Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hydroperiods of created and natural vernal pools in central Ohio: A comparison of depth and duration of inundation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water levels were recorded weekly from six natural vernal pools and 10 created vernal pools at two forested wetland complexes in central Ohio. Vernal pool median water depth and duration of inundation were significantly greater at the created vernal pools than at the natural vernal pools (α = 0.05, P < 0.05). The average period of inundation for created pools was 309 ± 32 days, compared with 250 ± 16 days for natural pools. The created pools produced a range of inundation times, from 163 to 365 days in length, with three pools permanently inundated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Batzer DP, Palik BJ, Buech R (2004) Relationships between environmental characteristics and macroinvertebrate communities in seasonal woodland ponds of Minnesota. J N Am Benthol Soc 23:50–68. doi:10.1899/0887-3593(2004)023<;0050:RBECAM>;2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauder ET (2005) The effects of an unpredictable precipitation regime on vernal pool hydrology. Freshw Biol 50:2129–2135. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01471.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black C, Zedler PH (1998) An overview of 15 years of vernal pool restoration and construction activities in San Diego County, California. In: Witham CW, Bauder ET, Belk D, Ferren WR Jr, Ornduff R (eds) Ecology, conservation, and management of vernal pool ecosystems—proceedings from a 1996 conference. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, pp 195–205

  • Brooks RT (2000) Annual and seasonal variation and the effects of hydroperiod on benthic macroinvertebrates of seasonal forest (“vernal”) ponds in central Massachusetts, USA. Wetlands 20:707–715. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0707:AASVAT]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks RT (2004) Weather-related effects on woodland vernal pool hydrology and hydroperiod. Wetlands 24:104–114. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0104:WEOWVP]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks RT (2005) A review of basin morphology and pool hydrology of isolated ponded wetlands: implications for seasonal forest pools of the northeastern United States. Wetlands Ecol Manage 13:335–348. doi:10.1007/s11273-004-7526-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks RT, Hayashi M (2002) Depth-area-volume and hydroperiod relationships of ephemeral (vernal) forest pools in southern New England. Wetlands 22:247–255. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0247:DAVAHR]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burne MR, Griffin CR (2005) Habitat associations of pool-breeding amphibians in eastern Massachusetts, USA. Wetlands Ecol Manage 13:247–259. doi:10.1007/s11273-004-7519-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun A, Walls TE, Stockwell SS, McCollough M (2003) Evaluating vernal pools as a basis for conservation strategies: a Maine case study. Wetlands 23:70–81. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2003)023[0070:EVPAAB]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell DA, Cole CA, Brooks RP (2002) A comparison of created and natural wetlands in Pennsylvania. Wetlands Ecol Manage 10:41–49. doi:10.1023/A:1014335618914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cashell DH, Kirk S (2005) Monthly water inventory Report for Ohio, December 2004. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water, Columbus, OH

    Google Scholar 

  • Cashell DH, Kirk S (2006) Monthly water inventory Report for Ohio, December 2005. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water, Columbus, OH

    Google Scholar 

  • Colburn EA (2004) Vernal pools: natural history and conservation. The McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, VA

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole CA, Brooks RP (2000a) A comparison of the hydrologic characteristics of natural and created mainstem floodplain wetlands in Pennsylvania. Ecol Eng 14:221–231. doi:10.1016/S0925-8574(99)00004-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole CA, Brooks RP (2000b) Wetland hydrology in the ridge and valley province, Pennsylvania, USA. Wetlands 20:438–447. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020<;0438:POWHIT>;2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole CA, Brooks RP, Wardrop DH (1997) Wetland hydrology as a function of hydrogeomorphic (HGM) subclass. Wetlands 17:456–467

    Google Scholar 

  • de Maynadier PG, Houlahan JE (2008) Conserving vernal pool amphibians in managed forests. In: Calhoun A, de Maynadier PG (eds) Science and conservation of vernal pools in northeastern North America. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 253–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Natural Areas and Preserves (2004) Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve—54 Acres. http://www.ohiodnr.com/dnap/location/gahanna_woods.html. Cited 22 Mar 2004

  • DeWeese J (1998) Vernal pool construction monitoring methods and habitat replacement values. In: Witham CW, Bauder ET, Belk D, Ferren WR Jr, Ornduff R (eds) Ecology, conservation and management of vernal pool ecosystems. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, pp 217–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodd CK Jr, Cade BS (1998) Movement patterns and the conservation of amphibians breeding in small, temporary wetlands. Conserv Biol 12:331–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fineran SA (1999) Diversity and disturbance in plant communities at Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve, Franklin County, Ohio. Master’s Thesis, The Ohio State University

  • Gamble DL (2006) Tree growth and hydrologic patterns in forested mitigation wetlands. M.S. Thesis, The Ohio State University

  • Gay DE (1998) A comparison of the hydrology and aqueous geochemistry of temporary ponds on the Prescott Peninsula of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed in central Massachusetts. Masters Thesis, University of Massachusetts

  • Good C (2006) Constructed ponds as mitigated habitat for the wood frog (Rana sylvatica LeConte) and the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum Shaw) in West Virginia. Masters Thesis, Marshall University

  • Hanes T, Stromberg L (1998) Hydrology of vernal pools on non-volcanic soils in the Sacramento Valley. In: Witham CW, Bauder ET, Belk D, Ferren WR Jr, Ornduff R (eds) Ecology, conservation, and management of vernal pools ecosystems—proceedings from a 1996 conference. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, pp 38–49

  • Hunt RJ, Walker JF, Krabbenhoft DP (1999) Characterizing hydrology and the importance of ground-water discharge in natural and constructed wetlands. Wetlands 19:458–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson JL (1999) Plant composition and species diversity among wetland basins in Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve. Master’s Thesis, The Ohio State University

  • Korfel CA (2007) Hydrology, physiochemistry, and amphibians in natural and created vernal pool wetlands. Master’s Thesis, The Ohio State University

  • Korfel CA, Mitsch WJ, Hetherington TE, Mack JJ (in press) Hydrology, physiochemistry, and amphibians in natural and created vernal pools. Restor Ecol

  • Krebs CJ (1989) Ecological methodology. Harper and Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichko L, Calhoun A (2003) An evaluation of vernal pool creation projects in New England: project documentation from 1991–2000. Environ Manage 32:141–151

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mack JJ, Fennessy MS, Micacchion M, Porej D (2004) Standardized monitoring protocols, data analysis and reporting requirements for mitigation wetlands in Ohio, v. 1.0. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Surface Water, Wetland Ecology Group, Columbus, OH

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Grace JB (2002) Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, Oregon

    Google Scholar 

  • Minkin P, Ladd R (2003) Success of corps-required wetland mitigation in New England. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Concord, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2007) Wetlands, 4th edn. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Jorgensen SE (2004) Ecological engineering and ecosystem restoration. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Wilson RF (1996) Improving the success of wetland creation and restoration with know-how, time, and self-design. Ecol Appl 6:77–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore C, Bastian M, Hunt H (2001) Long term vegetation and faunal succession in an artificial northern California vernal pool system, report #FHWA/CA/TL-2001/36. California Department of Transportation, Division of New Technology and Research, Sacramento, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan KL, Roberts TH (2003) Characterization of mitigation projects in Tennessee, USA. Wetlands 23:65–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (2001) Compensating for wetland losses under the Clean Water Act. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Paton PWC (2005) A review of vertebrate community composition in seasonal forest pools of the northeastern United States. Wetl Ecol Manage 13:235–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paton PWC, Crouch WBIII (2002) Using the phenology of pond-breeding amphibians to develop conservation strategies. Conserv Biol 16:194–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petranka JW, Harp EM, Holbrook CT, Hamel JA (2007) Long-term persistence of amphibian populations in a restored wetland complex. Biol Conserv 138:371–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porej D (2003) An inventory of Ohio wetland compensatory mitigation. Final Report to the U.S. EPA Grant No. CD97576201-0, Columbus, OH

  • Porej D, Micacchion M, Hetherington TE (2004) Core terrestrial habitat for conservation of local populations of salamanders and wood frogs in agricultural landscapes. Biol Conserv 120:399–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyke CR (2004) Simulating vernal pool hydrologic regimes for two locations in California, USA. Ecol Model 173:109–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rains MC, Fogg GE, Harter T, Dahlgren RA, Williamson RJ (2003) Hydrological and biogeochemical connectivity between uplands, vernal pools, and streams, Great Central Valley, California. Eos Trans AGU, Fall Meet Suppl 84: Abstract H32H-05

  • Robb JT (2000) Indiana compensatory mitigation inventory. Final Report for EPA Grant #CD985482-010-0. Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indianapolis, IN

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider DW (1999) Snowmelt ponds in Wisconsin: influence of hydroperiod on invertebrate community structure. In: Batzer DP, Rader RB, Wissinger SA (eds) Invertebrates in freshwater wetlands of North America: ecology and management. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, pp 229–318

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw RD, Prepas EE (1990) Groundwater-lake interactions: II, nearshore seepage patterns and the contribution of ground water to lakes in central Alberta. J Hydrol 119:121–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skelly DK (1992) Field evidence for a cost of behavioral antipredator response in a larval amphibian. Ecology 73:704–708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skidds DE, Golet FC (2005) Estimating hydroperiod suitability for breeding amphibians in southern Rhode Island seasonal forest ponds. Wetl Ecol Manage 13:349–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith GR, Rettig JE, Mittelbach GG, Valiulis LJ, Schaack SR (1999) The effects of fish on assemblages of amphibians in ponds: a field experiment. Freshw Biol 41:829–837

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snodgrass JW, Komoroski MJ, Bryan AL, Burger J (2000) Relationships among isolated wetland size, hydroperiod, and amphibian species richness: implications for wetland regulations. Conserv Biol 14:414–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Timm BC, McGarigal K, Gamble LR (2007) Emigration timing of juvenile pond-breeding amphibians in Western Massachusetts. J Herpetol 41:243–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiner RW (2003) Geographically isolated wetlands of the United States. Wetlands 23:494–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Soil Conservation Service (1980) Soil survey of Franklin county, OH. U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Soil Conservation Service (1987) Hydric soils of the United States. U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasconcelos D, Calhoun A (2006) Monitoring created seasonal pools for functional success: a six-year case study of amphibian responses, Sears Island, Maine, USA. Wetlands 26:992–1003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodward BD (1983) Predatory–prey interactions and breeding pond use of temporary pond species in a desert anuran community. Ecology 64:1549–1555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zampella R, Laidig KJ (2003) Functional equivalency of natural and excavated coastal plain ponds. Wetlands 23:860–876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler PH, Frazier CK, Black C (1993) Habitat creation as a strategy in ecosystem preservation: an example of vernal pools in San Diego county. In: Keeley JE (ed) Interface between ecology and land development in California. Southern California Academy of Sciences, Los Angeles, pp 239–247

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by teaching assistantships and a mini-grant from the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University and by support from the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. Advice on these research sites has been provided by Robin Lewis and Ralph Tiner in the ORW wetland short courses that use these sites. We are indebted to Bill Resch for providing the rain gage and for his years of collaboration at New Albany. Bill Somerlot and his classes installed the staff gages at the New Albany school wetland. Kyle Meadows helped collect field data. Access and information about the Gahanna Woods wetland were kindly provided by Melissa Moser of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Bill Loebick. We thank Mick Micacchion of the Ohio EPA and Desiree Hahn of the USACE for providing information about the New Albany site. Olentangy River Wetland Research Park Publication 08-011.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Debra L. Gamble

    Present address: USDA, ARS, Soil Drainage Research Unit, 960 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 352 W. Dodridge Street, Columbus, OH, 43202, USA

    Debra L. Gamble & William J. Mitsch

Authors
  1. Debra L. Gamble
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William J. Mitsch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William J. Mitsch.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gamble, D.L., Mitsch, W.J. Hydroperiods of created and natural vernal pools in central Ohio: A comparison of depth and duration of inundation. Wetlands Ecol Manage 17, 385–395 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-008-9115-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-008-9115-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation