Spring Peeper Meadow The Restoration Process

Julia Bohnen and Susan Galatowitsch

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

History of Wetland Drainage in Minnesota

• More than 75% of wetlands in the Midwest have been drained

• Most drainage occurred 25-75 years ago

• In areas of intense agriculture, less than 5% of wetlands remain

Excavated Tile Line

Wetland Mitigation

• Federal and state laws require that losses of existing wetlands must be avoided or mitigated

• For every 1 acre of lost wetland, 2 acres must be restored

• Wetland losses primarily occur in urban areas now

Retrorse Sedge

Although much wetland restoration is happening, typically…

• Only hydrology is restored

• Little management occurs after initial construction

• Natural colonization is relied upon to

re-populate the plant community

• The full complement of wetland types

is not restored

Marsh Milkweed

Restored wetlands do not resemble the native wetlands they are replacing.

They do not exhibit the diversity of species nor the complex structure that natural wetlands would have exhibited.

Tree Frog on False White Aster

Even planted wetlands can have low diversity because

• Planting density is too low• There is a lack of aftercare• Plants are placed inappropriately

Tufted Loosestrife

Why Restore or Preserve Wetlands?

• Maintain hydrologic function

• Flood control

• Improve water quality

• Habitat

• Preserve our natural heritage

• RecreationInterpretive Sign at Spring Peeper Meadow

Spring Peeper Meadow

Is a project of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the University of Minnesota that seeks to improve the practice

of wetland restoration in the Midwest.

Meadow Wildflowers

Spring Peeper Meadow was Funded to Demonstrate Successful Mitigation Practices

By Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources TrustFund through the Legislative Commission on MinnesotaResources (LCMR, now LCCMR)

And The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD)

Breaking Tile

Spring Peeper Meadow Landscape Context

• Located west of Chanhassen in Carver County

• Community context was a mosaic of Big Woods forest and savanna with prairie openings and depressional wetlands

• Rolling landscape

• Historically the area was a shallow wetland surrounded by Big Woods

A 30-acre purchase on the east edge of the Arboretum provided an opportunity to restore a shallow marsh with an extensive sedge meadow zone

The name “Spring Peeper Meadow” reflects our aspirations to restore a shallow depressional wetland and the full complement of species that would thrive in such a wetland.

The Opportunity

The Restoration Team

Arboretum Director – Peter Olin

Ecologist – Dr. Susan Galatowitsch

Landscape Ecologist – Fred Rozumalski

Horticulturist – Julia Bohnen

And many other professionals as needed

A Soil Core Sample

Spring Peeper Meadow Restoration Goals

1. Restore a biologically diverse sedge meadow wetland

2. Demonstrate site preparation, re-vegetation, and after-care practices

Spring Peeper Meadow – Pre-Restoration

• The land was acquired in 1995

• It had been drained and farmed for more than 80 years

• The basin was a monoculture of reed canary grass and corn grew on the uplands

Planning & Information Gathering

Watershed

Soil Types

Historic Plant Community

Past Land Use

Current Land Use

Projected Water Depth

Determine Model Plant Community

Original Concept Drawing

Steps in the Restoration Process

1. Site Preparation2. Restore Hydrology3. Re-introduce plants4. Aftercare

Planted Sedge Meadow Zone

Site Preparation

Series of herbicide applications Aug.-Sept.

1995 & May-Sept. 1996 Controlled burn September 1995

Break Tile October 1996

Seed Collection & Plant Production1995 and 1996

Seedcollecting

Greenhouseproduction

Nurseryproduction

Experimental Design

Planting the Wetland

Dormant seed 115 speciesOct.-Nov. 1996

First water on siteSpring 1997

Plant over 60,000 sedges & forbs May-June 1997

Weed Management

A reed canary grass plant Spot treatment

with Rodeo April-June

A treated reed canary grass plant

Restoration Inputs are Carefully Documented

Plant species

Seedling numbers

Seed quantities

Labor hours by task

Seed collecting

Mixing seedPlanted sedges

Ongoing Research At Spring Peeper Meadow

Vegetation Survey, Large PlotVegetation Survey, Small PlotAmphibian SurveyBreeding Bird SurveySurface HydrologySeed Bank AssaySeed Longevity AssayMonarch Butterfly Study

Wetland Community in Transition

1998 2000

2002 2004

April 1998

Lessons Learned at Spring Peeper Meadow

Seeding (vs. planting) is a cost efficient means of restoring a diverse sedge meadow plant community

Seeding allows species to find an appropriate niche

Have contingency plans to account for uncertain hydrology

Adequate site preparation and aftercare are important for plant diversity and community development

Reed canary grass is still present in the plant community, but cover was less than 1% in each of 28 survey plots both in 2000 and 2004

Upland Management

The integrity of the Spring Peeper Meadow wetland restoration is tied to the landscape around it and to that end, we have restored and continue to manage the uplands around the meadow.

Forest Restoration Prairie and Forest Restorations

Invasive Species Management

Reed Canary GrassBuckthornLeafy SpurgeGarlic MustardBirdsfoot TrefoilCrown VetchPurple Loosestrife

Buckthorn Removal Project on the Oak Knoll

Before After

Prairie and Savanna Restoration

Historically, small pockets of prairie and savanna were common near the Arboretum

Our restored prairies and savanna are managed with herbicides and prescribed burns

Forest Restoration

Big Woods – 1999Bare root, dense initial planting strategy, different sized trees, 16 tree and shrub species,

Sudan Field – 2004Direct seeded, local seed source, 12 tree and shrub species

Berens – 2006 - 2007Bare-root, dense initial planting strategy, 11 tree species

Forest Understory Restoration

Buckthorn removal and monitoring reduces competition allowing native and salvaged wildflowers to re-establish