Mowing Cattail Cover to Increase Aquatic Vegetation Diversity on the Coeur D’Alene River Floodplain in Cataldo, Idaho
Faculty Mentor
Rebecca Brown
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
10-5-2023 11:15 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 1:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Biology
Abstract
The Schlepp Easement is a 400 acre wetland on the Coeur D’Alene River floodplain, near Cataldo, Idaho. The wetland has been restored to protect it from heavy metal pollution transported downstream from mining sites near Kellogg, Idaho, the location of the Bunker Hill EPA Superfund Site. This wetland was restored to provide safe habitats and feeding grounds for migratory waterfowl and to maintain wetland biodiversity. However, cattail is prone to becoming overdominant and outcompeting other plants, which greatly limits a wetland’s biodiversity. Our objectives were to test whether aquatic boat mowing can reduce cattail cover, improving species diversity and cover of submerged aquatic vegetation beyond one year. Four treatments were applied in summer 2022 in three separate parts of the wetland (blocks), including control (no mowing), one mowing, two mowing, and three mowings per year. In October 2022, line transect surveys of aquatic vegetation were conducted on 20 meter transects located within each treatment in each block (12 total transects). We recorded all vegetation along the transect, both submerged and emergent. Water depth was recorded every meter along the transect. We found that cattail cover was reduced in mowed areas. A second set of mowing treatments is planned in summer 2023. We plan to resample fall 2023 to determine how the effect varies with time. This study has potential applications in other wetland ecosystems where cattail is over-dominant.
Recommended Citation
Tabino, Makenna, "Mowing Cattail Cover to Increase Aquatic Vegetation Diversity on the Coeur D’Alene River Floodplain in Cataldo, Idaho" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 45.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p2_2023/45
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Mowing Cattail Cover to Increase Aquatic Vegetation Diversity on the Coeur D’Alene River Floodplain in Cataldo, Idaho
PUB NCR
The Schlepp Easement is a 400 acre wetland on the Coeur D’Alene River floodplain, near Cataldo, Idaho. The wetland has been restored to protect it from heavy metal pollution transported downstream from mining sites near Kellogg, Idaho, the location of the Bunker Hill EPA Superfund Site. This wetland was restored to provide safe habitats and feeding grounds for migratory waterfowl and to maintain wetland biodiversity. However, cattail is prone to becoming overdominant and outcompeting other plants, which greatly limits a wetland’s biodiversity. Our objectives were to test whether aquatic boat mowing can reduce cattail cover, improving species diversity and cover of submerged aquatic vegetation beyond one year. Four treatments were applied in summer 2022 in three separate parts of the wetland (blocks), including control (no mowing), one mowing, two mowing, and three mowings per year. In October 2022, line transect surveys of aquatic vegetation were conducted on 20 meter transects located within each treatment in each block (12 total transects). We recorded all vegetation along the transect, both submerged and emergent. Water depth was recorded every meter along the transect. We found that cattail cover was reduced in mowed areas. A second set of mowing treatments is planned in summer 2023. We plan to resample fall 2023 to determine how the effect varies with time. This study has potential applications in other wetland ecosystems where cattail is over-dominant.
