Coastal sedge/grass meadow restoration in a peri-urban wetland via alteration of environmental filters: can hydrological constraint be trumped?

Abstract

Stabilized lake-level influence on Typha x glauca has so diminished the extent and richness of Lake Ontario shoreline sedge/grass meadows that they no longer conform to an historic trajectory. These conditions are not likely to change in the foreseeable future, so novel actions may be required to support their preservation. This research investigated the combined effects of a large-scale restoration overlapping multiple revegetation techniques. Excavated spoils from channel and pothole creation in two Typha-dominated marshes were reconfigured to create habitat mounds capable of supporting sedge meadow taxa. These mounds supported increased sedge/grass meadow taxa survivorship and richness by altering environmental conditions, such as elevation and soil moisture. However, a higher than expected rate of subsidence and rapidly diminishing elevations point to potentially shifting system dynamics that require further exploration.