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Wetland Management and Restoration

Course Description

Course provides intellectual frameworks to understand, preserve, and manage wetlands. Course introduces the hydrology, geomorphology, soils, nutrient and carbon cycling, ecology, habitat, and legal status of wetlands. Course explores how to manage existing wetlands to improve provisioning of ecosystem functioning, create wetlands, and restore wetlands.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to produce an additional monitoring plan for their wetland restoration/creation plan.

Athena Title

Wetland Mgmt and Restoration

Undergraduate Prerequisite

CRSS(WASR) 1020 or CRSS(FANR) 3060 or FANR 3200W or ECOL 3500 or ECOL 3505H or ECOL 1000 or ECOL 1000E or ECOL 1000H

Graduate Prerequisite

FANR 3800 or FANR 5620/7620-5620L/7620L or FANR 5620E/7620E or GEOG 4370/6370-4370L/6370L or GEOG 4370E/6370E

Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will understand the geomorphic, pedogenic, and hydrologic processes that create and support wetlands.
  • Students will understand the biogeochemical processes that make wetland habitats and ecosystems different.
  • Students will understand the effects of watershed and riparian condition on wetland ecology.
  • Students will understand the diversity of wetland environments.
  • Students will learn the history of legal and regulatory systems affecting wetland management.
  • Students will develop skills in using spatial information and field surveys to characterize wetlands and wetland health.
  • Students will develop collaborative skills in conceptualizing and designing wetland restoration projects.
  • Students will develop skills in verbal and written communication of wetland science.

Topical Outline

  • Introduction - What is a wetland? - Wetland functions and values - Basic ecological concepts - Why are wetlands crucial parts of ecosystems?
  • Wetland Geomorphology, Hydrology, and Soils - Wetland formation and occurrence - Classification of wetlands - Wetland hydrology - Hydric soils
  • Wetland Ecology - Plant adaptations to wetlands - Animal adaptations to wetlands - Trophic basis of wetland food webs - Abiotic controls of wetland states and processes
  • Wetland Biogeochemistry - Microbes role in ecological structure and function of wetlands - Wetland primary productivity - Nutrient processing in wetlands (N cycling and denitrification, C cycling and sequestration, P cycling and sequestration)
  • Wetland interactions with adjacent upland/riparian areas - Adjacent vegetation - Land use change within the watershed
  • Wetland Animal Ecology - Birds: waterfowl, migratory - Herpetefauna: salamanders, frogs, turtles
  • Wetland Regulation and Policy at Federal and State levels - Wetland regulation - wetland usage and loss - Wetland laws and regulation
  • Wetland Creation, Restoration, and Improvement - Design goals - Wetland creation (Water sources, water budget; Hydroperiod; Soils; Vegetation) - Wetland water level management - Wetland alteration to enhance specific ecological services (Habitat, Denitrification, Carbon sequestration, Phosphorus sequestration, Stream connectivity) - Flood mitigation
  • Group Presentations on Study Wetlands Student presentations of Research Papers Group Presentations of Wetland Designs

Syllabus

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