 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
|
b |
Joy B. Zedler Professor of Botany and Aldo Leopold Chair in Restoration Ecology Ph.D. (1968) University of Wisconsin Office:
302 Birge Hall
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
blank |
Restoring ecosystems to functional equivalency with reference systems requires that the site support essential functions, attract the desired species, and resist invasion by unwanted species (e.g., exotics). Both physical and biological variables affect the ability of a restoration site to achieve these goals. For most ecosystems, we know far too little about what constrains restoration; hence, the opportunities for research are numerous, and the demand for information is great.
Research at UW focuses on the development of methods to improve the design, implementation, and assessment of habitat restoration projects. Much of our work concerns sedge meadows and how hydrological disturbances shift native vegetation toward reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and hybrid cattails (Typha x glauca). Our aim is to understand these invasions and find ways to restore native biodiversity. We have made considerable progress in explaining the conditions that promote invasions; we continue to explore replacement assemblages of native plants that can thrive in hydrologically-modified wetlands and resist reinvasion in the long term. Students test hypotheses under field, mesocosm, and greenhouse conditions. Results are interpreted in light of ecological theory and management applications.
Studies in southern California emphasize (1) the effects of topographic heterogeneity on salt marsh structure and functioning, particularly the importance of tidal creek networks to vegetation and marsh food webs (2) the effects of biotic diversity on ecosystem function. We have shown that species-rich assemblages retain more nitrogen, support more complex canopies, and resist invasions. We are now exploring complementary and facilitative interactions among salt marsh species to understand better how diverse assemblages persist.
Comparing the degradation of sedge meadows with that in salt marshes is another fruitful area of inquiry. In both wetland types, hydrological disturbances lead to reduced species richness and a tendency toward monotypic vegetation. In both cases, the disturbances tend to homogenize sites. Providing heterogeneity (both spatial and temporal variability in environmental factors) in the restoration sites might well be a key to restoring diversity.
As the Aldo Leopold Professor of Restoration Ecology, I facilitate research at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and encourage students and others to study the Arboretum's collection of restored and restorable communities. My students address issues of importance to the restoration of wetlands within the Arboretum, within the state of Wisconsin, within the Upper Midwest region, and beyond. For example, they conduct experiments in stormwater basins in the Chicago area and explore changes in lakeshore wetlands along Lake Michigan, while testing theory about community structure and ecosystem functioning. Experiments done in outdoor mesocosms at the Arboretum are helping to explain why reed canary grass and cattails are increasingly dominant in both stormwater wetlands and lakeshore wetlands. In addition, our analysis of how ecosystem functions change with compositional shifts helps us and wetland managers understand the consequences of invasions.
The science of restoration ecology is advanced when ideas are tested rigorously in many contexts. Toward that aim, an exchange program between Mexico, the United States and Canada allows students to study restoration in a foreign country and at their home institution (UNAM and U. Guadalajara-CUCSUR in Mexico, UW and Louisiana State U. in the US, and Guelph U. and McGill U. in Canada). Our ideas about how to restore marshes in Wisconsin are already benefiting from new research on how to restore riparian forest along Mexico's Ayuquila River.
The practice of ecological restoration is advanced when we improve our ability to predict the utility of alternative restoration approaches and when new techniques prove useful in multiple settings. We recommend adaptive restoration approaches to advance the science and practice simultaneously, by designing restoration sites as large-scale field experiments that can test alternative approaches and demonstrate which are most effective and why.
Students work on the above issues through many programs and with many collaborators across the UW campus. M.S. and Ph.D. programs are offered by the Botany Department, the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Limnology and Marine Science program.
Anastasia Allen, M.S., Conservation and Sustainable Development (Institute for Environmental Studies) Aaron Boers, Ph.D., Botany Department Cristina Bonilla-Warford, M.S., Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development (Institute for Environmental Studies) Christin Frieswyk, Ph.D., Botany Department Andrea Herr-Turoff , Ph.D., Botany Department Suzanne Kercher, Ph.D., Botany Department Roberto Lindig-Cisneros, Ph.D., Land Resources, (Institute for Environmental Studies) Debbie Maurer, M.S., Botany Department Becky Miller, M. S., Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development (Institute for Environmental Studies) Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna, Ph.D., Botany Department Erin O'Brien M.S., Land Resources (Institute for Environmental Studies) Michelle Peach, M.S. Land Resources (Institute for Environmental Studies) Tara Roeffler, M.S., Water Resources Management (Institute for Environmental Studies) Rachel Veltman, M.S., Land Resources (Institute for Environmental Studies) Katy Werner, M.S., Land Resources (Institute for Environmental Studies) Julia Wilcox, M.S. Land Resources, (Institute for Environmental Studies) Isa Woo, M.S., Botany Department
Links: Center for Restoration Ecology International Student Exchange Program
Recent Publications Zedler, J. In press. Chapter 10: Wetland restoration. In D. P. Batzer and R. R. Sharitz, eds. Ecology of Freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Elsevier, Inc., San Diego. Boers, A., C. Frieswyk, J. Verhoeven and J. Zedler. In press. Chapter 10: Contrasting approaches to the restoration of diverse vegetation in herbaceous wetlands. In R. Bobbink, B. Beltman, J J.T.A. Verhoeven, and D.F. Whigham, eds. Wetlands as a natural resource, Vol. 2. Wetlands: functioning, biodiversity conservation and restoration. Springer Verlag. Adam, P., M. D. Bertness, A. J. Davy, and J. B. Zedler. In press. Saltmarsh. In N. Polunin, ed. The waters, our future. Prospects for the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Cambridge University Press. Frieswyk, C. B., and J. B. Zedler. In press. Do Seed Banks Confer Resilience to Coastal Wetlands Invaded by Typha x glauca? Canadian Journal of Botany. Zedler, J. B., and K. Potter. In review. Southern Wisconsin’s Herbaceous Wetlands: Their Recent History and Precarious Future In The vanishing present. D. Waller and T. Rooney, eds. University of Chicago Press, Madison. Morzaria-Luna, H., and J. B. Zedler. In press. Does seed availability limit plant establishment during salt marsh restoration? Estuaries. Johnston, C.A., B. Bedford, M. Bourdaghs, T. Brown, C. B. Frieswyk, M. Tulbure, L. Vaccaro, and J. B. Zedler. In review. Plant species indicators of physical environment in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Journal of Great Lakes Research. Zedler, J. B., C. L. Bonin, D. J. Larkin, and A. Varty. In review. Ecosystems: Salt Marshes. Invited 6000-word entry to S. E. Jorgensen, ed., Encyclopedia of Ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Kercher, S. M., A. Herr-Turoff, and J B. Zedler. In review. Understanding invasion as a process: The case of Phalaris arundinacea in wet prairies. Biological Invasions. Frieswyk, C. B., and J. B. Zedler. In review. Vegetation change in Great Lakes coastal wetlands: Deviation from the historical cycle. Journal of Great Lakes Research. Callaway, J. C., and J. B. Zedler. In review. Salt marsh conservation along the leading edge of the continent. In B. Silliman, M. Bertness, and D. Strong. Anthropogenic Modification of North American Salt Marshes. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Larkin, D. J., and J. B. Zedler. In review. (invited chapter) Coon Valley and Tijuana Estuary: Lessons for restoration. In J. Sage and M. Nelson (eds.) American Fisheries Society. Frieswyk, C. B., C. Johnston, and J. B. Zedler. Quantifying and qualifying dominance in vegetation. In prep. for Journal of Great Lakes Research. Peach, M. A. and J. B. Zedler. 2006. How tussocks structure sedge meadow vegetation. Wetlands 26: 322-335. O’Brien. E., and J. B. Zedler. 2006. Accelerating the restoration of vegetation in a southern California salt marsh. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14:269-286. Larkin, D. J., G. Vivian-Smith, and J. B. Zedler. 2006. Topographic heterogeneity theory and ecological restoration. Pp. 144-164 In: Falk, D., M. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler, eds. Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press. Falk, D., M. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler, eds. 2006. Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press. Washington, D.C. Palmer, M. A., D. A. Falk, and J. B. Zedler. 2006. Ecological theory and restoration ecology. Pps 1-10 In: Falk, D., M. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler, eds. Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press, Washington D.C. Falk, D. A., M. A. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler. 2006. Integrating restoration ecology and ecological theory: A synthesis. Pp. 341-345 In: Falk, D., M. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler, eds. Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press. Washington D.C. Zedler, J. B. 2005. Restoring wetland plant diversity: A comparison of existing and adaptive approaches. Wetlands Ecology and Management 13:5-14. Fellows, M. and J. B. Zedler. 2005. Effects of the non-native grass, Parapholis incurva (Poaceae), on the rare and endangered hemiparasite, Cordylanthus maritimus subsp. maritimus (Scrophulariaceae). Madroño 52:91-98. Zedler, J. B. 2005. Restoration ecology: Principles from field tests of theory. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science. Online. Zedler, J. B. 2005. How compatible are biodiversity and ecosystem-service restoration goals? National Wetlands Newsletter 27(6):1,11-13,19. Herr-Turoff, A., and J. B. Zedler. 2005. Does wet prairie vegetation retain more nitrogen with or without Phalaris invasion. Plant and Soil 277:19-34. Lindig-Cisneros, R. y J. B. Zedler. La restauración de humedales. 2005. Pp. 201-213 In: Sánchez, Ó., E. Peters, R. Márquez-Huitzil, E. Vega, G. Portales, M. Valdés y D. Azuara (eds.). Temas Sobre Restauración ecológica. Instituto Nacional de Ecología-Semarnat, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Unidos para la Conservación. México, D. F. Wallace, K.J., J.C. Callaway, and J.B. Zedler. 2005. Evolution of tidal creek networks in a high sedimentation environment: A 5-year experiment at Tijuana Estuary, California. Estuaries 28:795-811. Zedler, J. B., and S. Kercher. 2005. Wetland resources: Status, ecosystem services, degradation, and restorability. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30:39-74. Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA. Kercher, S.M. and J.B. Zedler. 2004. Flood tolerance in wetland angiosperms: A comparison of invasive and noninvasive species. Aquatic Botany. 80: 89-102. (pdf) Zedler, J. B. In press. Compensating for wetland losses in the United States. Ibis. Larkin, D. J., G. Vivian-Smith, and J. B. Zedler. In press. Topographic heterogeneity theory and applications to ecological restoration. In: Falk, D., M. Palmer, and J. B. Zedler, eds. Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Zedler, J. B., and S. Kercher. 2004. Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: Opportunities, opportunists, and outcomes. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 23(5):431-452. (pdf) Callaway, J. C. and J. B. Zedler. 2004. Restoration of urban salt marshes: Lessons from southern California. Urban Ecosystems. 7:133-150. Kercher, S. M., Q. Carpenter, and J. B. Zedler. 2004. Interrelationships of hydrologic disturbances, reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), and native plants in Wisconsin wet meadows. Natural Areas Journal. 24:316-325 (pdf) Zedler, J. B. In press. Restoring wetland plant diversity: A comparison of existing and adaptive approaches. Wetlands Ecology and Management. Morzaria-Luna, H., J. C. Callaway, G. Sullivan and J. B. Zedler. 2004. Topographic heterogeneity effects on community patterns in a Californian salt-marsh. Journal of Vegetation Science. 15:523-530. Zedler, J. B. 2004. Compensatory mitigation for damages to wetlands: Can net losses be reduced? Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Letters and Sciences Kercher, S. M., and J. B. Zedler. 2004. Multiple disturbances accelerate invasion of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in a mesocosm study. Oecologia 138:455-464. Callaway, J. C. and J. B. Zedler. 2004. Restoration of urban salt marshes: Lessons from southern California. Urban Ecosystems 7:133-150. West, J., Williams, G., Madon, S. P., and Zedler, J. B. 2003. Integrating spatial and temporal variability into the analysis of fish food web linkages in Tijuana Estuary. Environmental Biology of Fishes 67:297-309. Courses
| Research Group | Additional
Publications | COS Listing | Ecology
Section | Botany Department
© 2000 University
of Wisconsin Department of Botany |
||
