Comparison of Vegetative Community and Soil Organic Matter Depth Among Reference Sites and Two Restored Wetlands in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina
Wetland loss and degradation from agriculture, urbanization, forestry, and mining is a global issue. South Carolina alone has lost over 27% of its wetlands. This historical wetland loss and climatic changes and impacts make restoring wetlands critical for the state. In restoration, understanding the difference in restored and reference wetland’s vegetation and soil organic matter depth can be crucial in assessing the recovery rate and determining environmental functions and services. The main objectives for our research were to determine differences in soil organic matter depth and vegetative community between the restored Brosnan Forest wetlands, the headwater flats and headwater slopes, and reference sites at Francis Marion National Forest. Our results indicate no significant differences in soil organic matter depth between the two restored wetlands. However, the reference site’s soil organic matter depth was twice that of the Brosnan wetlands. Additionally, there are differences in vegetative community between the two restored wetlands; different species dominated each wetland. However, compared to the reference sites, the Brosnan wetlands were more similar, with only a few quadrats reaching the reference sites
