TY - JOUR
T1 - A plant-based index of biological integrity (IBI) for headwater wetlands in central Pennsylvania
AU - Miller, Sarah J.
AU - Wardrop, Denice H.
AU - Mahaney, Wendy M.
AU - Brooks, Robert P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank the staff of the CWC and the student interns of the Juniata Wetland Monitoring Project for collection of field data. We also gratefully acknowledge Doreen Vetter, Project Officer, U.S. E.P.A. Headquarters, for sponsoring this study. Dr. James Karr and an anonymous reviewer provided many helpful comments which greatly improved the manuscript. This research was completed in partial fulfillment of a U.S. E.P.A. Cooperative Agreement (#X827157-01-2) to supply technical assistance on biological monitoring and assessment, development of ecological indicators, and water quality assessment for wetlands in a watershed context. Additional support was provided by the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center, which is administered jointly by the Penn State Institutes of the Environment and the Department of Geography at the Pennsylvania State University.
PY - 2006/4
Y1 - 2006/4
N2 - Vascular plants are quickly emerging as one of the best indicators of human-mediated disturbances in the environment. We developed a plant-based index of biological integrity (IBI) to evaluate headwater wetland condition in response to anthropogenic disturbances in the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province of central Pennsylvania. To construct the IBI, we evaluated 50 attributes of the plant community, including species richness, diversity, and evenness. Disturbance was quantified for each site using information on surrounding land use, buffer characteristics, and an assessment of potential site stressors. Ecological dose-response curves were then plotted to evaluate the relationship between each attribute and the disturbance score. Eight attributes showed a consistent and strong response to disturbance and were selected as metrics: adjusted FQAI, % cover of tolerant plant species, % annual species, % non-native species, % invasive species, % trees, % vascular cryptogams, and % cover of Phalaris arundinacea. All metrics were highly and significantly correlated (P < 0.001) with disturbance as were IBI scores. To test the IBI, we used data from 47 sites collected as part of the Juniata Wetland Monitoring Project. The metrics and IBI scores for this data set were also significantly correlated with disturbance. Although, to date, very few plant-based IBIs are in use, studies from Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Ohio, as well as our study in Pennsylvania demonstrate the efficacy of plant community measures in assessing the overall condition of wetlands.
AB - Vascular plants are quickly emerging as one of the best indicators of human-mediated disturbances in the environment. We developed a plant-based index of biological integrity (IBI) to evaluate headwater wetland condition in response to anthropogenic disturbances in the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province of central Pennsylvania. To construct the IBI, we evaluated 50 attributes of the plant community, including species richness, diversity, and evenness. Disturbance was quantified for each site using information on surrounding land use, buffer characteristics, and an assessment of potential site stressors. Ecological dose-response curves were then plotted to evaluate the relationship between each attribute and the disturbance score. Eight attributes showed a consistent and strong response to disturbance and were selected as metrics: adjusted FQAI, % cover of tolerant plant species, % annual species, % non-native species, % invasive species, % trees, % vascular cryptogams, and % cover of Phalaris arundinacea. All metrics were highly and significantly correlated (P < 0.001) with disturbance as were IBI scores. To test the IBI, we used data from 47 sites collected as part of the Juniata Wetland Monitoring Project. The metrics and IBI scores for this data set were also significantly correlated with disturbance. Although, to date, very few plant-based IBIs are in use, studies from Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Ohio, as well as our study in Pennsylvania demonstrate the efficacy of plant community measures in assessing the overall condition of wetlands.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2005.03.011
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2005.03.011
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33644851209
SN - 1470-160X
VL - 6
SP - 290
EP - 312
JO - Ecological Indicators
JF - Ecological Indicators
IS - 2
ER -
