Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 177-200 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Hydrobiologia |
| Volume | 804 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2017 |
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Keywords
- Adaptive management
- Conflict
- Floodplain
- Large river
- Restoration
- Uncertainty
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aquatic Science
Cite this
Why experiment with success? Opportunities and risks in applying assessment and adaptive management to the Emiquon floodplain restoration project. / Sparks, Richard E.; Douglas Blodgett, K.; Casper, Andrew Fowler; Hagy, Heath; Lemke, Michael J.; Velho, Luiz Felipe Machado; Rodrigues, Luzia Cleide.
In: Hydrobiologia, Vol. 804, No. 1, 01.12.2017, p. 177-200.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
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 Fowler
AU - Hagy, Heath
AU - Lemke, Michael J.
AU - Velho, Luiz Felipe Machado
AU - Rodrigues, Luzia Cleide
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 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84966715983
VL - 804
SP - 177
EP - 200
JO - Hydrobiologia
JF - Hydrobiologia
SN - 0018-8158
IS - 1
ER -