Performance Criteria, Compliance Success, and Vegetation Development in Compensatory Mitigation Wetlands

The US Army Corps of Engineers often requires wetland creation or restoration as compensation for wetlands damaged during development. These wetlands are typically monitored postconstruction to determine the level of compliance with respect to site-specific performance standards. However, defining appropriate goals and measuring success of restorations has proven difficult. We reviewed monitoring information for 76 wetlands constructed between 1992 and 2002 to summarize the performance criteria used to measure progress, assess compliance with those criteria, and, finally, to evaluate the appropriateness of those criteria. Goals were overwhelmingly focused on plant communities. Attributes used to assess the quality of restored plant communities, including percent native species and the Floristic Quality Index, increased over time but were apparently unrelated to the number of species planted. Compliance frequencies varied depending on site goals; sites often failed to comply with criteria related to survival of planted vegetation or requirements that dominant plant species should not be exotic or weedy, whereas criteria related to the establishment of cover by vegetation or by wetland-dependent plants were often met. Judgment of a site’s success or failure was largely a function of the goals set for the site. Some performance criteria were too lenient to be of value in distinguishing failed from successful sites, whereas other criteria were unachievable without more intensive site management. More appropriate goals could be devised for restored wetlands by basing performance standards on past performance of similar restorations, identifying consistent temporal trends in attributes of restored sites, and using natural wetlands as references.     

FORESTED WETLANDS IN EASTERN CONNECTICUT: THEIR TRANSITION ZONES AND DELINEATION1

ABSTRACT: The delineation of inland wetlands requires close field examination of the biological and physical gradients (transition zones) between wetlands and bordering uplands. As part of a study on the detection and delineation of inland wetlands in eastern Connecticut by remote sensing techniques, this effort was designed to investigate vegetation distribution and composition and selected physical and chemical properties of the soils of wetland to upland transition zones in deciduous wetland forests. Field research was conducted during the growing season of 1975 within a test area consisting of the 45 mi² Town of Mansfield, Connecticut. Changes in vegetation composition and structure, soil pH, and soil water content were determined along line transects extended over wetland to upland transition zones. Differences in soil pH occurred along the transects but were of such magnitude that they probably have little impact on plant distribution. There were significant changes in soil water content along the wetland to upland gradients. Discriminant analysis applied to statistical “index of abundance” data describing vegetation distribution among the various zones (wetland, transition, upland) showed which plant species best distinguish wetlands from uplands. Of the criteria studied, vegetation composition and distribution, soil water content, and relief are the most useful criteria for delineating deciduous wetland forests.     

Soil organic carbon of degraded wetlands treated with freshwater in the Yellow River Delta, China

Supplying freshwater is one of the important methods to help restore degraded wetlands. Changes in soil properties and plant community biomass were evaluated by comparing sites with freshwater treatment versus reference sites following freshwater addition to wetlands of the Yellow River Delta for 7 years. The results indicated that soil organic carbon (SOC) was significantly increased in all wetland sites that were treated with freshwater compared to the reference sites. The treatment wetlands had greater total nitrogen (TN), lower pH and electrical conductivity and higher water content in the soil compared to the reference wetlands. In general, the upper soil layer (0-20 cm) had greater SOC than the lower soil layer (20-40 cm). The increase of SOC in the freshwater reintroduction wetlands was higher in the Suaeda salsa plant community (mean ± standard error) (6.89 ± 0.63 g/kg) and Phragmites communis plant community (4.11 ± 0.12 g/kg) than in the Tamarix chinensis plant community (1.40 ± 0.31 g/kg) in the upper soil layer. The differences were especially marked between the treated and reference wetlands for SOC and TN in the P. communis plant communities. The C:N ratio of the soil was significantly greater in the treated compared to the reference wetlands for the S. salsa plant community. Although the C: N ratios increased after treatment, they were all <25 suggesting that N availability was not limiting soil organic matter decomposition. Our results indicate that freshwater addition and the concomitant increase in soil moisture content enhances the accumulation of SOC in the Yellow River Delta.     

Comparison of Function of Created Wetlands of Two Age Classes in Central Pennsylvania

Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) functional assessment models were used to assess whether function in created wetlands of two ages (1 year old and >12 years old) was equivalent to that of natural (reference) mainstem floodplain wetlands. Reference wetlands scored higher than both created age classes for providing energy dissipation and short-term surface water storage. Reference wetlands scored higher in maintaining native plant community and structure than 1-year-old sites, and 12-year-old wetlands scored higher than reference sites for providing vertebrate habitat structure. Analysis of individual model variables showed that reference wetlands had greater vegetative biomass and higher soil organic matter content than both created wetland age classes. Created wetlands were farther from natural wetlands and had smaller mean forest patch sizes within a 1-km-radius circle around the site than did the reference sites, indicating less hydrologic connectivity. Created wetlands also had less microtopographic variation than reference wetlands. The 1-year-old created sites were placed in landscape settings with greater land use diversity and road density than reference sites. The 12-year-old sites had a higher gradient and a higher percentage of their surrounding area in urban land use. These results show that the created wetlands were significantly structurally different (if not functionally so) from reference wetlands even after 12 years. The most profound differences were in hydrology and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape. More attention needs to be focused on placing created wetlands in appropriate settings to encourage proper hydrodynamics, eliminate habitat fragmentation, and minimize the effects of stressors to the site.     

Nitrate Removal in a Restored Spring‐Fed Wetland,Pennsylvania, USA1

ABSTRACT:  In 2001, the 1.04‐ha Hornbaker wetland in south‐central Pennsylvania was restored by blocking an artificial drainage ditch to increase water storage and hydraulic retention time (HRT). A primary goal was to diminish downstream delivery of nitrate that enters the wetland from a limestone spring, its main source of inflow. Wetland inflow and outflow were monitored weekly for two years to assess nitrate flux, water temperature, pH, and specific conductivity. In Year 2, spring discharge was measured weekly to allow calculation of nitrate loads and hydraulic retention time. Surface runoff was confirmed to be a small fraction of wetland inflows via rainfall‐runoff modeling with TR‐55. The full dataset (n = 102) was screened to remove 13 weeks in which spring discharge constituted < 85% of total inflows because of high precipitation and surface runoff. Over two years (n = 89), mean nitrate‐nitrogen concentrations were 7.89 mg/l in inflow and 3.68 mg/l in outflow, with a mean nitrate removal of 4.19 mg/l. During Year 2 (n = 47), for which nitrate load data were available, the wetland removed an average of 2.32 kg N/day, 65% of the load. Nitrate removal was significantly correlated with HRT, water temperature, and the concentration of nitrate in inflow and was significantly greater during the growing season (5.36 mg/l, 64%) than during the non‐growing season (3.23 mg/l, 43%). This study indicates that hydrologic restoration of formerly drained wetlands can provide substantial water quality benefits and that the hydrologic characteristics of spring‐fed wetlands, in particular, support effective nitrogen removal.     

Waterbird Population Changes in the Wetlands at Chongming Dongtan in the Yangtze River Estuary,China

We studied the changes in wetland habitats and waterbird communities between the 1980s and the 2000s at Chongming Dongtan, a Ramsar site in the Yangtze River estuary, an ecologically important region. This region is an important stopover site for shorebirds along the East Asian–Australasian flyway and is extensively used by waterfowl. A net loss of 11% of the wetland area was estimated during study periods at Chongming Dongtan. The change was dependent on wetland types: while the area of artificial habitats such as paddy fields and aquacultural ponds more than doubled, more than 65% of natural habitats including sea bulrush (Scirpus mariqueter) and common reed (Phragmites australis) marshes were lost over the two decades. An exotic plant species introduced from North America, smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), occupied 30% of the vegetated intertidal zone by the 2000s. Although waterbird species richness did not change between the 1980s (110) and the 2000s (111), 13 species found in 1980s were replaced by 14 newly recorded species. Moreover, there were more species with declining trends (58) than with increasing trends (19). The population trends of species were affected by residential status and habitat types. Transients, wintering migrants, and habitat specialists were more likely to show declining trends compared to those breeding at Dongtan (including year-round and summer residents) and habitat generalists. Furthermore, species associated mainly with natural wetlands were more likely to decline than those associated mainly with artificial wetlands. These patterns suggest that the loss and change of wetland habitats at Chongming Dongtan adversely affected local population dynamics and might have contributed to the global decline of some waterbird species. Because Chongming Dongtan provides stopover and wintering habitats for many migratory waterbirds, protection and restoration of natural wetlands at Chongming Dongtan are urgently needed.     

Can constructed wetlands reduce the diffuse phosphorus loads to eutrophic water in cold temperate regions?

Construction of wetlands is a possible supplement to best management practices (BMP) at the field level to mitigate phosphorus (P) pollution from agricultural areas. In this paper, annual results from 17 intensively studied wetlands in the cold temperate or boreal climatic zone are reported and analyzed. Surface areas varied from 0.007 to 8.7% of the catchment area. The average total phosphorus (TP) retention varied from 1 to 88%, and the dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) retention from -19 to 89%. Retention varied substantially from site to site, indicating the existence of site-specific factors in the catchment and wetlands that influenced the P removal. Factors important for P retention in wetlands were evaluated through multiple statistical analyses by dividing P into two fractions: particulate phosphorus (PP) and DRP. Both relative (%) PP and DRP retention increased with wetland surface area. However, PP retention was not as sensitive as DRP in terms of wetland size and retention: specific PP retention (gram P retention per m(2) and year) decreased as wetland area (A(w)) increased, suggesting the existence of a site-specific optimal wetland to catchment area (A(c)) ratio. Particulate P retention decreased with increasing DRP to TP ratio, while the opposite was found for DRP. Dissolved reactive P retention was higher in new than in old wetlands, while increasing age did not influence PP retention negatively. Effective BMP in the catchment is important to keep the P loss low, because the outlet concentration of P from wetlands is often positively correlated to the input concentration. However, wetlands act as the last buffer in a catchment, since the retention often increases as the P concentration in streams increases.     

Nutrient removal in a pilot and full scale constructed wetland, Putrajaya city, Malaysia

Putrajaya Wetlands in Malaysia, a 200ha constructed wetland system consisting of 24 cells, was created in 1997-1998 to treat surface runoff caused by development and agricultural activities from an upstream catchment before entering Putrajaya Lake (400ha). It was designed for stormwater treatment, flood control and amenity use. The water quality improvement performance of a section of the wetland cells is described. The nutrient removal performance was 82.11% for total nitrogen, 70.73% for nitrate-nitrogen and 84.32% for phosphate, respectively, along six wetland cells from Upper North UN6 to UN1 from April to December 2004. Nutrient removal in pilot scale tank systems, simulating a constructed wetland and planted with examples of common species at Putrajaya, the Common Reed Phragmites karka and Tube Sedge Lepironia articulata, and the capacity of these species to retain nutrients in above and below-ground plant biomass and substrate is reported. The uptake of nutrients by the Common Reed and Tube Sedge from the pilot tank system was 42.1% TKN; 28.9% P and 17.4% TKN; 26.1% P, respectively. The nutrient uptake efficiency of the Common Reed was higher in above-ground than in below-ground tissue. The results have implications for plant species selection in the design of constructed wetlands in Malaysia and for optimizing the performance of these systems.     

Building spectral libraries for wetlands land cover classification and hyperspectral remote sensing

Recent advances in remote sensing provide opportunities to map plant species and vegetation within wetlands at management relevant scales and resolutions. Hyperspectral imagers, currently available on airborne platforms, provide increased spectral resolution over existing space-based sensors that can document detailed information on the distribution of vegetation community types, and sometimes species. Development of spectral libraries of wetland species is a key component needed to facilitate advanced analytical techniques to monitor wetlands. Canopy and leaf spectra at five sites in California, Texas, and Mississippi were sampled to create a common spectral library for mapping wetlands from remotely sensed data. An extensive library of spectra (n=1336) for coastal wetland communities, across a range of bioclimatic, edaphic, and disturbance conditions were measured. The wetland spectral libraries were used to classify and delineate vegetation at a separate location, the Pacheco Creek wetland in the Sacramento Delta, California, using a PROBE-1 airborne hyperspectral data set (5m pixel resolution, 128 bands). This study discusses sampling and collection methodologies for building libraries, and illustrates the potential of advanced sensors to map wetland composition. The importance of developing comprehensive wetland spectral libraries, across diverse ecosystems is highlighted. In tandem with improved analytical tools these libraries provide a physical basis for interpretation that is less subject to conditions of specific data sets. To facilitate a global approach to the application of hyperspectral imagers to mapping wetlands, we suggest that criteria for and compilation of wetland spectral libraries should proceed today in anticipation of the wider availability and eventual space-based deployment of advanced hyperspectral high spatial resolution sensors.     

Rapid Assessment of Urban Wetlands: Do Hydrogeomorphic Classification and Reference Criteria Work?

The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) functional assessment method is predicated on the ability of hydrogeomorphic wetland classification and visual assessment of alteration to provide reference standards against which functions in individual wetlands can be evaluated. The effectiveness of this approach was tested by measuring nitrogen cycling functions in forested wetlands in an urbanized region in New Jersey, USA. Fourteen sites represented three HGM classes and were characterized as “least disturbed reference” or “non-reference” based on initial visual assessment. Water table levels and in situ rates of net nitrogen mineralization, net nitrification, and denitrification were measured over one year in each site. Hydrological alterations, resulting in consistently low or flashy water table levels, were not correlated with a priori designations as reference and non-reference. Although the flat-riverine wetland class had lower net nitrification and higher denitrification rates than riverine or mineral flat wetland classes, this difference was attributable to the lack of hydrologically-altered wetlands in the flat-riverine class, and thus more consistently wet conditions. Within all HGM classes, a classification based on the long-term hydrological record that separated sites with “normal,” saturated hydrology from those with “altered,” drier hydrology, clearly distinguished sites with different nitrogen cycling function. Based on these findings, current practices for designating reference standard sites to judge wetland functions, at least in urbanized regions, are ineffective and potentially misleading. At least one year of hydrological monitoring data is suggested to classify wetlands into groups that have different nutrient cycling functions, particularly in urban landscapes.     

Vegetative Ecological Characteristics of Restored Reed (Phragmites australis) Wetlands in the Yellow River Delta, China

In this study, we compared ecological characteristics of wetland vegetation in a series of restoration projects that were carried out in the wetlands of Yellow River Delta. The investigated characteristics include plant composition structure, species diversity and community similarity in three kinds of Phragmites australis wetlands, i.e. restored P. australis wetlands (R1, R2, R3 and R4: restored in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009, respectively), natural P. australis wetland (N) and degraded P. australis wetland (D) to assess the process of wetlands restoration. The coverage of the R1 was 99%, which was similar to natural wetland. Among all studied wetlands, the highest and lowest stem density was observed in R1 and R2, respectively, Plant height and stem diameter show the same trend as N > R2 > R1 > R3 > D > R4. Species diversity of restored P. australis wetlands became closed to natural wetland. Both species richness and Shannon–Wiener index had similar tendency: increased first and then decreased with restored time. The highest species richness and species diversity were observed in R2, while the lowest values of those parameters were found in natural P. australis wetland. Similarity indexes between restored wetlands and natural wetland increased with the restoration time, but they were still less than 50%. The results indicate that the vegetation of P. australis wetlands has experienced a great improvement after several years’ restoration, and it is feasible to restored degraded P. australis wetlands by pouring fresh water into those wetlands in the Yellow River Delta. However, it is notable that costal degraded P. australis wetland in this region may take years to decades to reach the status of natural wetland.     

Use of wetlands for water quality improvement under the USEPA Region V Clean Lakes Program

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region V Clean Lakes Program employs artificial and modified natural wetlands in an effort to improve the water quality of selected lakes. We examined use of wetlands at seven lake sites and evaluated the physical and institutional means by which wetland projects are implemented and managed, relative to USEPA program goals and expert recommendations on the use of wetlands for water quality improvement. Management practices recommended by wetlands experts addressed water level and retention, sheet flow, nutrient removal, chemical treatment, ecological and effectiveness monitoring, and resource enhancement. Institutional characteristics recommended included local monitoring, regulation, and enforcement and shared responsibilities among jurisdictions. Institutional and ecological objectives of the National Clean Lakes Program were met to some degree at every site. Social objectives were achieved to a lesser extent. Wetland protection mechanisms and appropriate institutional decentralization were present at all sites. Optimal management techniques were employed to varying degrees at each site, but most projects lack adequate monitoring to determine adverse ecological impacts and effectiveness of pollutant removal and do not extensively address needs for recreation and wildlife habitat. There is evidence that the wetland projects are contributing to improved lake water quality; however, more emphasis needs to be placed on wetland protection and long-term project evaluation.     

Mine-drainage treatment wetland as habitat for herptofaunal wildlife

Land reclamation techniques that incorporate habitat features for herptofaunal wildlife have received little attention. We assessed the suitability of a wetland, constructed for the treatment of mine-water drainage, for supporting herptofaunal wildlife from 1988 through 1990 using diurnal and nocturnal surveys. Natural wetlands within the surrounding watershed were also monitored for comparison. The treatment wetland supported the greatest abundance and species richness of herptofauna among the sites surveyed. Abundance was a function of the frog density, particularly green frogs (Rana clamitans) and pickerel frogs (R. palustris), while species richness was due to the number of snake species found. The rich mix of snake species present at the treatment wetland was believed due to a combination of an abundant frog prey base and an amply supply of den sites in rock debris left behind from earlier surface-mining activities. Nocturnal surveys of breeding male frogs demonstrated highest breeding activity at the treatment wetland, particularly for spring peepers (Hyla crucifer). Whole-body assays of green frog and bullfrog (R. catesbeiana) tissues showed no differences among sites in uptake of iron, aluminum, and zinc; managanese levels in samples from the treatment wetland were significantly lower than those from natural wetlands. These results suggest that wetlands established for water quality improvement can provide habitat for reptiles and amphibians, with the species composition dependent on the construction design, the proximity to source populations, and the degree of acidity and heavy-metal concentrations in drainage waters.     

Nitrogen Subsidies from Hillslope Alder Stands to Streamside Wetlands and Headwater Streams,Kenai Peninsula,Alaska

We examined nitrogen transport and wetland primary production along hydrologic flow paths that link nitrogen‐fixing alder (Alnus spp.) stands to downslope wetlands and streams in the Kenai Lowlands, Alaska. We expected that nitrate concentrations in surface water and groundwater would be higher on flow paths below alder. We further expected that nitrate concentrations would be higher in surface water and groundwater at the base of short flow paths with alder and that streamside wetlands at the base of alder‐near flow paths would be less nitrogen limited than wetlands at the base of long flow paths with alder. Our results showed that groundwater nitrate‐N concentrations were significantly higher at alder‐near sites than at no‐alder sites, but did not differ significantly between alder‐far sites and no‐alder sites or between alder‐far sites and alder‐near sites. A survey of ¹⁵N stable isotope signatures in soils and foliage in alder‐near and no‐alder flow paths indicated the alder‐derived nitrogen evident in soils below alder is quickly integrated downslope. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the relative increase in plant biomass after nitrogen fertilization, with the greatest increase occurring in the no‐alder sites. This study demonstrates that streamside wetlands and streams are connected to the surrounding landscapes through hydrologic flow paths, and flow paths with alder stands are potential “hot spots” for nitrogen subsidies at the hillslope scale.     

FLUVIAL SEDIMENT STORAGE IN WETLANDS1

ABSTRACT: The important ecological and hydrological roles of wetlands are widely recognized, but the geomorphic functions of wetlands are also critical. Wetlands can be defined in geomorphic, as well as in hydrological or biological terms, and a geomorphic definition of wetlands is proposed. An analysis of fluvial sediment budget studies shows that wetlands typically serve as short-term sediment sinks or longer-term sediment storage sites. In ten study basins of various sizes, an estimated 14 to 58 percent of the total upland sediment production is stored in alluvial wetland or other aquatic environments. Of the sediment reaching streams, 29 to 93 percent is stored in alluvial wetland or channel environments. For basins of more than 100 km², more than 15 percent of total upland sediment production and more than 50 percent of sediment reaching streams is deposited in wetlands. The data underestimates the magnitude of wetland sediment storage due to the lack of data from large river systems. A theoretical analysis of river channel sediment delivery shows that wetland and aquatic sediment storage is inevitable in fluvial systems and systematically related to basin size. Results suggest that wetlands should be managed in the context of drainage basins, rather than as discrete, independent units.     

Wetland loss and substitution by the Section 404 permit program in southern California,USA

To test the effectiveness of the 404 permit program in preventing a net loss of wetland resources, 75 Section 404 projects permitted in the years 1987–1989 and located in a portion of southern California were evaluated. From this group of projects, 80.47 ha of wetlands were affected by Section 404 permits and the Army Corps of Engineers required 111.62 ha of wetland mitigation. To verify the successful completion of each mitigation project, all 75 project sites were visited and evaluated based on the amount of dead vegetation, growth and coverage, and the number of invasive species. Based on the field verification results, the actual amount of completed mitigation area was 77.33 ha, resulting in a net loss of 3.14 ha of wetland resources in the years 1987–1989. By comparing the types of wetlands lost to the types of wetlands mitigated, it is apparent that, in particular, freshwater wetlands are experiencing a disproportionately greater loss of area and that riparian woodland wetlands are most often used in mitigation efforts. The net result of these accumulated actions is an overall substitution of wetland types throughout the region. Results also indicate that, typically, large-scale mitigation projects are more successful compared to smaller projects and that successful compliance efforts are not evenly distributed throughout the region. We recommend that better monitoring, mitigation in-kind, mitigation banking, and planning on a regional or watershed scale could greatly improve the effectiveness of the Section 404 permitting program.     

Inundation influences on bioavailability of phosphorus in managed wetland sediments in agricultural landscapes

Agricultural runoff carries high nutrient loads to receiving waters, contributing to eutrophication. Managed wetlands can be used in integrated management efforts to intercept nutrients before they enter downstream aquatic systems, but detailed information regarding sorption and desorption of P by wetland sediments during typical inundation cycles is lacking. This study seeks to quantify and elucidate how inundation of wetland sediments affects bioavailability of P and contributions of P to downstream systems. A managed wetland cell in Tunica County, Mississippi was subjected to a simulated agricultural runoff event and was monitored for bioavailable phosphorus (water-extractable P [P], Fe-P, and Al-P) of wetland sediments and water level during the runoff event and for 130 d afterward. Inundation varied longitudinally within the wetland, with data supporting significant temporal relationships between inundation and P desorption. Concentrations of P were significantly higher at the site that exhibited variable hydroperiods (100 m) as compared with sites under consistent inundation. This suggests that sites that are inundated for longer periods of time desorb less P immediately to the environment than sites that have periodic or ephemeral inundation. Concentrations of iron oxalate and NaOH-P were significantly higher at the least inundated site as compared with all other sites (F = 5.43; = 0.001) irrespective of time. These results support the hypothesis that increased hydraulic residence time decreases the bioavailability of P in wetland sediments receiving agricultural runoff. This finding suggests that the restoration of wetlands in the mid-southern United States may be hydrologically managed to improve P retention.     

Impacts of freshwater wetlands on water quality: A landscape perspective

In this article, we suggest that a landscape approach might be useful in evaluating the effects of cumulative impacts on freshwater wetlands. The reason for using this approach is that most watersheds contain more than one wetland, and effects on water quality depend on the types of wetlands and their position in the landscape. Riparian areas that border uplands appear to be important sites for nitrogen processing and retention of large sediment particles. Fine particles associated with high concentrations of phosphorus are retained in downstream wetlands, where flow rates are slowed and where the surface water passes through plant litter. Riverine systems also may play an important role in processing nutrients, primarily during flooding events. Lacustrine wetlands appear to have the least impact on water quality, due to the small ratio of vegetated surface to open water. Examples are given of changes that occurred when the hydrology of a Maryland floodplain was altered.     

Multiyear nutrient removal performance of three constructed wetlands intercepting tile drain flows from grazed pastures

Subsurface tile drain flows can be a major s ource of nurient loss from agricultural landscapes. This study quantifies flows and nitrogen and phosphorus yields from tile drains at three intensively grazed dairy pasture sites over 3- to 5-yr periods and evaluates the capacity of constructed wetlands occupying 0.66 to 1.6% of the drained catchments too reduce nutrient loads. Continuous flow records are combined with automated flow-proportional sampling of nutrient concentrations to calculate tile drain nutrient yields and wetland mass removal rates. Annual drainage water yields rangedfrom 193 to 564 mm (16-51% of rainfall) at two rain-fed sites and from 827 to 853 mm (43-51% of rainfall + irrigation) at an irrigated site. Annually, the tile drains exported 14 to 109 kg ha(-1) of total N (TN), of which 58 to 90% was nitrate-N. Constructed wetlands intercepting these flows removed 30 to 369 gTN m(-2) (7-63%) of influent loadings annually. Seasonal percentage nitrate-N and TN removal were negatively associated with wetland N mass loadings. Wetland P removal was poor in all wetlands, with 12 to 115% more total P exported annually overall than received. Annually, the tile drains exported 0.12 to 1.38 kg ha of total P, of which 15 to 93% was dissolved reactive P. Additional measures are required to reduce these losses or provide supplementary P removal. Wetland N removal performance could be improved by modifying drainage systems to release flows more gradually and improving irrigation practices to reduce drainage losses.     

Section 404 wetland mitigation and permit success criteria in Pennsylvania,USA, 1986-1999

Twenty-three Section 404 permits in central Pennsylvania (covering a wetland age range of 1–14 years) were examined to determine the type of mitigation wetland permitted, how the sites were built, and what success criteria were used for evaluation. Most permits allowed for mitigation out-of-kind, either vegetatively or through hydrogeomorphic class. The mitigation process has resulted in a shift from impacted wetlands dominated by woody species to less vegetated mitigation wetlands, a trend that appears to be occurring nationwide. An estimate of the percent cover of emergent vegetation was the only success criterion specified in the majority of permits. About 60% of the mitigation wetlands were judged as meeting their originally defined success criteria, some after more than 10 years. The permit process appears to have resulted in a net gain of almost 0.05 ha of wetlands per mitigation project. However, due to the replacement of emergent, scrub–shrub, and forested wetlands with open water ponds or uplands, mitigation practices probably led to a net loss of vegetated wetlands.