Using vegetation to assess wetland condition : a multimetric approach for temporarily and seasonally flooded depressional wetlands and herbaceous-dominated intermittent and emphmeral riverine wetlands in the northwestern glaciated plains ecoregion, Montana

A vegetation index of biotic integrity for small-order streams in southwest Montana and a floristic quality assessment for western Montana wetlands

“…Within the reference domain considered -small-order montane streams able to support woody vegetation -the VIBI appears to be a good indicator of site condition. This is consistent with other multimetric vegetation studies that have found plants to be good indicators of wetland and riparian condition (DeKeyser et al 2003, Mack 2004, Jones 2004, Ferreira et al 2005.…”

“…Potential metrics considered in this study were largely derived from the second category. Among those considered were metrics that had been proven to be effective in previous studies (Borth 1998, Helgen and Gernes 2001, DeKeyser et al 2003, Mack 2004, Jones 2004. Twenty-seven metrics from the following categories were evaluated.…”

“…The FQAI and derived measures have proven to be highly sensitive indicators of disturbance. The usefulness of the FQAI as a vegetation metric has been demonstrated for prairie potholes and ephemeral streams in the Great Plains (Mushet et al 2002, DeKeyser et al 2003, Jones 2004, depressional wetlands in Florida (Cohen et al 2004), numerous wetland types in Ohio Fennessy 2002, Andreas et al 2004), and woodlands in southern Ontario (Francis et al 2000).…”

“…The utility of using biota to assess wetlands has been demonstrated for numerous taxa, including fish (Karr 1981, Hughes et al 1998, Mebane et al 2003, diatoms (Fore and Grafe 2002), benthic and terrestrial macroinvertebrates (Kimberling et al 2001, Blocksom et al 2002, Klemm et al 2003, birds (Bryce et al 2002), and vegetation (DeKeyser et al 2003, Mack 2004, Ferreira et al 2005. This approach has been shown to be effective for perennial and seasonal depressional wetlands and ephemeral and intermittent streams in Montana (Apfelbeck 2001, Jones 2004.…”

Milk, Marias, and St. Mary monitoring : developing a long-term rotating basin wetland assessment and monitoring strategy for Montana /

“…For Level 3 assessment sites, multiple vegetation metrics were used to conduct a Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA). Previous studies have demonstrated that the FQA is a good predictor of wetland condition (Lopez and Fennessy 2002, DeKeyser et al 2003, Jones 2004, Hargiss et al 2008. A FQA accounts for the presence of exotic species, the richness of native species, and an individual plant species' tolerance and sensitivity to disturbance (Cronk and Fennessy 200, Miller and Wardrop 2006).…”