Restoration Ecology Quiz 3

What are the four major types of wetlands?

Ephemeral, temporary, seasonal, and semi-permanent.

What factors distinguish the four wetland types?

Hydrology, depth, and number of distinct plant community types.

What does inundation mean?

The degree to which water remains on the landscape over a year.

What is the order of wetlands from shortest to longest inundation?

Ephemeral → temporary → seasonal → semi-permanent.

Why should you prediagnose a wetland before restoring it?

To identify its wetland type and understand its hydrology before choosing restoration methods.

What is an ephemeral wetland?

A wetland that may only remain visibly inundated for a month or two.

When are ephemeral wetlands typically inundated?

Usually April and May, or during unusually wet years.

What vegetation is associated with ephemeral wetlands?

Wet prairie plants, especially grasses and forbs.

What is a temporary wetland?

A wetland commonly associated with sedge meadow vegetation.

What is a seasonal wetland?

A wetland commonly associated with shallow marsh vegetation.

What plants are associated with shallow marshes?

Cattails and lily pads; emergent plants root underwater and grow above the surface.

What is a semi-permanent wetland?

A deeper wetland that may remain inundated for years and dry only during droughts.

What vegetation may occur in semi-permanent wetlands?

Deep marsh vegetation, duckweed, lily pads, and other floating plants.

How does longer inundation affect grasses?

Longer saturation makes conditions less suitable for grasses.

What can circular patterns of suppressed crop germination indicate?

Locations of former ephemeral wetlands in corn or soybean fields.

What is spatial heterogeneity in wetland restoration?

Creating an integrated series of wetland types with different hydrology across a landscape.

What determines spatial differences in wetland inundation?

Soil types and topography.

Why should wetland restoration consider a larger landscape?

Different soils and elevations create different water conditions and wetland types.

Why are ephemeral wetlands important in a restored landscape?

They provide enough surface area for wet prairie plants to persist.

What is temporal heterogeneity in wetlands?

Wetlands change and develop over time as plants and sediment accumulate.

How can wetlands change as they age?

Dead plants and sediment build up, potentially changing a semi-permanent wetland into another type.

Why might an older wetland need to be dug out?

Accumulated plants and sediment may need to be removed to maintain wetland conditions.

How long might natural wetlands take to change significantly?

Approximately two or three decades, according to the lecture notes.

How can agricultural landscapes affect wetland aging?

Heavily tiled and cultivated landscapes may shorten the timeline to a decade or less.

What is a tiling system?

An underground drainage system that moves water out of agricultural fields.

What is the biggest disturbance to wetland restoration?

Agricultural drainage tiling systems.

Why are drainage tiles harmful to wetland restoration?

They remove water that would otherwise inundate the landscape.

What is the lecture's identified strategy for regenerating two major wetland types?

Breaking drainage tiles.

What are the two major sources of wetland water?

Ombrogenous water and soligenous groundwater.

What does ombrogenous mean?

Wetland inundation driven by precipitation, including rainfall and snowmelt.

Can stream or river water be ombrogenous?

Yes, if the water originated as precipitation.

What does soligenous mean?

Wetland inundation driven by groundwater emerging from the water table.

What is an aquitard?

A layer of soil or underlying material that water cannot easily infiltrate through.

How can an aquitard create a wetland?

Water pressure builds above the impermeable layer and can produce wet conditions.

Where can aquitard-driven wetlands occur?

In low areas, including ephemeral and temporary wetlands.

What is a hillside fen?

A groundwater-fed wetland associated with basic, alkaline conditions and dolomite.

What pH distinguishes a bog from a fen in the lecture notes?

Bog: pH below 7; fen: pH above 7.

What is the difference between ombrogenous and soligenous wetlands?

Ombrogenous wetlands receive precipitation; soligenous wetlands receive groundwater.

What was the Kissimmee River case study about?

Examining the ecological impacts of altering the river and evaluating restoration using performance measures.

What does S-65 represent in the Kissimmee River system?

A low-head dam where water pools when gate valves are closed.

What are oxbows?

Curved remnants, or wander scars, of the river's original route.

What happened to oxbows B and C in the case study?

They were removed.

What was the status of oxbow D in the case study notes?

It had not yet been removed.

What happens when a naturally curving river is straightened?

Water moves faster through the channel.

How do levees affect river velocity?

By narrowing the river's width, levees can increase water velocity.

What is fall rate in the river case study?

The change in elevation over a given distance; it influences water velocity.

How does a steeper fall rate affect river velocity?

A greater elevation change over a shorter distance generally increases velocity.

What was the target fall rate listed in the notes?

0.07 m/km.

What was the current fall rate listed in the notes?

26 m/km.

What was the original river's approximate length?

90 km.

What was the original river's approximate depth and width?

9 m deep and 100 m wide.

What floodplain width was listed as the target?

161 km wide.

What floodplain width was listed as the current condition?

100 m wide.

What benthic composition was associated with the target condition?

Organic matter and silt.

What benthic composition was associated with the altered river?

Clay and rock because the fast water constantly scoured the bottom.

What vegetation was associated with the original river community?

Emergent vegetation and trees, including palm and cypress.

What vegetation replaced the original river vegetation in the altered area?

Agricultural vegetation, including citrus and sugar crops.

What dissolved oxygen level was listed for the target condition?

3-7 mg/L.

What dissolved oxygen level was listed for the altered river?

12 mg/L.

How did river channelization affect the zoological community?

Faster water disrupted habitat and made it difficult for larvae to remain in the system.

What happened to fish and wading bird communities after river alteration?

The lecture notes describe the loss of these communities from the impact zone.

Why did faster water make it difficult for larvae to remain?

Strong currents could carry larvae away and disrupt their habitat.

How were pre-industrial fish adapted to oxygen conditions?

They were adapted to the river's historically lower dissolved oxygen levels.

What might increased dissolved oxygen mean for fish populations?

Fish populations may have improved after dissolved oxygen increased.

Why is higher dissolved oxygen not necessarily proof of full ecosystem recovery?

Restoration must consider the entire ecological community and habitat, not just one water-quality measurement.

What is the main lesson from the Kissimmee River case study?

Changing river shape and flow can alter velocity, floodplain habitat, sediment, vegetation, and aquatic communities.