Wetland plants speak to us about water quality in the Great Lakes
Ann Arbor, MI — The species of plants found within a wetland are directly related to the water quality conditions in the wetland. Some coastal marsh plant species are only found in areas with clean clear water, where others are found only in muddy, nutrient rich water. This relationship between water quality and plant species composition was used to develop an index to determine wetland quality.
"How can we protect valuable wetland habitat, if we don't know how to tell the good ones from the bad?" says Melanie Croft, from McMaster University, Ontario. "To use this index you simply need to identify the plant species within the wetland and then calculate a score for that wetland. This score can then be compared to other wetland scores in the Great Lakes."
The index is a valuable tool that can be used by government agencies and conservation authorities to quickly identify wetland habitat that should be protected from development.
The index was developed using 127 coastal wetlands in all five Great Lakes. These wetlands covered a range of marsh quality, from the most pristine to the most degraded. The index was then applied to four independent coastal wetlands, and was found to accurately reflect the ecological status of the marsh solely from the type of aquatic plants found there.Original Publication Information
Results of this study "Use and Development of the Wetland Macrophyte Index to Detect Water Quality Impairment in Fish Habitat of Great Lakes Coastal Marshes," are reported by Melanie V. Croft and Patricia Chow-Fraser in the latest issue (Volume 33, SI3, pp. 172-197) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2007.
Contacts
For more information about the study, contact Melanie V. Croft (c/o Pat Chow-Fraser), McMaster University, Department of Biology, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4K1; mel.croft@gmail.com, (905) 525-9140 ext 27338.
For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; editor@iaglr.org; (608) 692-1076.
Links
Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.
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