Using the Past to Restore the Future: Quantifying Historical Vegetation to Assist in Tidal Freshwater Wetland Restoration

Wetlands have been providing humans with critical natural ecosystem services throughout our time on Earth. Nevertheless, these invaluable ecosystems have been habitually altered as a cost of human progression. Two of the most common alterations to wetlands are damming and filling. Both occurred along Kimages Creek in Charles City County, VA during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2010 the Lake Charles dam was partially removed, restoring the creek’s tidal communication with the James River. Upon the recession of the body of water, numerous woody stumps were revealed. We studied these stump remnants in an attempt to assess the spatial structure and vegetative community of this forested freshwater tidal wetland before perturbation. We began by obtaining a geospatial coordinate for each stump, and every 10 stumps a cross-sectional wood sample was taken. These samples underwent taxonomic identification as well as aging in the lab. During this ongoing study, over 4,500 stumps have been geo-located and 413 samples have been processed. There were 15 unique species among 11 genera identified. The most abundant genus of trees was Fraxinus spp. (RD = 73.24%), and the next most abundant was Carya spp. (RD = 11.79%). The majority of the samples were of obligate or facultative wetland species (63.1%). We will soon compile the geospatial coordinates onto a GIS map and use the species data to better understand the native community. Recreating the natural historical vegetative community could help guide current restoration efforts in other locations in other mid-Atlantic formally impounded wetlands.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1133/thumbnail.jp

Using the past to restore the future: Quantifying historical vegetation to assist in tidal freshwater wetland restoration Former Lake Charles at the VCU Rice Rivers Center

Wetlands have been providing humans with critical natural ecosystem services throughout our time on Earth. Nevertheless, these invaluable ecosystems have been habitually altered as a cost of human progression. Two of the most common alterations to wetlands are hydrologic, in the form of damming, and filling. Both occurred along Kimages Creek in Charles City County, VA during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2010 the Lake Charles dam was partially removed, restoring the creek’s tidal communication with the James River and beginning tidal forested freshwater wetland restoration. Upon the recession of the body of water, numerous woody stumps were revealed

Characterization of Legacy Sediment variations in accretion and carbon dynamics following dam removal in a recently restored tidal freshwater wetland

Damming disrupts the natural flow of sediment to adjoining water bodies resulting in the accumulation of Legacy Sediments (LS). While the impact of LS inputs has been well investigated in lotic Mid-Atlantic piedmont stream restorations, (i.e. milldam removal 1,2,3,4,5,), there have been few studies investigating LS following dam removal in low-gradient coastal plain streams. The objectives of this study were to quantify spatial and temporal variations of LS characteristics in a low-gradient tidal stream restoration within the lower James River watershed. Secondary objectives were to assess the current temporal and spatial variability in sediment deposition within the recently restored Kimages Creek wetlands and adjacent, unaltered wetlands of Harris Creek to investigate current sedimentation processes in a restoration setting

Using the past to restore the future: Quantifying historical vegetation to assist in tidal freshwater wetland restoration

Wetlands have been providing humans with critical natural ecosystem services throughout our time on Earth. Nevertheless, these invaluable ecosystems have been habitually altered as a cost of human progression. Two of the most common alterations to wetlands are hydrologic, in the form of damming, and filling. Both occurred along Kimages Creek in Charles City County, VA during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2010 the Lake Charles dam was partially removed, restoring the creek’s tidal communication with the James River and beginning tidal forested freshwater wetland restoration. Upon the recession of the body of water, numerous woody stumps were revealed

Characterization of Current and Historical Variations in Sediment Accretion and Carbon Dynamics at the Rice Rivers Center Kimages Creek Wetland Restoration

Current research of freshwater wetland soils have assessed and reported smaller stocks of soil organic carbon in restored wetlands compared to reference natural wetlands. However, a majority of these studies focus on sites restored from agricultural draining of non-tidal depressional wetlands,whereas carbon and accretion dynamics in tidal freshwater wetlands restored via dam removal is poorly understood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates over 80,000 dams greater than 6 feet and tens of thousands of smaller dams pepper the U.S., of which the majority are unsafe, old or no longer serve their intended purpose. Damming disrupts the natural flow of sediment to adjoining water bodies resulting in the accumulation of what are commonly referred to as Legacy Sediments (LS). These sediments have the ability to alter the biology, hydrology, geomorphology, and biogeochemistry of their river corridors and adjacent riparian ecosystems. While the effect of these sediment inputs on ecosystem function has been well investigated in non-tidal regions, particularly in the form of milldam removal, there has been little-to-no inquiry on how LS exist within and affect tidal wetlands and their biotic and abiotic processes. The objectives of this study are to uantify the current temporal and spatial variation in sediment deposition and soil carbon dynamics within KC and Harris Creek (HC) wetlands via sediment collection tiles (SCTs); assess the differences in LS characteristics along the tidal to non-tidal gradient and between different depositional areas through soil core sampling and radiocarbon dating; and, compare carbon sequestration and sediment accretion rates between the two historical environments: the pre-impoundment forested freshwater wetland & the Lake Charles environment (LS)