A multi agency project funded by US EPA's STAR Program

Plants as Indicators of Condition, Integrity, and
Sustainability of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands

Unique plants are what might come to mind when you think of wetlands, marshes, and bogs. These plants are important to the functioning of wetlands: they are a major component of the habitat for most wetland animals and they influence water quality. All these things make aquatic plants critical.

Plants in coastal wetlands are affected by both nature and humans. Natural forces such as changing water levels, storms, and ice scouring, limit the types and extent of plant growth along Great Lakes coastlines. Wetland plant communities also change in response to pollution, erosion, sedimentation, channelization, and dredging. We will identify indicators that point to the health of plant communities in Great Lakes coastal wetlands.

2001 Field Crew

Scientific Abstract

Sampling Wetland Vegetation

Researchers:
Dr. Carol A. Johnston, South Dakota State University
Dr. Barbara L. Bedford, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Dr. Joy B. Zedler, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Cooperators:
Dr. John Kelly and Dr. Mary Moffett, US EPA, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Duluth, Minnesota