Biodiversity Commons^™

Rate Of Vegetation Recovery In Restored Prairie Wetlands, Saloni Salaria

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Wetlands are restored to compensate for wetland loss and degradation. To determine the potential rate and success of vegetation recovery in restored wetlands, prairie wetlands of different restoration ages (3 to 23 years since restoration), including drained and natural (embedded within both agricultural and protected landscape), were sampled for vegetation in Alberta, Canada. Vegetation was assessed based on species richness, percentage and cover of hydrophytes, natives and non-natives, and community composition. Analysis of covariance with wetland area as a covariate and non-metric multidimensional scaling results indicated that restored wetlands resembled low-integrity natural wetlands that occurred on agricultural landscapes within 3-5 …