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Abstract The implementation of coastal nature-based features, created wetlands, and wetland restoration has increased globally over recent years. Many of these projects have been successful in meeting their goals, however, when projects fail, it is often attributed to mortality of transplanted vegetation. Transplant mortality may be due to inappropriate timing, poor site selection, or abiotic stressors associated with transplant shock. Science-backed guidelines have been well established in many coastal regions regarding site specifications and species selection, but nursery practices for reducing transplant shock remain inconsistent. In this study, we tested a combination of four salinity acclimation treatments and two inundation acclimation treatments on nursery-grownSpartina alternifloraandS. patensplugs. We measured a suite of plant functional traits to determine tradeoffs in plant response with a focus on traits associated with plant marketability, indicators of stress acclimation, and desired traits for restoration goals. A subset of plants was transplanted to a restoration site for analysis of their survival in situ. Exposure to salinity and inundation resulted in traits associated with both marketability and restoration goals (e.g., increased stem height, reduced dead to live stem ratio, and increased biomass), as well as evidence of acclimation to field stressors. However, trait differences did not translate to differences in field performance as survival and expansion of transplanted individuals showed no difference between acclimation treatments. The future of coastal wetland creation and restoration will require plant material that is produced using a science-based approach to ensure plants are robust, long-lived, and marketable to achieve the needs to restoration and nursery practitioners alike.
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Stream restoration effectively alters functional diversity and composition of riparian plant communities in the southern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.
Channel incision degrades ecosystems by lowering water tables and disconnecting floodplains. Stream restoration often aims to reverse these impacts. However, projects typically receive minimal monitoring, and treatment effectiveness has not been validated. We used trait‐based analysis to evaluate whether two stream restoration techniques—beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and plug‐and‐ponds—raised water tables and increased overbank flooding, whether these altered environmental filters facilitated recovery of riparian plant communities, and how reassembly impacted the representation of traits that influence ecosystem function. We report on a before‐after‐control‐impact study and Bayesian analysis that estimated the probability that treatments affected riparian plant functional diversity and composition. We found a high probability (0.99 and 0.97, respectively) that BDAs decreased functional dispersion by ≥50% and plug‐and‐ponds decreased dispersion by ≥30%. Both treatments increased the relative abundance of high moisture use plants, wetland plants, and plants with high anaerobic tolerance. For example, BDAs increased the relative abundance of obligate wetland plants by 100%, and plug‐and‐ponds increased the relative abundance of facultative wetland plants by 105%, on average. These results suggest treatments modified environmental filters and recovered riparian plant communities. Ecosystem function was likely altered as the streamside plant community reassembled. Small increases in functional divergence suggest both treatments increased resource use efficiency, and we found a high probability of small treatment effect sizes (<20%) related to changes in community‐level C:N and nitrogen fixation. Our results demonstrate trait‐based analysis can detect a rapid response to restoration and offer a cost‐effective monitoring approach to compare treatments across space and time.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2021744
- PAR ID:
- 10609085
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Restoration Ecology
- ISSN:
- 1061-2971
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70053
