Juniper Bay was developed for agriculture several decades ago and currently has about 300 ha of drained and intensively managed agricultural land that is not jurisdictional wetland due to its status as prior converted agricultural land. The drainage system in Juniper Bay not only removes excess surface and ground water, but it directs runoff to a different location in the watershed than under previous natural conditions. The overall goal of the research is to evaluate the strategy and performance of the restoration of wetland functions in Juniper Bay and to test alternative restoration methods.
The restoration efforts will include: plugging or filling the drainage ditches as necessary to restore historical hydrologic functions and the directions and rates of surface and subsurface runoff; re-establishing the forest community in accordance with community types located in the reference ecosystem soil management as needed to assist in hydrologic function restoration, forest community establishment, and nutrient cycling processes.
This research will evaluate whether these strategies are sufficient to restore appropriate wetland functions in Juniper Bay, and will identify other factors and methods that must be addressed in implementing wetland restoration in depressional wetlands that have been converted to agriculture.
The objectives of this research are to:
- Document the variability in the properties of soils and sediments and the water table regime across Juniper Bay and the reference bay that will affect restoration success.
- Determine current groundwater flow paths and water table regime both inside and outside Juniper Bay, and identify a strategy for hydrologic restoration.
- Assess the recovery rate of key hydrologic, biogeochemical, and plant community functions that are necessary for a sustainable wetland ecosystem.
- Assess the usefulness of reference ecosystems for defining required hydrologic and soils factors and target vegetation composition necessary for long-term restoration success.
- Identify soil chemical and physical properties and hydrologic requirements for optimum growth of Carolina Bay vegetation.
- Determine the effect of tree species type and diversity for achieving sustainable growth of desired vegetation and soil characteristics in the restored Carolina Bay.
- Test different restoration methodologies.
