Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam Removal in the Elwha River, WA, Through Soil Seed Bank Analysis
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Rebecca Brown
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
5-8-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
5-8-2024 1:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Located in Olympic National Park, the Elwha River is the site of the largest dam removal project in history. It is also the site of the second largest ecological restoration project in the history of the National Parks Service. Following dam removal, active restoration (seeding and planting) took place in terraces and valley walls, the two dominant landform types found in the former reservoir. While extensive research has been conducted surrounding the plant community in the former dam reservoirs, the soil seed bank remains an unexplored aspect of the area’s ecology.
The objective of this project is to use the composition of the soil seed bank to determine the long-term effectiveness of seeding post-dam removal in the former Lake Mills reservoir. In the summer of 2023, soil seed bank samples were collected from 40 locations within the former Lake Mills. Each sample consists of eight 10-cm soil cores collected approximately 1 meter away from the perimeter of revegetation sampling plots. Samples were grown in flats in the EWU greenhouse from December of 2023 to April of 2024. Once data collection and entry is complete, species richness and diversity will be calculated, and compared with observations from the 2023 revegetation survey.
Recommended Citation
Tabino, Makenna, "Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam Removal in the Elwha River, WA, Through Soil Seed Bank Analysis" (2024). 2024 Symposium. 2.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2024/ps_2024/p2_2024/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Determining the Long-Term Effectiveness of Seeding Post-Dam Removal in the Elwha River, WA, Through Soil Seed Bank Analysis
PUB NCR
Located in Olympic National Park, the Elwha River is the site of the largest dam removal project in history. It is also the site of the second largest ecological restoration project in the history of the National Parks Service. Following dam removal, active restoration (seeding and planting) took place in terraces and valley walls, the two dominant landform types found in the former reservoir. While extensive research has been conducted surrounding the plant community in the former dam reservoirs, the soil seed bank remains an unexplored aspect of the area’s ecology.
The objective of this project is to use the composition of the soil seed bank to determine the long-term effectiveness of seeding post-dam removal in the former Lake Mills reservoir. In the summer of 2023, soil seed bank samples were collected from 40 locations within the former Lake Mills. Each sample consists of eight 10-cm soil cores collected approximately 1 meter away from the perimeter of revegetation sampling plots. Samples were grown in flats in the EWU greenhouse from December of 2023 to April of 2024. Once data collection and entry is complete, species richness and diversity will be calculated, and compared with observations from the 2023 revegetation survey.
