Wetland Restoration

From Wetland Research

[edit] Theory

Wetland restoration is a relatively new concept in which former wetlands that have been converted into farmland or other non-wetland related land is returned to its former condition, in form and function.

Although wetland protection regulations have slowed the rate of wetland losses, the EPA estimates that the United States still loses approximately 60,000-100,000 acres of wetlands annually.

Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, efforts began to to reverse wetland losses by establishing wetland restoration programs. These programs are designed to assist landowners who wish to voluntarily restore wetlands on their property. The US EPA, State agencies and non-profit conservation organizations have also established wetland restoration programs.

[edit] Practice

If a grassland or forested upland is is converted to agricultural use and either remains fallow or is abandoned, it frequently will reverted back to a second generation upland or grassland over time without any human intervention. Spontaneous generation of a converted wetland, is less certain. In certain instances where the hydrology of the area is not grossly disturbed, it may revert back to a wetland but in many instances the tilling and draining of an agricultural conversion disrupts the hydrology of the area, minimizing the converted lands ability to revert back to a functional wetland. In many instances, if the land is abandoned, the changes made (draining, rerouting of waterways etc) will not be reversed, potentially changing the abandoned farmland to an upland. Typically abandoned farmland is not found as one large parcel, it is often randomly dispersed, with uncultivated areas and natural areas intermingling. This checkerboard pattern creates habitat fragmentation isolating species and restricts and diminishes diversity.