Skip to main content

Long-term vegetation development of restored prairie pothole wetlands

Wetlands volume 28, pages 883–895 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Although wetland restoration has been a key part of U.S. environmental policy for 20 years (i.e., “no net loss”), there is little long-term data on restorations to guide planning and assessment. Understanding how restored wetland communities deviate from natural conditions, and how long those deviations persist, can provide important insights into the mechanisms of recovery and improve restoration practice. This study reports the results from a 19-year survey of 37 restored prairie pothole wetlands in northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and southeastern South Dakota. Complete floristic surveys were performed for each of the wetlands in 1989, 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2007. The accumulation of wetland species across all sites was greatest during the first 12 years after reflooding (14.4 species/year), after which the rate declined to 1.6 species/year. Proximity to natural wetlands and a semi-permanent water regime favored species accumulations during the first 12 years, but changes since then are primarily linked to water regime. Semi-permanent wetlands have experienced fewer major gains and losses in species richness, whereas temporary and seasonal wetlands have been less stable. From 2000 to 2007, extinctions exceeded colonizations in all wetlands, resulting in a convergence of beta diversity. Although 77% of the species considered common to natural wetlands in the region established in these restorations, 70% of those considered infrequent have not. The likelihood that these restorations will eventually support many additional species appears low, given the presence of barriers to recovery, especially the dominance of invasive perennials (e.g., Phalaris arundinacea and Typha angustifolia/x glauca) on all sites and the low colonization efficiency of wet prairie, sedge meadow, and woody perennial species. Management, such as active revegetation of these low efficiency species guilds, particularly sedge meadow and wet prairie perennials, and invasive species control is needed to ensure that restored prairie wetlands support the region’s biodiversity. The important barriers to the recovery of prairie pothole restoration: isolation, infrequent flooding, and invasive species, are all factors that do not self-correct over time and need to be addressed during planning by establishing sound practices for initial implementation and long-term vegetation management.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

Literature Cited

  • Budelsky, R. A. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2000. Effects of water regime and competition on the establishment of a native sedge in restored wetlands. Journal of Applied Ecology 37: 971–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. A., C. A. Cole, and R. P. Brooks. 2002. A comparison of created and natural wetlands in Pennsylvania, USA. Wetlands Ecology and Management 10: 41–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase, J. M. 2007. Drought mediates the importance of stochastic community assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104: 17430–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, T. E. and C. E. Johnson. 1991. Wetland status and trends in the conterminous United States, mid 1970’s to mid 1980’s: first update of the national wetlands status report. US Fish and Wildlife Service Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delphey, P. J. and J. J. Dinsmore. 1993. Breeding bird communities of recently restored and natural prairie potholes. Wetlands 13: 200–06.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. 1993. Site selection, design criteria, and performance assessment for wetland restorations in the prairie pothole region. Ph.D. Dissertation, Iowa State University, Ames, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. 2006. Restoring prairie pothole wetlands: does the species pool concept offer decision-making guidance for re-vegetation. Applied Vegetation Science 9: 261–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1994. Restoring Prairie Wetlands: An Ecological Approach. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1995. Natural revegetation during restoration of wetlands in the southern prairie pothole region of North America. p. 129–42. In B. D. Wheeler, S. C. Shaw, W. J. Fojt, and R. A. Robertson (eds.) Restoration of Temperate Wetlands. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1996a. The vegetation of restored and natural prairie wetlands. Ecological Applications 6: 102–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1996b. Characteristics of recently restored wetlands in the prairie pothole region. Wetlands 16: 75–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M. and A. G. van der Valk. 1996c. Vegetation and environmental conditions in recently restored wetlands in the prairie pothole regions of the USA. Vegetatio 126: 89–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch, S. M., D. C. Whited, R. Lehtinen, J. Husveth, and K. Schik. 2000. The vegetation of wet meadows in relation to their land use. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 60: 121–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, K. D., J. B. Zedler, and R. Langis. 1994. Limited response of cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) to soil amendments in a constructed marsh. Ecological Applications 4: 757–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godwin, H. 1923. Dispersal of pond floras. Journal of Ecology 11: 160–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, E. K. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2001. Differences in wetland plant community establishment with additions of nitrate-N and invasive species (Phalaris arundinacea and Typha × glauca). Canadian Journal of Botany 79: 170–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, E. K. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2002. Effects of Phalaris arundinacea and nitrate-N addition on the establishment of wetland plant communities. Journal of Applied Ecology 39: 134–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Joosten, J. H. J. 1995. Time to regenerate: long-term perspectives of raised bog regeneration with special emphasis on palaeoecological studies. p. 380404. In B. D. Wheeler, S. C. Shaw, W. J. Fojt, and R. A. Robertson (eds.) Restoration of Temperate Wetlands. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kettenring, K. M. 2006. Seed ecology of wetland Carex spp —implication for restoration. PhD Dissertation, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaGrange, T. G. and J. J. Dinsmore. 1989. Plant and animal community responses to restored Iowa wetlands. Prairie Naturalist 21: 39–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindig-Cisneros, R. and J. B. Zedler. 2002. Phalaris arundinacea seedling establishment: effects of canopy complexity in fen, mesocosm, and restoration experiments. Canadian Journal of Botany 80: 617–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurer, D. A., R. Lindig-Cisneros, K. J. Werner, S. Kercher, R. Miller, and J. B. Zedler. 2003. The replacement of wetland vegetation by Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). Ecological Restoration 21: 116–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCune, B. and J. B. Grace. 2002. Analysis of Ecological Communities. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune, B. and M. J. Mefford. 1999. PC-ORD. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data, Version 4.0. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, M. L. and J. L. Lockwood. 2001. Biotic Homogenization: a sequential and selective process. p. 1–17. In J. L. Lockwood and M. L. McKinney (eds.) Biotic Homogenization. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch, W. J. and R. F. Wilson. 1996. Improving the success of wetland creation and restoration with know-how, time, and self-design. Ecological applications 6: 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, H. H., W. A. Niering, L. J. Marsicano, and M. Dowdell. 1999. Vegetation change in created emergent wetlands (1988–1996) in Connecticut (USA). Wetlands Ecology and Management 7: 177–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, M. H. and A. G. van der Valk. 2002. The potential of ducks in wetland seed dispersal. Wetlands 22: 170–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller-Dumbois, D. and H. Ellenberg. 1974. Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. Wiley, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulhouse, J. M. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2003. Revegetation of prairie pothole wetlands in the mid-continental US: twelve years post-flooding. Plant Ecology 169: 143–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). Data repository for Farm Service Agency agriculture compliance photography. URL: http://165.221.201.14/NAIP.html (Accessed February, 2008)

  • Perry, L. G., S. M. Galatowitsch, and C. J. Rosen. 2004. Competitive control of invasive vegetation: a native sedge suppresses Phalaris arundinacea in carbon-enriched soil. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 151–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt Adams, C. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2005. Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass): rapid growth and growth pattern in conditions approximating newly restored wetlands. Ecoscience 12: 569–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt Adams, C. and S. M. Galatowitsch. 2006. Increasing the effectiveness of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) control in wet meadow restorations. Restoration Ecology 14: 441–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, D. A., R. J. Hobbs, and C. R. Margules. 1991. Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conservation Biology 5: 18–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seabloom, E. W. and A. G. van der Valk. 2003. Plant diversity, composition, and invasion of restored and natural prairie pothole wetlands: implications for restoration. Wetlands 23: 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, M. L. 1981. Minimum population sizes for species conservation. BioScience 31: 131–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soulé, M. E. 1986. Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, R. E. and H. A. Kantrud. 1971. Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Publication 92.

  • USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 29 November 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner, K. J. and J. B. Zedler. 2002. How sedge meadow soils, microtopography, and vegetation respond to sedimentation. Wetlands 22: 451–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel, P. R. and A. G. van der Valk. 1998. Effects of nutrient and soil moisture on competition between Carex stricta, Phalaris arundinacea, and Typha latifolia. Plant Ecology 1: 116–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whigham, D. 1999. Ecological issues related to wetland preservation, restoration, creation and assessment. The Science of the Total Environment 240: 31–40.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wienhold, C. E. and A. G. van der Valk. 1989. Impact of duration of drainage on the seed banks of northern prairie wetlands. Canadian Journal of Botany 67: 1878–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter, T. C. 2000. The vulnerability of wetlands to climate change: a hydrologic landscape perspective. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 36: 305–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, T. P., D. A. Petersen, and J. J. Clary. 2005. The ecology of restoration: historical links, emerging issues and unexplored realms. Ecology Letters 8: 662–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J. H. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis, fourth edition. Prentice-Hall, Inc, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zedler, J. B. 1996. Ecological issues in wetland mitigation: An introduction to the forum. Ecological Applications 6: 33–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler, J. B. 2000. Progress in wetland restoration ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15: 402–07.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, 305 Alderman Hall, 55018, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

    Myla F. J. Aronson & Susan Galatowitsch

Authors
  1. Myla F. J. Aronson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan Galatowitsch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Myla F. J. Aronson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Aronson, M.F.J., Galatowitsch, S. Long-term vegetation development of restored prairie pothole wetlands. Wetlands 28, 883–895 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1672/08-142.1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/08-142.1

Key Words

  • beta diversity
  • dispersal limitation
  • homogenization
  • invasive species
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • priority effects
  • South Dakota
  • species richness
  • wetland restoration