Innovative Approaches for Wetland Restoration and Invasive Species Management
Coastal and wetland ecosystems provide critical habitat to birds, fish, wildlife, and a suite of other organisms, clean our water and mitigate flooding events, and offer tremendous recreational opportunities to visitors. However, the majority of coastal and wetland ecosystems in the Great Lakes basin have been significantly degraded or destroyed by ditching, draining, development, invasive species, and other human impacts over the past two centuries. The restoration and management of these systems is a high priority for resource managers of public and private lands. Therefore, the USGS Great Lakes Science Center wetlands research team and its many collaborators are conducting research that supports the restoration and sustainable management of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, including the development of new restoration approaches and innovative treatments for invasive plant species. Extensive collaborations with federal, state, academic, and non-profit partners are the foundation of our cutting-edge science and support our work with managers to apply site-specific results at national scales.
Wetland restoration
The restoration or rehabilitation of Great Lakes coastal wetlands is a high priority for management agencies in the Great Lakes basin. Although some wetlands are degraded by ditching or filling, many are isolated from the Great Lakes and tributaries by earthen dikes and present opportunities for restoration. Therefore, our research team is working with US Fish and Wildlife Service and many other partners to study how wetlands respond to being reconnected back to their parent water body. We look at biotic (fish, invertebrates, vegetation), abiotic (water quality, nutrient loads, flow), and ecosystem-level factors and work closely with the management community to share results and help guide future restoration efforts.
Cutting-edge technology to develop innovative invasive species treatments
Recent scientific advancements in the fields of genetics and interactions between host plants and the micro-organisms associated with them create a unique opportunity to develop cutting-edge technologies to control invasive and promote native species establishment, further improving the efficiency and results of management actions. Sequencing and describing a plant’s genome opens the door to development of species-specific treatments that limit the expression of specific traits that help non-native plants outcompete native plants and invade critical habitats. Testing of new non-toxic bioherbicides that target the relationship between invasive plants and bacteria, fungi, and other microbes advance our understanding of how microbes contribute to plant invasiveness. However, these lines of research are novel and still full of many unknowns. We are working collaboratively with many partners to develop new treatments for the non-native Phragmites australis (common reed) and set a foundation that supports adaptation of the treatments for other invasive plant species.
Regional coordination
Lack of regional communication among people working to manage invasive species and restore functional ecosystems often contributes to inefficient use of resources, uncoordinated research efforts, and missed opportunities to maximize the collective impact on the problem. We work collaboratively with government, tribal, non-profit, and academic partners to fill regional communication gaps and link science and natural resource management. For example, a close partnership with the Great Lakes Commission helped create the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative to improve the flow of information about the invasive Phragmites australis and subsequently the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (see below) to reduce uncertainty about which management treatment worked best as site conditions vary. The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program is another example of region-wide collaboration to evaluate the ecological health of Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
Adaptive Management
Adaptive management is an iterative, structured decision-making process designed to reduce uncertainty by monitoring and making changes to the process through time. USGS, the Great Lakes Commission, the University of Georgia, and other partners used principles of adaptive management to stand up the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework and reduce uncertainty about which treatments work best. Without coordinated adaptive management, management actions are often performed using a trial-and-error approach. Our goal is to use adaptive management to facilitate a shift in management strategy for Phragmites to reduce treatment uncertainty, increase management efficiency, and improve invasive species management at both the local and regional scales.
Fostering Collaboration
Collective Impact is a structured form of collaboration that pulls together a diverse group of participants around a common agenda that often tackles a large societal problem. USGS, the Great Lakes Commission, and many other partners have adapted this approach to reduce the impact of invasive Phragmites australis throughout the basin. Structured collaborations through the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative, the Collaborative on Symbiosis and Phragmites Management (i.e., Phragmites Symbiosis Collaborative), and the European Frogbit Collaborative are maximizing the impact of research on and management of non-native plants.
Applied Research
As an applied research agency, USGS continues to work closely with partner management agencies to identify high priority research needs and implement wetland and invasive species projects. From electrofishing in hydrologically reconnected wetland habitat to testing innovative treatment methods on Phragmites, our research directly supports decision making and resource management on the landscape.
Coastal and wetland ecosystems provide critical habitat to birds, fish, wildlife, and a suite of other organisms, clean our water and mitigate flooding events, and offer tremendous recreational opportunities to visitors. However, the majority of coastal and wetland ecosystems in the Great Lakes basin have been significantly degraded or destroyed by ditching, draining, development, invasive species, and other human impacts over the past two centuries. The restoration and management of these systems is a high priority for resource managers of public and private lands. Therefore, the USGS Great Lakes Science Center wetlands research team and its many collaborators are conducting research that supports the restoration and sustainable management of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, including the development of new restoration approaches and innovative treatments for invasive plant species. Extensive collaborations with federal, state, academic, and non-profit partners are the foundation of our cutting-edge science and support our work with managers to apply site-specific results at national scales.
Wetland restoration
The restoration or rehabilitation of Great Lakes coastal wetlands is a high priority for management agencies in the Great Lakes basin. Although some wetlands are degraded by ditching or filling, many are isolated from the Great Lakes and tributaries by earthen dikes and present opportunities for restoration. Therefore, our research team is working with US Fish and Wildlife Service and many other partners to study how wetlands respond to being reconnected back to their parent water body. We look at biotic (fish, invertebrates, vegetation), abiotic (water quality, nutrient loads, flow), and ecosystem-level factors and work closely with the management community to share results and help guide future restoration efforts.
Cutting-edge technology to develop innovative invasive species treatments
Recent scientific advancements in the fields of genetics and interactions between host plants and the micro-organisms associated with them create a unique opportunity to develop cutting-edge technologies to control invasive and promote native species establishment, further improving the efficiency and results of management actions. Sequencing and describing a plant’s genome opens the door to development of species-specific treatments that limit the expression of specific traits that help non-native plants outcompete native plants and invade critical habitats. Testing of new non-toxic bioherbicides that target the relationship between invasive plants and bacteria, fungi, and other microbes advance our understanding of how microbes contribute to plant invasiveness. However, these lines of research are novel and still full of many unknowns. We are working collaboratively with many partners to develop new treatments for the non-native Phragmites australis (common reed) and set a foundation that supports adaptation of the treatments for other invasive plant species.
Regional coordination
Lack of regional communication among people working to manage invasive species and restore functional ecosystems often contributes to inefficient use of resources, uncoordinated research efforts, and missed opportunities to maximize the collective impact on the problem. We work collaboratively with government, tribal, non-profit, and academic partners to fill regional communication gaps and link science and natural resource management. For example, a close partnership with the Great Lakes Commission helped create the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative to improve the flow of information about the invasive Phragmites australis and subsequently the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (see below) to reduce uncertainty about which management treatment worked best as site conditions vary. The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program is another example of region-wide collaboration to evaluate the ecological health of Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
Adaptive Management
Adaptive management is an iterative, structured decision-making process designed to reduce uncertainty by monitoring and making changes to the process through time. USGS, the Great Lakes Commission, the University of Georgia, and other partners used principles of adaptive management to stand up the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework and reduce uncertainty about which treatments work best. Without coordinated adaptive management, management actions are often performed using a trial-and-error approach. Our goal is to use adaptive management to facilitate a shift in management strategy for Phragmites to reduce treatment uncertainty, increase management efficiency, and improve invasive species management at both the local and regional scales.
Fostering Collaboration
Collective Impact is a structured form of collaboration that pulls together a diverse group of participants around a common agenda that often tackles a large societal problem. USGS, the Great Lakes Commission, and many other partners have adapted this approach to reduce the impact of invasive Phragmites australis throughout the basin. Structured collaborations through the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative, the Collaborative on Symbiosis and Phragmites Management (i.e., Phragmites Symbiosis Collaborative), and the European Frogbit Collaborative are maximizing the impact of research on and management of non-native plants.
Applied Research
As an applied research agency, USGS continues to work closely with partner management agencies to identify high priority research needs and implement wetland and invasive species projects. From electrofishing in hydrologically reconnected wetland habitat to testing innovative treatment methods on Phragmites, our research directly supports decision making and resource management on the landscape.