TY - JOUR
T1 - Why experiment with success? Opportunities and risks in applying assessment and adaptive management to the Emiquon floodplain restoration project
AU - Sparks, Richard E.
AU - Douglas Blodgett, K.
AU - Casper, Andrew F.
AU - Hagy, Heath M.
AU - Lemke, Michael J.
AU - Velho, Luiz Felipe Machado
AU - Rodrigues, Luzia Cleide
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois Water Survey, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Science Foundation, for data, funding, and in-kind support. Research on nutrients, sediments, water quality, plankton, and microbial communities following the flood of 2013 was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Award Number 1347077 to Prof. Michael Lemke (Principal Investigator) and Assoc. Prof. Keenan Dungey, Dr. Heath Hagy, and Dr. Andrew Casper (Co-Principal Investigators). Michael Vincent Misayah, Richard J. Daley College, Chicago, also contributed, through the Undergraduate Research Collaboratives (URC) Program of the National Science Foundation. The aerial waterfowl survey was supported by grant W-43-R from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, to Dr. Heath Hagy (Principal Investigator). The vegetation surveys were supported by contract C07-032 from The Nature Conservancy to Dr. Heath Hagy, Joshua Stafford, Aaron Yetter (co-Principal Investigators). Christopher Hine, Joshua Osborn, Aaron Yetter, Michelle Horath, and Gregory Fretueg collected, processed, and analyzed data from the vegetation and bird surveys. Sally McClure finalized the figures, Cammy Smith checked references and formatting, and Ruth Sparks made suggestions that improved the text. Guest editors: Michael J. Lemke, A. Maria Lemke & Jeffery W. Walk / Large-Scale Floodplain Restoration in the Illinois River Valley
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments We thank The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois Water Survey, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Science Foundation, for data, funding, and in-kind support. Research on nutrients, sediments, water quality, plankton, and microbial communities following the flood of 2013 was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Award Number 1347077 to Prof. Michael Lemke (Principal Investigator) and Assoc. Prof. Keenan Dungey, Dr. Heath Hagy, and Dr. Andrew Casper (Co-Principal Investigators). Michael Vincent Misayah, Richard J. Daley College, Chicago, also contributed, through the Undergraduate Research Collaboratives (URC) Program of the National Science Foundation. The aerial waterfowl survey was supported by grant W-43-R from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, to Dr. Heath Hagy (Principal Investigator). The vegetation surveys were supported by contract C07-032 from The Nature Conservancy to Dr. Heath Hagy, Joshua Stafford, Aaron Yetter (co-Principal Investigators). Christopher Hine, Joshua Osborn, Aaron Yetter, Michelle Horath, and Gregory Fretueg collected, processed, and analyzed data from the vegetation and bird surveys. Sally McClure finalized the figures, Cammy Smith checked references and formatting, and Ruth Sparks made suggestions that improved the text.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - The Nature Conservancy’s wetland restoration at the Emiquon Preserve has been a success to date, but there are warning signs of undesirable change if left unmanaged. A water control structure built in 2016 will increase management capabilities, but periodic connection to the river, which has experienced human alterations typical of rivers in eastern North America and Europe, also introduces risks. The Conservancy’s planning process has identified (1) management targets (e.g., diverse native fish populations); (2) Key Ecological Attributes (KEAs) that maintain the targets (e.g., relatively deep over-wintering habitats for fishes); (3) measurable indicators for the KEAs (e.g., depth in winter); and (4) desirable ranges for the indicators (e.g., 10% of the aquatic area has depths of 2–3 m and dissolved oxygen levels of 4–6 mg/l). Assessments and experiments completed to date have focused on documenting the restoration, evaluating effects of the record flood of 2013, and predicting outcomes of management actions. Simulation models of hydrology, hydraulics, and vegetation response developed during the planning process allayed some concerns of stakeholders, but not all outcomes are predictable from either current theory or management experience. Therefore, each action can be considered not only as an adaptive management experiment focused on sustaining targets, but also contributing to ecological theory and restoration practice on a broader scale.
AB - The Nature Conservancy’s wetland restoration at the Emiquon Preserve has been a success to date, but there are warning signs of undesirable change if left unmanaged. A water control structure built in 2016 will increase management capabilities, but periodic connection to the river, which has experienced human alterations typical of rivers in eastern North America and Europe, also introduces risks. The Conservancy’s planning process has identified (1) management targets (e.g., diverse native fish populations); (2) Key Ecological Attributes (KEAs) that maintain the targets (e.g., relatively deep over-wintering habitats for fishes); (3) measurable indicators for the KEAs (e.g., depth in winter); and (4) desirable ranges for the indicators (e.g., 10% of the aquatic area has depths of 2–3 m and dissolved oxygen levels of 4–6 mg/l). Assessments and experiments completed to date have focused on documenting the restoration, evaluating effects of the record flood of 2013, and predicting outcomes of management actions. Simulation models of hydrology, hydraulics, and vegetation response developed during the planning process allayed some concerns of stakeholders, but not all outcomes are predictable from either current theory or management experience. Therefore, each action can be considered not only as an adaptive management experiment focused on sustaining targets, but also contributing to ecological theory and restoration practice on a broader scale.
KW - Adaptive management
KW - Conflict
KW - Floodplain
KW - Large river
KW - Restoration
KW - Uncertainty
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84966715983&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84966715983&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10750-016-2785-8
DO - 10.1007/s10750-016-2785-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84966715983
VL - 804
SP - 177
EP - 200
JO - Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health
JF - Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health
SN - 0018-8158
IS - 1
ER -