Approach
Forested wetland and lowland forest communities can be regionally unique, highly diverse, and adapted to local hydrologic regimes; and therefore sensitive to climate changes that may modify wetland hydroperiod (patterns of water depth, duration, frequency, seasonality. Altered hydrology may challenge native species reproduction and present opportunities for undesirable species competition, invasive species establishment and pests invasion. Restoring and prioritizing protection of wetlands and lowland areas may increase the adaptive capacity of watersheds to moderate flood peak flows, provide storage of floodwaters, and regulate water supply during drought.
Tactics
- Increase wetland species and structural diversity to reduce vulnerability and losses related to pest pressures.
- Restore hydrology of previously drained wetlands by incorporating practices that increase absorption and retention of water (such as plugging ditches).
- Maintain headwater wetlands as undeveloped areas.
Strategy
Strategy Text
This strategy seeks to sustain fundamental watershed functions, addressing the maintenance of and restoration of soil-water connections and hydrologic function. A shift in climate may amplify and exacerbate existing ecosystem challenges resulting from land-uses that have fragmented, altered or obstructed water flow pathways. Sustaining hydrologic and ecosystem functions into the future is likely to depend on management planning that seeks to maintain the long-term conveyance of water through unobstructed hydrologic pathways, most notably actions that promote the enhancement of water infiltration by porous forest soils.
Shannon, P.D.; Swanston, C.W.; Janowiak, M.K.; Handler, S.D.; Schmitt, K.M.; Brandt, L.A.; Butler-Leopold, P.R.; Ontl, T.A. (in review). Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Forested Watersheds. Ecological Applications.,