Stephen Bailey
Project Manager
Stream + Wetlands Foundation
Lancaster, OH
The goal of wetland restoration is to create a resilient and self-sustaining natural habitat with well-functioning ecosystem processes. In Ohio wetland mitigation success is largely determined by vegetative performance goals, with particular emphasis on the Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity (VIBI) score. Understanding the development trajectory of sensitive vegetation during the mitigation monitoring timeline is a principal foundation to successful mitigation projects in Ohio. This presentation will review the VIBI assessment tool and help practitioners understand the general recruitment pattern from applied seed mixes and the existing seed bank in re-established wetlands as well as the resulting contribution to the VIBI score and overall vegetative diversity of an area.
