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Creating Temporary Pools as Wetland Mitigation: How Well Do They Function?

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An Erratum to this article was published on 26 April 2016

Abstract

Temporary forested pools are an important ecological resource throughout northern and eastern North America, yet they are often destroyed or degraded. Pool creation offers a potential mitigation solution, but long-term monitoring to assess the functioning of created pools is scarce. Furthermore, studies rarely integrate multiple, interacting levels of the pool ecosystem, including physical, chemical, and biological parameters. To address this knowledge gap, we compared the physical habitat, water chemistry, productivity, and community composition of macroinvertebrates and amphibians from 7-year old created pools (n = 7) to reference pools (n = 6). Created pools were smaller in size, received more sunlight, had greater amounts of Lemna, Typha, and Phragmites, and were less likely to dry. Created pools had higher pH and conductivity, but algal biomass did not differ. Macroinvertebrate richness was similar across pools, but composition starkly differed. Amphibian species richness and composition was similar between created and reference pools; however, created pools had fewer focal pool-breeding amphibians, including the spotted salamander and wood frog. By assessing the entire pool ecosystem, we found that the ability of created pools to mimic the physical conditions and ecological functions of natural temporary pools is suspect.

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Acknowledgments

We thank A. Calhoun, M. Lambert, K. Rhoads, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. M.B.K. was supported by a Siena College Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development Summer Research Fellowship. M.A.H. was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1122492 and the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. This research was approved by the respective Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (reference pools; Yale University 2010-10361, 2013-10361; created pools: Siena College 2013-ENVA499-2, 2014-ENVA499-2). Access to the created pools was facilitated by the New York State Department of Transportation and sites were sampled with assistance from Siena undergraduates and the Siena Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Center. Reference pools were sampled with funding from the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and logistical support from the team at Yale Myers Forest.

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    1. Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Siena College, Loudonville, NY, 12211, USA

      M. B. Kolozsvary

    2. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

      M. A. Holgerson

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    1. M. B. Kolozsvary
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    Correspondence to M. B. Kolozsvary.

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    M. B. Kolozsvary and M. A. Holgerson contributed equally to this work.

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    Kolozsvary, M.B., Holgerson, M.A. Creating Temporary Pools as Wetland Mitigation: How Well Do They Function?. Wetlands 36, 335–345 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0742-y

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