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Controls on Rarity and Persistence in Wetland Plants

EPA Grant Number: F5F11657
Title: Controls on Rarity and Persistence in Wetland Plants
Investigators: Scanga, Sara E.
Institution: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
EPA Project Officer: Jones, Brandon
Project Period: August 29, 2005 through August 28, 2008
Project Amount: $104,504
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (2005)
Research Category: Academic Fellowships

Description:

Objective:

Hotspots of rare species on the landscape, wetlands are threatened by human-accelerated environmental changes. Currently, no sufficient tools have been developed to protect many vulnerable wetland plant species from extinction. The primary goal of this research is to examine the patterns and processes of wetland plant rarity. Understanding the controls on wetland plant rarity will assist conservation managers in predicting and preventing extinctions.

Controls on rarity will be examined by comparing traits of rare and common wetland plants of North America. The focus will be on one rare species, Trollius laxus (spreading globe-flower, Ranunculaceae), primarily examining the mechanisms behind its persistence in forested wetlands and at its range margins, and evaluating the value of a specific management tool, creating canopy gaps, for its conservation.

Approach:

Because the ability to disperse and colonize new sites is of particular importance in the distribution of wetland species, a comparison between seed traits among rare and common wetland plants will be investigated. The project will focus on the effects of environmental characteristics on the demography of T. laxus at open and forested wetlands at both its northern and eastern range margins. Also, there will be an examination of the effects of canopy gap creation on T. laxus demography in a controlled field experiment in a forested wetland.

Expected Results:

In addition to providing managers in five states with a specific tool for conserving a single rare plant, T. laxus, this research is aimed at the general needs of wetland managers and researchers at the national level. By determining the controls on wetland plant rarity, project results will help to guide wetland preservation, management, and restoration decisions so that rare species are able to persist.

Supplemental Keywords:

Trollius laxus, spreading globeflower, wetland plants, rarity, rare and endangered species, persistence, extinction, conservation, management, Ranunculaceae, rich fen, northern white-cedar swamp, northern conifer swamp, seed traits, dispersal, geographic range, demography, population matrix modeling, canopy gaps, , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water, Scientific Discipline, ECOSYSTEMS, Restoration, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, ecological impact, environmental rehabilitation, forested wetlands, invasive plant species, wetlands, ecological recovery, wetland restoration, wetland plant species extinction, aquatic ecosystems, nutrient loading, exotic plant species, endangered species, nitrogen compounds

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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