Jessica Bryzek
Graduate Research Assistant
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV
Christopher Rota
Assistant Professor
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV
Elizabeth Byers
Senior Wetland Scientist
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Charleston, WV
Walter Veselka
Grant Writer and Project Manager
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV
James Anderson
Director, James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center
Clemson University
Georgetown, SC
Performance standards offer a solution to bridge the science-practice-policy divide that plagues the process of wetland mitigation. Performance standards propose a shift to translate science to policy and transform policy into practice. Selecting effective performance standards is essential to accomplish successful compensation for lost wetland resources. Performance standards use woody vegetation as a multi-functional indicator of wetland ecosystem attributes including fish and wildlife habitat potential, organic matter contributions, water quantity and supply, and sediment stability. However, current performance standards to assess woody vegetation quantify structural features and not functional attributes. Previous research has shown Stem-Area-at-Groundline (SAG) to better correlate with wetland functions. SAG is a morphological measurement of the cross-sectional area where the stem enters the ground. The potential for SAG to be a more efficient performance standard will be explored in this study.
In this study, we apply existing woody vegetation sampling protocols adopted in Virginia to mitigation wetlands in West Virginia. Ecosystem restoration trajectory will be evaluated using a chronosequence approach. A total of 40 mitigation wetland sites 1 to 29 years following restoration or creation were assessed in the summer of 2021. Circular plots with an 18.5ft radius were generated within each field-mapped National Wetland Inventory habitat type using a stratified random sample approach. All woody vegetation (shrubs and trees) within each plot were identified to the species level and SAG was measured. Our findings will describe woody vegetation dynamics, community structure, and size using SAG as a morphological measurement. In addition, the feasibility of using SAG as a performance standard metric will be explored through temporal and spatial trend analysis. This study aspires to provide a remedy to integrate the science, practice, and policy divide using effective, science-drive performance standards.
