Forested versus herbaceous wetlands: Can management mitigate ecohydrologic regime shifts from invasive emerald ash borer?

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dc.contributor.authorDiamond, Jacob S.en
dc.contributor.authorMcLaughlin, Daniel L.en
dc.contributor.authorSlesak, Robert A.en
dc.contributor.authorD'Amato, Anthony W.en
dc.contributor.authorPalik, Brianen
dc.contributor.departmentForest Resources and Environmental Conservationen
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-11T17:21:20Zen
dc.date.available2020-03-11T17:21:20Zen
dc.date.issued2018-09-15en
dc.description.abstractWetlands self-organize through reciprocal controls between vegetation and hydrology, but external disturbance may disrupt these feedbacks with consequent changes to ecosystem state. Imminent and widespread emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation throughout North American forested wetlands has raised concern over possible ecosystem state shifts (i.e., wetter, more herbaceous systems) and loss of forest function, calling for informed landscape-scale management strategies. In response, we employed a large-scale manipulative study to assess the ecohydrologic response of black ash wetlands to three alternative EAB management strategies: 1) a do-nothing approach (i.e., simulated EAB infestation via tree girdling), 2) a preemptive, complete harvesting approach (i.e., clearcut), and 3) an overstory replacement approach via group selection. We analyzed six years of daily water table and evapotranspiration (ET) dynamics in six blocks comprising black ash wetlands (controls) and management strategy treatments to quantify potential for hydrologic change and subsequent recovery. In both the do-nothing approach and complete harvesting approach, we found persistent changes in hydrologic regime defined by shallower water tables and lower ET rates coupled with increased herbaceous vegetation growth, indicating ecosystem state shifts driven by vegetation-water table interactions. The do-nothing approach showed the least hydrologic recovery after five years, which we attribute to reduction in overstory transpiration as well as greater shade (via standing dead trees) that reduces open water evaporation and herbaceous layer transpiration compared to complete harvesting. We found no evidence of ecohydrologic disturbance in the overstory replacement approach, highlighting its potential as a management strategy to preserve forested wetland habitat if periodically executed over time before EAB infestation. Although the scale of potential disturbance is daunting, our findings provide a baseline assessment for forest managers to develop preemptive mitigation strategies to address the threat of EAB to ecological functions in black ash wetlands.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesThis project was funded by the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council. Additional funding was provided by the Virginia Tech Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation department, the Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, and the Virginia Tech William J. Dann Fellowship. We gratefully acknowledge the field work and data collection assistance provided by Mitch Slater.en
dc.description.sponsorshipMinnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund; USDA Forest Service Northern Research StationUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA)United States Forest Service; Minnesota Forest Resources Council; Virginia Tech Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation department; Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science; Virginia Tech William J. Dann Fellowshipen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.082en
dc.identifier.eissn1095-8630en
dc.identifier.issn0301-4797en
dc.identifier.pmid29894947en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/97310en
dc.identifier.volume222en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/en
dc.subjectEABen
dc.subjectFraxinus nigraen
dc.subjectEvapotranspirationen
dc.subjectWhite methoden
dc.subjectWetting upen
dc.titleForested versus herbaceous wetlands: Can management mitigate ecohydrologic regime shifts from invasive emerald ash borer?en
dc.title.serialJournal of Environmental Managementen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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