Abstract
Restoration of drained wetlands requires the re-establishment of a native wetland plant community. This can be difficult in areas where long-term drainage has eliminated wetland vegetation and significantly reduced the number of viable wetland plant seeds in the seed bank. This study of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland restoration sites in northern New York examines the effectiveness of transplanting wetland soil from small remnant wetlands in the drainage ditches to the area that becomes shallow marsh following reflooding. The results of two experiments are reported, including a small-scale study of transplantation techniques using small plots with treatments and controls established by hand, and a large-scale application of soil transplantation and site-preparation techniques using heavy equipment to establish large plots across entire wetland basins. In the small-scale study, the transplant plots had significantly lower wetland index values, indicating greater dominance of wetland plants, after one growing season but not after two. Transplant plots also had more wetland plant species and more wetland plant cover than natural control plots, and these differences persisted through the second growing season. Litter removal and soil disturbance also lowered the wetland index values and increased wetland plant species number and cover, but only for the first growing season. In the large-scale study, soil transplantation significantly increased both the number of species and the amount of cover of wetland plants and of plants valuable as wildlife food sources. Mowing and plowing treatments increased wetland plant establishment, but much less than soil transplantation, and plowing significantly increased the establishment of cattail (Typha spp.), an undesirable invasive species in small wildlife marshes. Soil transplantation should be a particularly effective technique for improving wetland plant establishment and limiting cattail encroachment in areas disturbed by dike construction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Ball, J. P. 1990. Influence of subsequent flooding depth on cattail control by burning and mowing. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 28:32–36.
Beule, J. D. 1979. Control and management of cattails in southeastern Wisconsin wetlands. Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI, USA. Technical Bulletin No. 112
Brown, S. C. 1995. Wetland restoration: Factors controlling plant community response and avifaunal habitat value. Ph.D. Dissertation. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Comes, R. D. and A. D. Kelly. 1989. Control of common cattail with postemergence herbicides. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 27:20–23.
Cowardin, L. M., V. Carter, F. C. Golet, and E. T. Laroe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. FWS/OBS-79/31.
Dunn, W. J. and G. R. Best. 1984. Enhancing ecological succession. 5. Seed bank survey of some Florida marshes and role of seed banks in marsh reclamation. p. 365–370.In D. H. Graves (ed.) Proceedings, 1983 Symposium on Surface Mining, Hydrology, Sedimentology, and Reclamation. Office of Engineering Services, University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY, USA.
Eicher, A. L. 1988. Soil-vegetation correlations in wetlands and adjacent uplands of the San-Francisco Bay estuary, California. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Biological Report 88(21).
Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1996. The vegetation of restored and natural prairie wetlands. Ecological Applications 6:102–112.
Gallinato, M. I. and A. G. van der Valk. 1986. Seed germination traits of annuals and emergents recruited during drawdowns in the delta marsh, Manitoba, Canada. Aquatic Botany 26:89–102.
Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, NY, USA.
Harris, S. W. and W. H. Marshall. 1963. Ecology of water level manipulations on a northern marsh. Ecology 44:331–343.
Kaminski, R. M. and H. H. Prince. 1981. Dabbling duck and aquatic macroinvertebrate responses to manipulated wetland habitat. Journal of Wildlife Management 45:1–15.
Keddy, P. A. and T. H. Ellis. 1985. Seedling recruitment of 11 wetland plant species along a water level gradient: Shared or distinct responses? Canadian Journal of Botany 63:1876–1879.
Lewis, R. R. 1989. Wetland restoration/creation/enhancement terminology: Suggestions for standardization. p. 1–8.In J. A. Kusler and M. E. Kentula (eds.) Wetland Creation and Restoration: the Status of the Science. U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, USA. 600/3-89/038a.
Mallik, A. U. and R. W. Wein. 1986. Response of atypha marsh community to draining, flooding, and seasonal burning. Canadian Journal of Botany 64:2136–2143.
Martin, A. C., H. S. Zim, and A. L. Nelson. 1951. American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. Dover Publications, New York, NY, USA.
McKnight, S. K. 1992. Transplanted seed bank response to drawdown time in a created wetland in east Texas. Wetlands 12:79–90.
Michener, M. C. 1983. Wetland site index for summarizing botanical studies. Wetlands 3:180–191.
Moore, D. R. J. and P. A. Keddy. 1988. Effects of a water-depth gradient on the germination of lakeshore plants. Canadian Journal of Botany 66:548–552.
Murkin, H. M., R. M. Kaminski, and R. D. Titman. 1982. Responses by dabbling ducks and aquatic macroinvertebrates to an experimentally manipulated cattail marsh. Canadian Journal of Zoology 60:2324–2332.
National Research Council. 1992. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology, and Public Policy. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA.
Odum, W. E. 1988. Predicting ecosystem development following creation and restoration of wetlands. p. 67–70.In J. Zelazny and J. S. Feierabend (eds.) Increasing our Wetland Resources. National Wildlife Federation Conference Proceedings, Washington, DC, USA.
Payne, N. F. 1992. Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetland. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA.
Pederson, R. L. and A. G. van der Valk. 1984. Vegetation change and seed banks in marshes: Ecological and management implications. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 49:271–280.
Reed, P. B. Jr. 1988. National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: Northeast (Region 1). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Biological Report 88(26.1).
Reinartz, J. A. and E. L. Warne. 1993. Development of vegetation in small created wetlands in southeastern Wisconsin. Wetlands 13: 153–164.
Siegelquist, C. A., W. L. Slauson, M. L. Scott, and G. T. Auble. 1990. Synthesis of Soil-Plant Correspondence Data from Twelve Wetland Studies Throughout the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Biological Report 90(19).
Siegley, C. E., R. E. J. Boerner, and J. M. Reutter. 1988. Role of the seed bank in the development of vegetation on a freshwater marsh created from dredge spoil. Journal of Great Lakes Research 14:267–276.
van der Valk, A. G. 1981. Succession in wetlands: A Gleasonian approach. Ecology 62:688–696.
van der Valk, A. G. and C. B. Davis. 1978. The role of seed banks in the vegetation dynamics of prairie glacial marshes. Ecology 59:322–335.
van der Valk, A. G., R. L. Pederson, and C. B. Davis. 1992. Restoration and creation of freshwater wetlands using seed banks. Wetlands Ecology and Management 1:191–197.
Vivian-Smith, G. and S. N. Handel. 1996. Freshwater wetland restoration of an abandoned sand mine: seed bank recruitment dynamics and plant colonization. Wetlands 16:185–196.
Weiher, E., I. C. Wisheu, P. A. Keddy, and D. R. J. Moore. 1996. Establishment, Persistence, and management implications of experimental wetland plant communities. Wetlands 16:208–218.
Weinhold, C. E. and A. G. van der Valk. 1989. The impact of duration of drainage on the seed banks of northern prairie wetlands. Canadian Journal of Botany 67:1878–1884.
Weller, M. W. 1975. Studies of cattail in relation, to management for marsh wildlife. Iowa State Journal of Science 49:383–412.
Wentworth, T. R. and G. P. Johnson. 1986. Use of vegetation for the designation of wetlands. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA.
Wilkinson, L. 1992. SYSTAT for Windows. SYSTAT Inc., Evanston, IL, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brown, S.C., Bedford, B.L. Restoration of wetland vegetation with transplanted wetland soil: An experimental study. Wetlands 17, 424–437 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161432
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161432