Use of created cattail (Typha) wetlands in mitigation strategies |
| |
Authors: | Ross A Dobberteen Norton H Nickerson |
| |
Institution: | (1) Biology Department, Tufts University, 02155 Medford, Massachusetts, USA;(2) Present address: Lelito Environmental Consultants, 2 Bourbon Street, Suite 102, 01960 Peabody, Massachusetts |
| |
Abstract: | In order to balance pressures for land-use development with protection of wetland resources, artificial wetlands have been
constructed in an effort to replace lost ecosystems. Despite its regulatory appeal and prominent role in current mitigation
strategies, it is unclear whether or not created systems actually compensate for lost wetland resources. Mitigation predictions
that rely on artificial wetlands must be analyzed critically in terms of their efficacy. Destruction of wetlands due to burial
by coal fly ash at a municipal landfill in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA, provided an opportunity to compare resulting growth
of created cattail (Typha) marshes with natural wetland areas. Once the appropriate cattail species was identified for growth under disturbed landfill
conditions, two types of artificial wetlands were constructed. The two systems differed in their hydrologic attributes: while
one had a surface water flow characteristic of most cattail wetlands, the second system mimicked soil and water conditions
found in naturally occurring floating cattail marshes. Comparison of plant growth measurements for two years from the artificial
systems with published values for natural cattail marshes revealed similar structure and growth patterns. Experiments are
now in progress to investigate the ability of created cattail marshes to remove and accumulate heavy metals from polluted
landfill leachate. Research of the type reported here must be pursued aggressively in order to document the performance of
artificial wetlands in terms of plant structure and wetland functions. Such research should allow us to start to evaluate
whether artificial systems actually compensate for lost wetlands by performing similar functions and providing the concomitant
public benefits. |
| |
Keywords: | Created cattail wetlands Wetland mitigation Typha Fly ash Pollution abatement Landfills eastern Massachusetts |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|