Five year Typha mitigation maintains native plant diversity in a Lake Ontario coastal plain fen

Session: Wetland Restoration in the Great Lakes Basin: Research and Innovation (1)

Faith Page, SUNY Oswego, [email protected]
C. Eric Hellquist, State University of New York Oswego, [email protected]

Abstract

Invasive Typha (cattail) species have negative impacts on the structure and biodiversity of Great Lakes wetlands.  In Oswego County, NY an intermediate fen community harbors several species of conservation concern. The increased abundance of Typha in the peatland has the potential to decrease plant species richness through copious deposition of Typha thatch.  The smothering effects of the thatch can subsequently decrease the abundance of critical plants that provide food and habitat structure for the rare animal species of the fen. This study quantified the early stages of Typha encroachment within the peatland as well as the affects of Typha removal on plant species richness.  The Typha invasion in the fen is relatively young and was first observed around 20 years ago. Mitigation by manual cutting and removing Typha has been conducted from 2014 to 2018.  Species richness has remained stable throughout the study (p=0.2). Neither standing Typha stem count nor leaf litter biomass has impacted species richness (p=0.37, p=0.13). Typha stem counts within the mitigation area have been reduced by five times in this time frame (p_year<0.0001). Our work illustrates that sustained mitigation efforts can delay the negative effects of a Typha invasion in its early stages.