Poster Details
PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTED AND RESTORED WETLANDS AT THE WATERSHED-SCALE: A MODIFIED MODELING PROCEDURE TO EVALUATE WETLAND HYDROLOGIC EFFECTS
Wetlands are prized for a multiplicity of associated ecosystem services (e.g., peak streamflow attenuation, biogeochemical processing, and habitat provisioning). Scientists and engineers recognize that constructed and restored wetlands can be strategically managed to harness these services and thereby improve watershed-scale functions. Yet there are significant challenges to producing quantitative watershed-scale plans to guide the positioning of wetlands within the greater landscape framework. Here, we present a modification of the Soil and Water Assessment tool that improves both the spatial and hydrologic representation of non-floodplain (i.e. geographically isolated) wetlands. We describe the modified model and discuss how it may be applied to watershed management through scenario analyses and spatial optimization of wetland restoration and construction. The presented methods represent a significant opportunity to evaluate non-floodplain constructed and restored wetlands as means of improving watershed-scale functions.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the US EPA.
Grey Evenson (Primary Presenter/Author), US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, evenson.grey@epa.gov;
Nate Jones ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alabama, cnjones7@ua.edu;
Daniel McLaughlin ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Tech, mclaugd@vt.edu;
Heather Golden ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, Watershed & Ecosystem Characterization Division, Cincinnati, OH , golden.heather@epa.gov;
Charles Lane ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, Watershed & Ecosystem Characterization Division, Cincinnati, OH , lane.charles@epa.gov;