Vegetation monitoring and adaptive management: can we just plant it and forget it?
Presentation Abstract
Native plant revegetation was a key component of the Hansen Creek floodplain habitat restoration, with over 90,000 plants installed in the 140-acre site. Quantitative and qualitative data will be presented showing the development of riparian cover and its effects on water temperature. The creek prematurely avulsed from its historically-diked channel in 2009 and 2010, reconnecting with its historic floodplain and forming meanders and braids throughout the east wetland portion of the project almost immediately. Additional sediment mobilization events deposited almost a foot of new sediment in portions of the wetland. Floodplain re-activation and the resulting episodic disturbances, sediment transport events, and hydric influences have affected the native and invasive plant communities in this dynamic floodplain environment. Native plant recruitment, seed dispersal, and suitable microhabitat conditions are critical to the long-term success and sustainability of floodplain projects. The presentation will offer preliminary conclusions and suggestions for future efforts, including recommendations for adaptive management, early project establishment data metrics, level of effort and timing. The constraints and advantages of various methods for assessing large scale revegetation successes, as well as the effectiveness of several weed removal methods and treatments, will also be discussed.
Session Title
Session S-05E: Managing Floodplain Rehabilitation Success to Inform Decision Making: A Case Study from Hansen Creek, Skagit County
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 613-614
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Endemic plants--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek; Revegetation--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek; Sediment transport--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek; Stream restoration--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek; Floodplain management--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Hansen Creek (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Vegetation monitoring and adaptive management: can we just plant it and forget it?
Room 613-614
Native plant revegetation was a key component of the Hansen Creek floodplain habitat restoration, with over 90,000 plants installed in the 140-acre site. Quantitative and qualitative data will be presented showing the development of riparian cover and its effects on water temperature. The creek prematurely avulsed from its historically-diked channel in 2009 and 2010, reconnecting with its historic floodplain and forming meanders and braids throughout the east wetland portion of the project almost immediately. Additional sediment mobilization events deposited almost a foot of new sediment in portions of the wetland. Floodplain re-activation and the resulting episodic disturbances, sediment transport events, and hydric influences have affected the native and invasive plant communities in this dynamic floodplain environment. Native plant recruitment, seed dispersal, and suitable microhabitat conditions are critical to the long-term success and sustainability of floodplain projects. The presentation will offer preliminary conclusions and suggestions for future efforts, including recommendations for adaptive management, early project establishment data metrics, level of effort and timing. The constraints and advantages of various methods for assessing large scale revegetation successes, as well as the effectiveness of several weed removal methods and treatments, will also be discussed.
