Wetlands Exam 2

Wetland classification

categorizing different wetland types

Coastal Wetlands

Tidal marshes & Mangrove swamps

Inland Wetlands

Freshwater marshes, Freshwater swamps, and Peatlands

Objectives of Wetland Classifications

- Group ecological units by similar characteristics
− Arrange ecological units in a framework that facilitates
management strategies
− Identify ecological units for inventory and mapping
purposes
− Uniformity

Marine system

open ocean overlying the continental shelf and its associated

Marine Subsystems

Subtidal & Intertidal

Estuarine System

Deepwater tidal habitats and adjacent tidal wetlands that are usually semi-enclosed by land but have open, partially obstructed, or sporadic access to the ocean and in which ocean water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater

Estuarine Subsystems

Subtidal & Intertidal (emergent wetland, scrub-shrub wetland, forested wetland)

Riverine System

Wetlands and deepwater habitats contained within a channel with two exceptions

Riverine System Exceptions

wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens; and deepwater habitats with water containing ocean-
derived salts in excess of 0.5 ppt

Riverine Subsystems

Tidal, Lower Perennial, Upper Perennial, & Intermittent

Lacustrine System

Wetlands and deepwater habitats

1st Characteristic of Lacustrine System

situated in a topographic depression or a dammed river channel

2nd Characteristic of Lacustrine System

lacking trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens with greater than 30 percent areal coverage

3rd Characteristic of Lacustrine System

total area in excess of 8 ha. Similar wetland and deepwater habitats totaling less than 8 ha are also included in the lacustrine system when an active wave-formed or bedrock shoreline feature makes up all or part of the boundary or when the depth in the deepest part of the basin exceeds 2m at low water

Lacustrine Subsystem

Limnetic & Littoral

Palustrine System

All nontidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens, and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas where salinity stemming from ocean-derived salts is below 0.5 ppt. It also includes wetlands lacking such vegetation but with all of the following characteristics

1st Characteristic of Palustrine System lacking specific vegetation

area less than 8 ha

2nd Characteristic of Palustrine System lacking specific vegetation

lack of active wave-formed or bedrock shoreline features

3rd Characteristic of Palustrine System lacking specific vegetation

water depth in the deepest part of the basin of less than 2m at low water

4th Characteristic of Palustrine System lacking specific vegetation

salinity stemming from ocean-derived salts of less than 0.5 ppt

Wetland Inventory

determine extent and distribution

Wetland laws

have been established to reduce loss and increase protection

“A good wetland was a drained wetland...”

Joe Larson and Jon Kusler (1979)

Major points to date

• There is no specific national wetland law in the USA
• Jurisdiction of wetlands spread over several agencies
• Wetlands have been managed under regulations related to both land use and water quality

No Net Loss

Wetland coverage should decrease no further and goals for net gain

For every acre destroyed an acre needs to be restored or created

Not always reciprocal in function as focused on area

“Clean Water Act”

Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWCA)

waters of the United States

Navigable waterways (& adjacent water bodies) = “Navigable-in-fact” = must be usable as a means of transportation

Jurisdictional wetlands

• It is eventually adjacent to a navigable waterway
• ACE defined “adjacent” as any hydrological connection

Clean Water Act AVOID

A wetland should not be filled if there exists a less environmentally damaging practicable alternative

Clean Water Act MINIMIZE

Unavoidable impacts should be minimized to the extent practicable

Clean Water Act COMPENSATE

Any remaining impacts should be offset, if practicable and appropriate, through, restoration, enhancement creation, and/or preservation actions

US ACE

Wetland delineation manual determines if wetland and 404 permit needed

Wetland vegetation

50% dominant vegetation must be OBL, FACW, or FAC

Wetland Delineation Hydrology Aquatic

Permanently inundated

Wetland Delineation Hydrology Wetland

Semipermanently to nearly permanently inundated or saturated

Regularly inundated or saturated

Seasonally inundated or saturated

Wetland Delineation Hydrology Wetland-ish

Irregularly inundated or saturated

Wetland Delineation Hydrology Upland

Intermittently or never inundated or saturated

Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWCA)

to restore and maintain “the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our Nation's waters”

Water Quality Act of 1987

• Clarified definitions for point and nonpoint source pollution
• Nonpoint source do not require permits

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

Stipulates that federal agencies have a responsibility to protect and manage migratory birds and their habitats, including wetlands

What the Corps considered jurisdictional (prior to 2001)

navigable-in-fact waters, adjacent wetlands, non-navigable tributaries, adjacent wetlands, isolated wetlands

What the Corps considered jurisdictional (After SWANCC 2001)

navigable-in-fact waters, adjacent wetlands, non-navigable tributaries

Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County

SWANCC

Rapanos/Carabell (2006)

− Property did not physically abut navigable waterway & adjacent but isolated from navigable waterway
− Ruling: Wetland may not be considered “adjacent to” remote “waters of the United States” based on a mere hydrologic connection

A significant nexus

might occur if the wetlands in question significantly affect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of navigable waters

Guidance from Justice Scalia

Adjacency should be defined as having a continuous surface connection

Scalia wetland

continuous surface connection to navigable waterways

Guidance from Justice Kennedy

A significant nexus might occur if the wetlands in question significantly affect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of navigable waters

Kennedy wetland

affects integrity of waters/wetlands connected to navigable waterways

The 2015 Clean Water Act Rule

Expanded federal jurisdiction by bringing more waters into the scope of WOTUS for purposes of the Clean Water Act

The 2020 Clean Water Act Rule

Narrowed the number of water potentially regulated under Clean Water Act making less jurisdictional wetlands

The 2022 Clean Water Act Rule

On June 9, 2021, EPA and ACE announced their intent to undertake a rulemaking to revise the definition of WOTUS

The 2023 Clean Water Act Rule

− On August 29, 2023, EPA and ACE final rule to revise the definition of
WOTUS based on Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court Ruling
− Removed “significant nexus” and wetland only jurisdiction if continuous
surface flow to navigable waterway
− Severely reduced the number of wetlands protected

Ecosystem Service

All the ecosystem processes that benefit human life

Ecosystem Service Categories

Supporting, Regulating, Provisioning, and Cultural

Supporting Services

processes that allow ecosystems to exist; provide living spaces for plants and animals; facilitate biodiversity

Examples of Supporting Services

primary production, soil formation, and nutrient cycling

Regulating Services

processes that regulate ecosystem

Examples of Regulating Services

Air quality regulation, climate regulation, water purification, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination, and natural hazard regulation

Regulation of water quality

• Reduction in water velocity
• Many anaerobic and aerobic processes remove chemicals
• High productivity and mineral uptake
• Diversity of decomposers and decomposition processes occur in
wetland sediments;
• Large contact surface of water with sediments
• Burial in organic peat

Provisioning Services

processes that produce material or energy

Examples of Provisioning Services

products obtained from ecosystems, such as food, water, timber, fiber, or genetic resources, clay mining, biofuel, crops: rice and cranberries, peat mining

Cultural Services

process that produces non-material benefits

Examples of Cultural Services

benefits that people obtain from ecosystems related to spiritual enrichment, recreation, ecotourism, aesthetics, formal and informal education, inspiration, and cultural heritage

Ecosystem Service Degradation

We have altered ecosystems more so in the last 50 years than in any other documented time to have economic gains that are predicted to worsen and reserving will take substantial shifts in policies and practices

Managers protect wetland environment for...

• Renewable resource production
• Ecosystem services
• Recreation
• Aesthetics

Subsidence

sinking of ground level caused by natural and artificial settling of sediments

What causes subsidence?

• Groundwater
• Oil & Gas
• Limestone
• Mining
• Sediment transport

Sea-Level Rise

rising of ocean water level due to global warming

wetlands do not like this because of too much water and higher salinity

Coastal Squeeze

plants can’t migrate because of human development on the coast so they drown with rising sea level

Accretion

the addition of sediment

Clay Patch

Layer of potassium feldspar is placed on the ground it is then used as a marker in time to measure how much accretion there has been since it was placed to when a core in the same location is taken. If not found in core could be due to subsidence, being washed away, or from more accretion than the core could reach.

Surface Elevation Table (SET)

tool used over long periods to get the overall accretion or subsidence of an area by measuring the compaction of the sediment between the surface and bedrock

Extreme Weather

storm surges carrying large amounts of sediments and different levels of salinated water

Erosion

Nutrients from sediment cause algae bloom, then once they die and decompose can cause dead zones by using up oxygen in water, high levels of turbidity can also reflect sunlight preventing photosynthetic processes

Flood Control

change of natural flood plain causes more problems

Navigation and transportation

roads, paths, and dredging for canals

Resource Extractions

Peat, coal, and phosphorous mining, water removal, and oil extraction can all cause water pollution, release of stored carbon, and removal of natural nutrients

Wetland management goals

1) Maintain water quality
2) Reduce erosion
3) Flood and storm protection
4) Natural processing of airborne pollutants
5) Provide a buffer between development and wetland
6) Maintain gene pool

7) Provide aesthetic value
8) Produce and protect wildlife
9) Insect pest control
10) Provide habitat for fish and wildlife
11) Sustainable resource extraction
12) Scientific inquiry

Invasive Species

non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and, whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Examples of Wetland Invasive Species

Burmese pythons in the everglades, nutria, cone toad in Australia, feral pigs, phragmites, other common reeds, water hyacinth floating on top of water block out sun and clog water ways.

How invasive species spread

traveling and luggage, ships and boats, gardening foreign plants, escaping climate change, migration

Integrated Pest Management Plan

Set action thresholds, monitor and identify pests, prevent, and control

control methods for invasive species

• Manual control (pull it up by hand)

• Prescribed burn

• Mechanical control (machinery)

• Chemical control (pesticides)

• Biological control (grazing animals)

• Cultural control (blue vs green crab in the Caribbean)

Wetland restoration

the return of a wetland from a disturbed or altered condition to a previous condition

Wetland creation

conversion of a persistent upload or shallow water area into a wetland

Wetland enhancement

increase of one or more functions of an existing wetland

Wetland conservation

protection and preserving of an existing wetland

Restoration ecology

scientific study of restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems

Ecological restoration

intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability, the practice of the discipline of restoration ecology

Define Restoration Goals

• One goal should be primary (often maximize service while minimizing cost)
• Important to list goals before site selection and design
• Multiple goals are good – but one overarching goal to guide the process

Site Selection for Restoration

• Restoration/creation goal

• Balance cost and outcome

• Landscape

General guidelines for site selection of restoration (5 of them)

• Wetland restoration is generally more feasible than wetland creation
• Need to take into account the surrounding land use and the future plans for the land
• Undertake a detailed hydrologic study of the site, including a determination of the potential interaction of groundwater with the proposed wetland
• Find a site where natural inundation is frequent
• Inspect and characterize the soils in some detail to determine their permeability, texture, and stratigraphy

General guidelines for site selection of restoration (4 of them)

• Determine the chemistry of the soils, groundwater, surface flows, flooding streams and rivers, and tides that may influence the site water quality
• Evaluate on-site and nearby seed banks to ascertain their viability and response to hydrologic conditions
• Ascertain the availability of necessary fill material, seed, and plant stocks and access to infrastructure (e.g., roads, electricity)
• Determine the ownership of the land and hence the price

General guidelines for site selection of restoration (3 of them)

• For wildlife and fisheries enhancement, determine if the wetland site is along ecological corridors, such as migratory flyways or spawning runs
• Assess site access
• Ensure that an adequate amount of land is available to meet the objectives

Hydrological Restoration Techniques

Develop and/or maintain appropriate hydrology
• Best if incorporate natural landscape
• Construct control devices

Soil Restoration Technique

Anaerobic conditions must be present or restored to hydric soils

Natural Vegetation Restoration Techniques

Seed bank and/or succession (cheap but takes a long time)

Introduction of Vegetation in Restoration Techniques

Planting (root, rhizome, tuber, seedling, or mature plant)
Broadcasting seeds

(can be expensive and might not take to the environment but can be faster)