ABSTRACT: Functional Assessment of Wetlands for Mitigation Purposes
DWRC 2001-2002 Intern: Kirsten Lloyd
Project Advisor: Dr. Bruce Vasilas
Since the mid-1800s, over one-half of the area of wetlands
in the
(Mitsch 4). Although wetland conservation practices began in the mid-1970s, the diversity of
wetland ecosystems continues to decrease. Compensatory mitigation has been used in an attempt
to replace lost natural wetlands; however, there are many problems with this approach. The
Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach to wetland functional analysis has been designed to
increase the successes of compensatory mitigation. It relies on rapid assessment techniques to
collect data that can be used in a model that establishes how that wetland functions in
comparison to reference standards, using data collected from wetlands in the same HGM class.
The HGM class is based on geomorphic setting, hydrology, and hydrodynamics. The objective of
this study was to collect plant community data at two wetland sites as part of a long-term
monitoring project of fifty reference wetlands selected to represent the class of Mid-Atlantic
Piedmont slope discharge wetlands. When data collection has been completed for the long-term
project, it will be used to develop a model that establishes how well other wetlands of the
same class function in comparison to reference standards derived from the study.