Grantee Research Project Results
1999 Progress Report: Watersheds and Wetlands: Large Scale Disturbances and Small Scale Responses
EPA Grant Number: R824905Title: Watersheds and Wetlands: Large Scale Disturbances and Small Scale Responses
Investigators: Cole, Charles Andrew , Brooks, Robert P.
Current Investigators: Cole, Charles Andrew , Wardrop, Denice Heller , Brooks, Robert P.
Institution: Pennsylvania State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 1, 1996 through August 31, 1999 (Extended to August 31, 2000)
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 1998 through August 31, 1999
Project Amount: $742,079
RFA: Water and Watersheds Research (1996) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Water
Objective:
Information necessary to understand watershed-scale impacts from permit decisions made at the local wetland-scale currently is lacking. We do not know how individually small wetland impacts cascade to cumulative watershed impacts. Moreover, as wetlands are permitted for damage or destruction, created replacements are becoming common. Very little quantitative information is available on the success of these efforts, including data on possible successional trajectories. The general objectives of this research are to: (1) assess characteristics of sets of reference and created wetlands (within four watersheds in central Pennsylvania) by watershed, disturbance, and hydrogeomorphic (HGM) category; (2) assess characteristics of created wetlands of different ages to delineate wetland successional trajectories; (3) assess watershed disturbance regime and HGM class within those reference and created wetlands to show the range of conditions possible for natural sites and how close created sites approach that goal; (4) assess natural succession in reference wetlands using seed bank analyses and Cs137 soil dating, and within created sites by substituting space for time; and (5) use disturbance theory to assess the impacts of surrounding landscapes upon the composition and function of wetlands within a watershed.Progress Summary:
We requested (and received) a 1-year extension to complete two very important tasks: the development of a wetland inventory system using geology and long-term hydrologic monitoring of wetlands. The inventory is crucial to assessment techniques, because it more accurately predicts location of wetlands in the landscape than the more commonly used National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps. Without accurate information on how many wetlands there are and their type, all other tasks are more difficult. The long-term hydrologic monitoring has developed the most extensive wetland hydrologic monitoring database known in the eastern United States. We have been able to develop predictive capabilities for certain wetland types, such that extensive hydrologic monitoring may not be necessary prior to management decisions. We also are using the data to develop cutting-edge decisionmaking tools that focus on such aspects as hydrologic monitoring interval and transferability of models between regions.We have greatly expanded our reference wetland set to 100 sites in Pennsylvania (Objectives 1 and 3). We have a very large database on a variety of wetland attributes and functions across several watersheds, disturbance levels, and wetland types. These data are being used to develop watershed assessment protocols, including preliminary total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for wetlands. We have extended our analyses on created wetlands such that we now know how different these are from the natural wetlands. We are developing recommendations for improving the mitigation process and for the design of more realistic and functional mitigation wetlands.
We have developed new techniques for the assessment of historic wetlands using Cs137 soil dating and seed bank analyses. We have been able to document the impacts of disturbance through time and how disturbance affects wetland types.
Future Activities:
The remaining time on the grant will be spent refining the inventory procedure and completing several manuscripts under development. Also, a large percentage of time during the summer will be used to prepare the final report to the EPA.Journal Articles on this Report : 10 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 34 publications | 14 publications in selected types | All 10 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Babb JS, Cole CA, Brooks RP, Rose AW. Hydrogeomorphology, watershed geology, and water quality of wetlands in central Pennsylvania. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 1997;71(1):21-28. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
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Cole CA, Brooks RP, Wardrop DH. Wetland hydrology as a function of hydrogeomorphic (HGM) subclass. Wetlands 1997;17(4):456-467. |
R824905 (1998) R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
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Cole CA, Brooks RP, Wardrop DH. Building a better wetland—a response to Linda Zug. Wetland Journal 1998;10(2):8-11. |
R824905 (1998) R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
not available |
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Cole CA, Brooks RP. A comparison of the hydrologic characteristics of natural and created mainstem floodplain wetlands in Pennsylvania. Ecological Engineering 2000;14(3):221-231. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) R824803 (1998) R824803 (Final) R826110 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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Cole CA, Brooks RP. Patterns of wetland hydrology in the Ridge and Valley Province, Pennsylvania, USA. Wetlands 2000;20(3):438-447. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
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Cole CA, Brooks RP, Wardrop DH. Assessing the relationship between biomass and soil organic matter in created wetlands of central Pennsylvania, USA. Ecological Engineering 2001;17(4):423-428. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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Reinhardt CH, Cole CA, Brooks RP. Assessing historical wetland seed banks using Cs137: a pilot study. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 1998;71(3):125-134. |
R824905 (1998) R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
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Reinhardt CH, Cole CA, Stover LR. A method for coring inland, freshwater wetland soils. Wetlands 2000;20(2):422-426. |
R824905 (1998) R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
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Shaffer PW, Cole CA, Kentula ME, Brooks RP. Effects of measurement frequency on water-level summary statistics. Wetlands 2000;20(1):148-161. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
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Wardrop DH, Brooks RP. The occurrence and impact of sedimentation in central Pennsylvania wetlands. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 1998;51(1-2):119-130. |
R824905 (1999) R824905 (Final) |
Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
aquatic, biology, Chesapeake Bay, disturbance, ecology, ecosystem, EPA Region 3, groundwater, hydrology, inventory, northeast, PA, Pennsylvania, public policy, restoration, seed banks, watersheds, wetlands., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Water & Watershed, Hydrology, Ecology and Ecosystems, Watersheds, created wetlands, large scale disturbances, Penn State Cooperative Wetland Center, hydrogeomorphic categories, seed banks, aquatic ecosystems, wildlife habitat, ecology assessment modelsRelevant Websites:
http://www.wetlands.cas.psu.eduProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.