannually from 1998 to 2010. Mean annual hydroperiods and depths confirmed that the frequency, duration and amplitude of post-restoration flood pulses at study sites were similar to historic reference locations. Elimination of pasture grasses (primarily Paspalum notatum Flüggé) following restoration of the flood pulse validated the hypothesized deletion rule for initial transformation of the wet prairie zone. Predicted increased dominance of obligate and facultative wetland species, a ''community addition rule'', also was confirmed. An index of weighted averages of wetland indicator taxa showed significant short-term responses to antecedent hydroperiods and depths, and a restoration trajectory for wetland plant species. As predicted, recruitment of wet prairie indicator species from the extant seed bank correlated with reestablishment of the flood pulse, but was greatest when inundation extended from the wet season into the dry season. Restoration of a wetland plant community did not result in the predicted increase in species richness and diversity. Colonization and expansion of the exotic grass, Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf & C.E. Hubb., disrupted community reassembly processes. By summer 2007, mean cover of this species and several other exotic grasses increased to 24%, and necessitated herbicide treatments. Assembly rules provided useful predictions for the initial restoration of wet prairie vegetation, but were eventually confounded by the spread of an exotic species that was new to the regional flora.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Predictability of flood pulse driven assembly rules for restoration of a floodplain plant community

Toth

Valk

2011

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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“…Research in the southern Kissimmee River floodplain has suggested that L. peruviana may be inhibiting reestablishment of BLM-BB. Results of ground monitoring from 1998 to 2008 of historically BLM-BB plots near PC21 which had not regained historic cover of BLM-BB (Toth 2010a) showed dominance by L. peruviana, which was interpreted by the author as possible suppression of BLM-BB by the invasive shrub. In another study, Toth (2010b) found that BLM-BB failed to attain dominance in plots on and near the backfilled canal east of MacArthur Impoundment between PC21 and PC32; here also, the author speculated that the presence of L. peruviana may be inhibiting establishment of BLM-BB.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Interim Responses of Floodplain Wetland Vegetation to Phase I of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project: Comparisons of Vegetation Maps from Five Periods in the River's History

Spencer

Bousquin

2014

Restoration Ecology

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Phase I of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project (KRRP) reestablished intermittent inundation of the river's floodplain by backfilling 12 km of the C-38 flood control canal in 2001. We compared floodplain vegetation maps based on 2003 and 2008 aerial imagery (2 and 7 years following completion of Phase I, respectively) to vegetation maps from 1954 (pre-channelization), 1974 (3 years after channelization), and 1996 (25 years after channelization) to evaluate broad-scale vegetation responses to Phase I restoration. Results indicate that the extent of wetland plant communities expanded rapidly, more than doubling in area within 2 years after completion of Phase I, and that by 2008 wetlands had nearly recovered to pre-channelization levels. However, full reestablishment of the pre-channelization wetland mosaic has not yet occurred. Prior to channelization, much of the floodplain was dominated by a broadleaf marsh (BLM) community associated with extended, deep annual flooding, while shorter-hydroperiod communities dominated the floodplain in 2003 and 2008.Prior to restoration construction, the reestablishment of BLM was predicted to be slow because suitable hydrology is dependent on project components that will not be in place until all restoration components are completed (projected for 2019). Hydrologic data indicate that the duration and variability of floodplain inundation have not yet achieved restoration targets over the entire Phase I study area. Other factors affecting vegetation responses are likely involved, including the age and viability of soil seed banks, the rarity of relict propagule sources following the channelized period, and competition from an invasive wetland shrub species.

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“…Historical contingencies from early disturbances, the potential for alternative endpoints, and the successional timeframe for soil development belie assumptions that provide the basis for several myths that have clouded the science and practice of restoration ecology (Hilderbrand et al ). Mixed responses to the ongoing Kissimmee River restoration effort, including progress (Toth & van der Valk ; Colangelo ; Koebel et al ; Toth ) and shortcomings (Toth ; Cheek et al ; Spencer & Bousquin ), indicate elements of restoration projects with broad, ecosystem scale goals (e.g. ecological integrity) will have inconsistent temporal trajectories that need to be considered in evaluation and adaptive management plans (Suding ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variant restoration trajectories for wetland plant communities on a channelized floodplain

Toth¹

2016

Restoration Ecology

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Restoration efforts are typically based on an assumption that reestablishment of altered determinants of ecological structure and function will lead to a predictable reestablishment of populations and reassembly of communities. Dechannelization and reestablishment of natural hydrologic regimes provide the basis for the ongoing restoration of the Kissimmee River in Central Florida, United States. The expected reestablishment of historically dominant broadleaf marsh (BLM) and buttonbush shrub (BB) communities was evaluated over a 10‐year period following implementation of the first phase of the restoration project. Plant species composition and cover were assessed during dry (spring) and wet (summer) season sampling periods at five sites on the restored floodplain, and four “control” sites on the channelized floodplain. Mean daily stage data from nearby gauges indicated hydroperiods and depths on the reflooded floodplain were within the range of historic hydrologic conditions that selected for BLM and BB communities on the pre‐channelization floodplain. After reflooding, pasture grass and upland shrub communities rapidly transitioned to a fluid mix of obligate and facultative wetland species. Although signature BLM and BB species, Sagittaria lancifolia (bulltongue arrowhead), Pontederia cordata (pickerel weed), and Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush), recolonized all study sites, the expected reestablishment of dominant cover of these species did not occur. Results indicate that restoration of BLM and BB communities has been impeded by deep flood pulse disturbances, establishment of invasive wetland grasses, and mineralized soil characteristics of the drained floodplain.

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Restoration Response of Relict Broadleaf Marshes to Increased Water Depths

Cited by 18 publications

References 46 publications

Predictability of flood pulse driven assembly rules for restoration of a floodplain plant community

Predictability of flood pulse driven assembly rules for restoration of a floodplain plant community

Interim Responses of Floodplain Wetland Vegetation to Phase I of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project: Comparisons of Vegetation Maps from Five Periods in the River's History

Variant restoration trajectories for wetland plant communities on a channelized floodplain

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