Monitoring 5 Flashcards
Contrast the two types of Restoration treatments/strategies
Management practices: reinitiate processes that would have occurred without the stressor on-site
- Long-term and do not necessarily result in immediate visible changes
- Examples
o Herbivory pressure (frequency, intensity, duration, timing)
o Fire: Re-establish regime
o Water Control: Flooding cycle
o Soil (tiling, amending, aeration)
o Exotics control
o Sensitive species introductions
Construction techniques: begins with obtaining the necessary elements for doing the work and documenting what has been done - More resource intensive (require large sums of money to fund activities and materials) - Examples o Infrastructure removal or rerouting o Landform alteration (grading down, filling, contouring, drainage, slope aspect o Plantings (seeding, containers, cuttings, translocations) o Structural devices (habitat elements= rocks, tree snags, overhangs, exclosures)
What is a work window?
Periods when restoration will avoid undesired effects. Like mowing and breeding grassland birds.
For any particular project, where should restoration begin?
With the healthiest part of the project. This is because:
1) Social Reasons - Initial success increases public and stakeholder support
2) Financial - Initial success could increase potential for future funding.
3) Ecological - restored areas could aid in passive restoration of adjacent sites.
Describe a Gantt chart.
It is a chart to communicate to stakeholder the timing of restoration components. Has the following details:
1) What work is being done
2) Estimated Time duration for each activity
3) When it is getting done (sequence)
4) Who it is getting done by
5) Amounts, costs,
Understand strategies for coordinating labor for restoration work.
Can occur through
1) Volunteers - make sure objectives are clear and attainable and that tasks are not too menial
2) Professionals - Objective clear and attainable. Reserve this for tasks that you don’t have the time or expertise.
How is understanding phenology critical to ecological restoration? Be able to provide specific examples.
Phenology is the study of seasonal patterns in naturally occurring events. It is critical in restoration because it helps to dictate work windows, such as seed gathering, herbicide application, breeding animal times. Helps to minimize disturbance and facilitates success.
What are the two stages of ER implementation?
How do they differ?
Remedial Restoration stage:
Where large restoration treatments are applied, such as a prescribed burn or removal of invasive and replanting. More expensive, more effort and focused on removing stressors.
Long Term Maintenance stage:
Where treatments are usually smaller and aimed at maintaining conditions following the remedial stage. Less expensive, lower effort required.
Why is it important to document changes between planned restoration techniques vs. those techniques that are ultimately implemented?
Without documenting change it becomes difficult to:
1) Effectively monitor the success of the restoration. Different methods will affect how success is measured when comparing different plans.
2) Replicate successful treatments of other plans
What is the importance of monitoring?
1) When to shift from remedial restoration to long term maintenance
2) Effectiveness in meeting goals and objectives
3) Need for additional or revised restoration treatments (adaptive management)
Understand the three criteria commonly used to define and classify wetlands.
1) Hydroperiod - presence of standing water and at what times is the site flooded?
2) Hydrosols - soils that indicate hydric conditions, like gleying - redox reactions.
3) Hydrophytic vegetation
Know the standard definitions for major categories of wetlands, and the three factors that mainly determine wetland type.
Marsh - Wetland composed maining of herbaceous wetland vegetations (as opposed to peat vegetation)
Bog - Peat accumulating, no significant inflows or outflows (ombotrophic) and supports acid tolerant mosses.
Fen - Peat accumulating wetland that has some drainage from surrounding mineral soils (minerotrophic) and usually supports grasses, sedges and mosses.
Peatland - includes bogs and fens. Accumulates mosses.
Muskeg - large expanses of peatlands
Wet meadow - grassland with waterlogged soils near the surface but without standing water for most of the year.
Potholes and playas - Shallow ponds. Potholes are formed by glaciers, playas wind.
Swamp - freshwater wetland with woody veg and standing water for most or all of the growing season.
Riparian Wetlands - dry for varying amounts of time but occasionally flooded by rivers or streams.
3 factors are: Hydrology, Water Chemistry, Landscape Context and conditions
Does Canada have legal definitions for wetlands? If not, what is often used instead? Describe the Canadian Wetland Classification System. What main factor hinders wetland protection at the provincial level in BC, and at the federal level in Canada?
No
Canadian Wetland Classification System - organizes wetland according to its
1) Class - Bog, Fen, Swamp, Marsh, Shallow Open Water
2) Form - based on its surface morphology, hydrology, landscape context, chemistry, and underlying material.
3) Type - Based on vegetation structure.
Understand the examples provided that highlight the importance of hydroperiod to the composition of plants and animals in a wetland. Know the two main effects of altering the net balance of water inflows and outflows to wetlands.
Understand the examples provided that highlight the importance of hydroperiod to the composition of plants and animals in a wetland.
- Adult hydrophytes are tolerant to submersion, although some species may need periodic drawdown for seed germination to occur
- Growth of cattails is negatively affect by drawdown. Stabilizing water levels can result in cattail becoming invasive (occurs commonly in urban areas)
- Metamorphosis of invasive Bullfrogs takes about 2 years- success of bullfrog recruitment requires wetlands that do not dry during this time
Know the two main effects of altering the net balance of water inflows and outflows to wetlands.
- Residence time of water: precipitation of sediments, nutrients and contaminants
- Water depth: temperature, DO and pH (changes in these affects growth rates of wetland organisms)
Why are wetlands important (i.e., what are their functions)?
1) Biodiversity protection
2) Filtration
3) Water storage (flood and erosion control)
4) Ground water recharge
5) sediment retention
6) Nutrient cycling
What are the main stressors to wetlands? In BC, how have wetland stressors changed over time?
- evidence of most stressors generally manifests as changes in species composition of plants
- Largest threats to BC wetlands: climate change, non-native species, cultivation, habitat conversion, hydrologic features, highways etc.
- Stressor have changed in BC
o In past, dominant threat was large-scale agricultural drainage schemes and water diversion projects
o Today, threats are more divers, including draining and filling for new subdivisions, industrial development, shoreline protection projects, removal of streamside vegetation, invasive species, recreation, and climate change
o Climate change is the greatest threat to BC wetlands now (eg. in drought years some shallow wetlands may not fill at all)
