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EPA Scientists Developing Rapid Methods to Assess Coastal Wetlands
By Donna Roa
May, 2006
EPA research is helping states and tribes across New England get a clearer picture of the condition of their coastal wetlands. Office of Research and Development Atlantic Ecology Division scientists in collaboration with state agencies and universities are conducting research in 60 coastal wetland areas to create a cost-effective, rapid assessment tool to identify and report on impaired wetlands and support the development of tiered aquatic life use support criteria.
"This type of assessment provides important inventories of wetland resources, information on the overall quality and quantity of wetlands, and data on what sites need immediate attention," explains Cathleen Wigand, a wetland ecologist at EPA's Atlantic Ecology Division.
The New England coastal wetland assessment study is one of a few national case studies using a three-tiered iterative approach to assess wetland conditions. The three-tiered approach is rapid and has both office-based and on-site field assessments of the wetlands.
In the first tier, researchers used a big-picture approach to looking at wetlands: inventory maps, aerial photography, and satellite images. This view allows the scientists to assess overall landscape conditions and to gather data which are calibrated and verified in assessments that follow.
In the second tier, the team took a closer look, conducting on-site field assessments to determine the effects of ditching, draining, and tidal flushing. They also evaluated plant types and coverage, as well as the conditions and content of the soil.
Finally, data from the first two tiers were used to inform the final tier evaluation-a detailed field assessment. The team reviewed a targeted subset of reference sites with varying watershed disturbance-ten Narragansett Bay coastal fringe marshes (i.e., Jenny Pond, Fox Hill Salt Marsh, Fogland Marsh, Mary Donovan Marsh, Passeonkquis Cove, Brush Neck Cove, Bissell Cove, Old Mill Creek, Watchemoket Cove, and Apponaug Cove). They focused on measures of plants, infauna, and some bacterial transformations such as denitrification and soil respiration.
Their preliminary findings reveal that there were significant relationships between the rapid assessment plant data and the more intensive plant field measurements.
"The third tier data verified the accuracy of our rapid assessment plant methods," explains Wigand. "We are continuing with the research and the statistical analyses of the data to ensure that we develop and calibrate an evaluation scheme that is scientifically sound, rapid, and cost effective for our customers."
EPA’s wetland scientists provide technical assistance to northeastern and mid-Atlantic states and collaborate with the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, Yale University, and the University of Rhode Island to implement landscape and rapid assessment of coastal salt marshes in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Rich Sumner (liaison between EPA Office of Research and Development and Office of Water) provides coordination among the national wetland assessment case studies.
Author Donna Roa | Editor Aaron Ferster