Transcript Freshwater Non-forested Wetlands

Freshwater Nonforested Wetlands:
Floodplain Marsh
By: Mattie J. E. Rush
http://www.nbbd.com/godo/StJohns.html
Description
• MARSHES – long hydroperiod; dominated by grasses, sedges, broadleaf emergents,
floating aquatics, or shrubs
• Floodplain marsh differs from similar habitats by:
• Position in flood plain (vs basin marsh)
• Receive water from the river (flow)
• Directly on river course
• Salinity (vs salt marsh)
• No halophytic species
• However, the freshwater tidal marsh variant may be located near a salt marsh
http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/dykemarsh.htm
Description
• Freshwater tidal marsh variant (mouths of rivers)
• Influenced by saltwater
• Dominant species tolerate brackish water (also found in floodplains with upwelling)
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Juncus roemerianus (needle rush)
Sarcocornia perennis (perennial glasswort)
Sporobolus virginicus (seashore dropseed)
Zizaniopsis miliacea (giant cutgrass)
Sesuvium portulacastrum (shoreline seapurslane)
Description
• Location
• Along rivers, streams, & lakes (influenced by river flow)
• in overflow channels
• Prolonged periods of inundation
• Flat topography & slow drainage
• most inundated > 250 days/year
• Hydroperiod may be greatly reduced by alteration of hydrology
http://www.antaisce.org/naturalenvironment/Water/WaterFrameworkDirective/WFDObjectives.aspx
Description
• River flooding
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Annual or semi-annual
Direct influence on floodplain marshes
Changing water levels permit a mosaic of vegetative communities
Oxygenated freshwater pulses
Enable aquatic species to use areas of the vegetated marsh
Important feeding sites for many birds
• Low water levels concentrate prey
http://restorecullinan.info/
Description
• Status – G3/S3
• Range
• Most common in Central Florida
• St. Johns River and Kissimmee River
• Can also be found along rivers north of Lake Okeechobee
http://restorecullinan.info/
Description
• Ecological services
• Flood & erosion control
• Reduce flood velocities, peaks, and sedimentation
• Filtration of nutrients and runoff
• Process organic wastes
• Moderate temperature fluctuations
• Breeding and feeding grounds for wildlife
http://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/2011fieldtrips.htm
Common Species
Cladium Jamaicense (sawgrass)
Spartina bakeri (sand cord grass)
Common Species Con’t
Panicum hemitomon (maidencane)
Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed)
Common Species Con’t
Polyborus plancus audubonii
(Audubon’s crested caracara)
Threatened
Aramus guarauna (limpkin)
Species of Special Concern
Gretta cearulea (little blue heron)
Species of Special Concern
Common Species Con’t
Egretta thula (snowy egret)
Species of Special Concern
Egretta tricolor (tricolored heron)
Species of Special Concern
Eudocimus albus (white ibis)
Species of Special Concern
Common Species Con’t
Grus canadensis pratensis (Florida
sandhill crane)
Threatened
Ursus americanus (Florida black bear)
Threatened
Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle)
Endangered Species
Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee)
Endangered
Mycteria Americana (wood stork)
Endangered
Vermivora bachmanii (Bachman’s wood
warbler)
Endangered
Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus (Florida snail kite)
Endangered
Other Threatened Species
• Drymarchon corais couperi (Eastern Indigo Snake)
• Charadrius melodus (Piping Plover)
• Sterna antillarlum (Least Tern)
Rare Species
Leitneria floridana (corkwood)
Lythrum flagellare (loostrife)
Obligate Species
Ludwigia leptocarpa
(anglestem primrose willow)
Acrostichum danaeifolium (giant
fern)
Hibiscus grandiflorus
(swamp rosemallow)
Crinum americanum
(swamp lily)
Obligate Species Con’t
Canna flaccida (golden canna)
Aster carolinianus (climbing aster)
Threats
• Channelization (intervention in the course, characteristics or flow of a river with the intention of producing
some defined benefit)
• Rooting (meaning uprooting in this case)  habitat degradation
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Feral hogs and cattle
• Invasives
• Off-road vehicle (OHV) use
• Ditching & draining for development
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People want to live by rivers
http://marineparkbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/12/
atv-damage-to-gerritsen-creek-marsh.html
Threats
• Channelization
• To ease navigation for large vessels
• To open up the rest of the land for agriculture
• Hydrologic alterations – vegetation of wettest zone is most sensitive long-term
• Decreased plant diversity
• Prolonged drainage greatly reduces seed bank
Threats
• Case Study: Channelization in Kissimmee
• Water control structures
• Inhibited fluctuations in water levels
• Altered vegetation structure
• Sharp declines in species
• Wading birds & game fish
• Lost a lot of the natural sediment filtration
http://www.ces.fau.edu/riverwoods/kissimmee.php
Threats
• Case Study: Channelization in Kissimmee
• Re-establishment of stream flow reduced weedy and exotic species
• Wildlife species populations had positive responses
• In part to increase in invertebrates
• Water level fluctuations’ return increased plant food growth for water fowl
http://www.protec
tingourwater.org/w
atersheds/map/kis
simmee_river/
Threats
(The next 8 pictures were taken from: http://floridaswater.com/coastalrestoration/)
• Ditching
Dragline ditched marsh
Threats
• Dragline ditch
restoration
Ditch filling for
Threats
• Immediately after restoration initiation
1-2 years after restoration
Threats
• 3-5 years after restoration
8 years after restoration
Threats
• Invasive plants:
• Torpedo grass (Panicum repens)
• Peruvian primrosewillow (Ludwigia peruviana)
• Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides)
• Para grass (Urochloa mutica)
• West Indian marsh grass (Hymenachne amplexicaulis)
• Caesar's weed (Urena lobata).
Management
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Prescribed fire
Cattle grazing
Restoration
Control visitor use types
http://www.ces.fau.edu/riverwoods/kissimmee.php
Oxbow dredging to restore connections and river flow
Management
• Prescribed fire
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Aids in shrub cover control
Decrease fuel load
Maintain or restore natural hydrology
Maintain natural community structure & habitat for wildlife
Frequency will depend on species composition
• Ex. willow at St. Johns River (2 burns in 2 years)
• Needed well-developed herbaceous understory to carry fire  may be impossible without such
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/whats-new/volume-5-issue-2-fall-2008-generic.html
Management
• Prescribed fire
• Must consider wildlife responses to burn regime
• Leave a patchwork of unburned area for refuge
• Suggestion for St. Johns River regime is 3 year cycles
*Only burn freshwater tidal marsh variant when necessary for woody species control
• Only burn in the winter
• Protect nesting wildlife and decrease peat fire risk
Management
• Cattle grazing
• Source of major land use
of floodplain marshes in
Florida
http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/celebratingfloridas-last-frontier/1156955
Management
• Cattle grazing
• When combined with wet prairie, > 100 native plant species of cattle forage
• May decrease plant diversity in sand cordgrass-dominated floodplain marshes
• However, it likely will not have an effect on the dominant species
http://www.ccght.org/our-heritage/naturalheritage/biodiversity/priorityhabitats/farmland-grassland/coastalfloodplain-grazing-marsh
Management
• Control visitor use types
• Passive recreation only
• Off-road vehicle (recreation & hunting)
• Alters natural vegetation
• Especially sawgrass-dominated marshes
• Prohibit and regulate
• Enforcement
http://marineparkbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/12/atv-damage-togerritsen-creek-marsh.html
Management
• Other management considerations
• Establish areas of native vegetation
• Increase natural floodplain functioning
• Protect existing vegetation & topography
• Avoid development (obvious)
• Reduce runoff
End
• “Flooding is a natural process that forms and allows floodplains and coastal zones
to function properly. Periodic flows of water that overtop the banks of a river and
encroach upon coastal areas are the lifeblood of the riparian corridors, marshes,
beaches, and other natural areas.”
-Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• “When we disconnect rivers from their floodplains and completely prevent natural
flooding, it is to the peril of the river, the floodplain and – quite often – people.”
-The Nature Conservancy
• Questions?
References
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Giant leather fern = http://www.panoramio.com/photo/32010507
Climbing aster = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/astcar/astcar2.jpg
Golden canna = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/canfla/mcanfla5.jpg
Swamp rosemallow= http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/hibgra/hibgra_ec2.jpg
Swamp lily = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/criame/crinum.jpg
Anglestem primrose willow = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/ludlep/ludlepn5.jpg
Saw-grass = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/clajam/clajam1.jpg
Baker’s cord grass = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/spabak/spabakn5.jpg
Maidencane = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/panhem/panhem5.jpg
Pickerelweed = http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/images/poncor/poncor5.jpg
References
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Bald eagle = http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=B008
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Limpkin = http://www.jhillmer.com/wadingbirds/wadingbirds.html
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White ibis = http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/white_ibis/id
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Snowy egret = http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snowy_egret/id
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Little blue heron = http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/little_blue_heron/id
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Tricolored heron = http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/tricolored_heron/id
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Wood Stork = http://www.alligatorfarm.com/rookery/2012/12/proposed-wood-stork-reclassification/
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Bachman’s wood warbler = http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/service/library/index.php3?docID=94&docHistory%5B%5D=5&docHistory%5B%5D=202&docHistory%5B%5D=361
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Florida snail kite = http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/raptors-and-vultures/florida-snail-kite/
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Florida sandhill crane = http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/imperiled/profiles/birds/florida-sandhill-crane/
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Florida black bear = http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/uram/all.html
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Florida manatee = http://www.travelographer.com/Florida/Manatees.htm
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Audubon's crested caracara = http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/imperiled/profiles/birds/audubons-crested-caracara/
References
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Tidal marsh 1 = http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/dykemarsh.htm
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Tidal marsh (all of the rest) = http://restorecullinan.info/
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Restored floodplain marsh Kissimmee = http://www.protectingourwater.org/watersheds/map/kissimmee_river/
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Floodplain marsh 1 = http://www.antaisce.org/naturalenvironment/Water/WaterFrameworkDirective/WFDObjectives.aspx
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Floodplain grazing marsh = http://www.ccght.org/our-heritage/natural-heritage/biodiversity/priority-habitats/farmland-grassland/coastal-floodplain-grazing-marsh
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Restored floodplain Fairfield = http://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/2011fieldtrips.htm
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Ditching pictures (all) = http://floridaswater.com/coastalrestoration/
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Floodplain marsh puzzle lake = http://www.nbbd.com/godo/StJohns.html
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Channelizing Kissimmee river and dredging = http://www.ces.fau.edu/riverwoods/kissimmee.php
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Cattle grazing = http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/celebrating-floridas-last-frontier/1156955
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Marsh burning = http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/mass-bays-program/whats-new/volume-5-issue-2-fall-2008-generic.html
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Off road vehicle 1 & 2 = http://marineparkbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/12/atv-damage-to-gerritsen-creek-marsh.html