Vegetation for Restoring Ecosystems & Treating Stormwater

Eve Brantley, Ph.D. – AuburnKathy DeBusk - NCSUKaren Hall, NCSU Wendi Hartup - NCSUFrank Henning, EPA-SRWPBill Hunt, Ph.D., PE, NCSUFouad Jaber, Ph.D. – TAMUGreg Jennings, Ph.D., PE, NCSUAmanda Abnee Gumbert - UKAshley Osborne – UKMark Risse, Ph.D.,PE - UGACalvin B. Sawyer, Ph.D – ClemsonDotty Woodson, Ed.D - TAMU Mitch Woodward - NCSUJason Wright, NCSU

Learning Center Website -http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html

Watersheds, Water Quality, and Vegetation

(So many functions, so little time)

Eve Brantley, PhDDepartment of Agronomy and Soils

Auburn University, ALAlabama Cooperative Extension System

Overview Watershed Vegetation and Streamside Forests

• Introduction to Watersheds• Changing Hydrology• Vegetation and Ecosystem Services• Invaders• Know the rules

Meet Your Watershed

Watersheds are the platformsWatersheds are the platforms

A Watershed is an area of land that drains to a single outlet.

Center for Watershed Protection

Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

Infiltration and Runoff

Surface runoff occurs when rainfall intensity exceeds infiltration capacity.

Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

Stream Order

From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices

Stream Order

Stream Order

From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices

Stream Order

From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices

Stream Orders

• 1st – 3rd Orders = Headwaters and smaller streams

• 4th – 6th Orders = Mid-size rivers

• > 6th Order = Large rivers

Ecosystem Services

– Floodwater storage / retention– Pollutant transformation– Sediment storage– Groundwater recharge– Stream channel

stabilization– Habitat

• Single identifiable source of pollution– Wastewater treatment

plant– Industry

• Usually permitted

Point SourcePoint Source

Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT

Polluted Runoff is the #1 Water Quality Problem in the U.S.*

Polluted Runoff is the #1 Water Quality Problem in the U.S.*

* USEPA* USEPA Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT

• Comes from many different sources– Not one person (or

animal) to blame

• Caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground

Land Use• Existing, past, and future land use are key factors to

current and future water quality and quantity• Different land uses have different impacts on water

quality

Land Use examples:• Urban• Suburban• Transitional• Agriculture• Forest / Silviculture

Urban Land

• Heavy metals• Oil• Grease• Toxic chemicals

Dr. Mimi Fearn, USA

Suburban Land

• Fertilizers• Herbicides• Pet Waste

Washington Dept of Ecology, King County

Transitional Land

• Sediment

Agricultural / Rural Land

• Fertilizer• Sediment• Pathogens from

untreated animal waste

Forest / Silviculture

• Sediment• Pathogens (wildlife)

Current and Past Legacies

Arthur Rothstein, WPA

Arthur Rothstein, WPA

Development Impacts on the Water Cycle

50%

10%

15%55%

Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT

Impervious SurfacesMaterials like cement, asphalt, roofing, and compacted soil that prevent percolation of runoff into the ground.

Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT

Changing Hydrology

Changing Hydrology• In Urban Areas

– Water arrives at streams faster– Greater amounts of water– Transporting lots of pollutants

More Runoff

Arriving Faster

Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT

Changing Hydrology

What are we losing?

• Ecosystem Services• Shift in the hydrologic cycle – potential reduction in

infiltration, evapotranspiration, and storage– Modification of streams– Decrease in groundwater recharge– Increased flooding– Decreased pollutant transformation– Increased erosion– Degradation of habitat

Picture Credit Dan Ballard

Impervious surfaces have been linked to degradation of stream water quality and habitat quality

Stream Condition Related to Impervious Surface

Urban Drainage Network

GoodGood

Fair

Poor

Impaired

ProtectedProtected

Degraded

From Schueler, 2002

Which is healthier?

Which is healthier?

Which is healthier?

What were the unhealthy streams missing?

What were the unhealthy streams missing?

• TREES!• Natural Habitats• Good Water Quality

Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices, 10/98, by the Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group (FISRWG)."

What Should We Do?

• Resource Based Planning for Growth

• Stormwater Management

• Urban Forest Enhancement

• Streamside Forest Protection and Restoration

How does watershed vegetation influence ecosystem health?

Watershed Vegetation

• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for

aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients

and sediments• Wildlife Corridor

Shading-Temperature

Cool it.

• Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen than cooler waters

Cool it.• Warmer water increases metabolic rate of

aquatic animals

Cool it.

No shade means more stress.

Food sources for aquatic animals

• Aquatic macroinvertebrates (aka critters)

• Feeding Groups– Shredders– Filter Feeders– Grazers– Predators

Some Photos by M. Clapp www.bgsd.k12.wa.us

Food Source

Shredder Filter Feeder

http://aslo.org/photopost/

Coarse particulate organic matter Fine particulate organic matter

Large woody debris

• aka logs

• Habitat diversity (structure)

• Flow diversity

Large woody debris

Filtering nutrients and sediments

Pollutant Processing

University of MN SULIS

LeavesIntercept rainfall

StemsSlow overland flow

Roots and soil microbesTransform pollutants

Bank stability – Erosion Minimization

Bank stability

Erosion Minimization

ROOTS!

STEMS!

Stable banks and roots provide habitat

Undercut bank

Roots in water

Habitat and Wildlife Corridors

Streamside Vegetation

• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for

aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients

and sediments • Wildlife Corridor

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

• Kudzu• Chinese privet• Japanese Honeysuckle• Japanese Climbing

Fern• Stilt Grass

(Microstegium)• Wisteria• Cogon Grass

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

• Remove and replace with native vegetation

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

• Remove and replace with native vegetation

• Low habitat value

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

http://www.duke.edu/web/butterflies/df-habitats.htm

• Remove and replace with native vegetation

• Low habitat value

• May not be providing erosion control

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

• Remove and replace with native vegetation

• Low habitat value

• May not be providing erosion control

• May alter processes like native plant regeneration, decomposition, and nutrient cycling

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

www.tytyga.com

• Remove and replace with native vegetation

• Low habitat value

• May not be providing erosion control

• May alter processes like native plant regeneration, decomposition, and nutrient cycling

• Streams act as watershed conveyer belts

Invasive, Nonnative Plants

Invasive removal

• Physical removal• Foliar Application• Basal spray• Cut and paint

Invasive, Nonnative Resources

• Southeast Invasive Pest Plant Council• http://www.se-eppc.org/index.cfm

• Let me help you get started:– Privet Pull– Mimosa Maim– Kudzu Kill– Honeysuckle Hound

Streamside Forest Width

• Depends on your goals– Temperature Control– Streambank Stability– Minimize Human /

Livestock Impacts– Pollutant Removal– Wildlife Habitat

Streamside Forest Width

• Depends on regulations– Buffer Ordinances

Rupprecht, et al. Riparian and Wetland Buffers for Water-Quality Protection, Stormwater, November-December 2009

Get to know your buffer rules• Local or State

– What is minimum width?– What are allowable disturbances?

Watershed Vegetation

• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for

aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients

and sediments• Wildlife Corridor

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PN7X9R9

Please Complete the Program Evaluation!

Stream Vegetation Learning Centerwww.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html