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Reporting on ecological condition and ecosystem services for the 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment
Citation:
KENTULA, M. E., T. MAGEE, AND A. M. NAHLIK. Reporting on ecological condition and ecosystem services for the 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment. Presented at Society of Wetland Scientist sand INTECOL, Orlando, FL, June 03 - 08, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
The first-ever National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 2011.
Description:
The first-ever National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 2011. Vegetation, algae, soil, water chemistry, and hydrologic data were collected at ~900 wetland points across the contiguous United States. The NWCA is the fifth in a series of National Aquatic Resources Surveys (NARS) completed by USEPA and other federal and state partners to improve understanding of the quality of the Nation's waters. A report describing results from the 2011 NWCA is scheduled for completion in 2013. Here, we will discuss the frameworks for reporting on the NWCA. The NWCA report will, at minimum, include the major categories of results describing ecological condition that are found in other NARS reports (e.g., the USEPA Wadeable Stream and Lake Assessments), and has the potential to include new reporting categories as well. Probable result categories for the NWCA are: extent and description of the wetland resource, status of wetland ecological condition (e.g., Index of Wetland Condition, Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity, or other metrics), extent of wetland area with detectable levels of toxic algae, extent of stressors (e.g., buffer degradation, hydrologic alteration, nutrient loading, etc.), and relationships between stressors and ecological condition. Consideration of the delivery of ecosystem services is a new component of the USEPA NARS assessments. NWCA research will allow USEPA to begin to assess some key wetland ecosystem services. These initial efforts and available research methods support reporting on two major ecosystem services: 1) maintenance of a habitable climate through assessment of the role of wetlands in carbon dynamics, and 2) provision of water for consumption through the use of δ15N to determine the role of wetlands in denitrification. The results of the 2011 NWCA will provide valuable knowledge that can better inform decision-making for the use, management, and protection of our wetland resources. Subsequent NWCA studies are scheduled on a five year rotation and will give insights into changes over time.