Application of key ecological attributes to assess early restoration of river floodplain habitats: a case study

Hydrobiologia, Jun 2017

The Nature Conservancy acquired the Emiquon Preserve along the Illinois River, Illinois, with the primary objective of restoring ecological floodplain processes and habitats that promote and sustain native species and communities. The Conservancy convened an Emiquon Science Advisory Council prior to restoration implementation that identified key ecological attributes (KEAs) for riverine and backwater targets, KEA indicators, and acceptable ranges for those indicators. We assessed the application of this methodology to evaluate status of conservation targets and to inform future science and management at Emiquon. The KEA framework provided an important function of directing a systematic monitoring program that provided fundamental data on changing environmental conditions that were incorporated into annual target evaluations. Data show that 46–55% of all indicators were within acceptable ranges prior to reconnection of the preserve with the Illinois River. Recent completion of a water control structure represents a critical intervention that provides potential to improve conservation status of those floodplain and riverine targets that depend on water management and river connectivity. Continued review and modification of the KEA model in conjunction with a strategic monitoring program will provide critical information to guide relevant management decisions and testable hypotheses to reduce potential threats and achieve future restoration goals.

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Application of key ecological attributes to assess early restoration of river floodplain habitats: a case study

Application of key ecological attributes to assess early restoration of river floodplain habitats: a case study 0 J. R. Herkert Illinois Audubon Society , 2315 Clear Lake Avenue, Springfield, IL 62703 , USA 1 A. M. Lemke (&) K. D. Blodgett The Nature Conservancy , 11304 N Prairie Road, Lewistown, IL 61542 , USA 2 Guest editors: Michael J. Lemke, A. Maria Lemke & Jeffery W. Walk / Large-Scale Floodplain Restoration in the Illinois River Valley , USA 3 J. W. Walk The Nature Conservancy , 240 SW Jefferson St., Suite 301, Peoria, IL 61602 , USA The Nature Conservancy acquired the Emiquon Preserve along the Illinois River, Illinois, with the primary objective of restoring ecological floodplain processes and habitats that promote and sustain native species and communities. The Conservancy convened an Emiquon Science Advisory Council prior to restoration implementation that identified key ecological attributes (KEAs) for riverine and backwater targets, KEA indicators, and acceptable ranges for those indicators. We assessed the application of this methodology to evaluate status of conservation targets and to inform future science and management at Emiquon. The KEA framework provided an important function of directing a systematic monitoring program that provided fundamental data on changing environmental conditions that were incorporated into annual target evaluations. Data show that 46-55% of all indicators were within acceptable ranges prior to reconnection of the preserve with the Illinois River. Recent completion of a water control structure represents a critical intervention that provides potential to improve conservation status of those floodplain and riverine targets that depend on water management and river connectivity. Continued review and modification of the KEA model in conjunction with a strategic monitoring program will provide critical information to guide relevant management decisions and testable hypotheses to reduce potential threats and achieve future restoration goals. Key ecological attributes; Emiquon preserve; Illinois River; Floodplain restoration; Biological assessment Introduction Ecological structure and function of large river systems are increasingly threatened worldwide as modifications for utilitarian purposes such as navigation, hydroelectric power, agricultural production, and flood control intensify. Fragmentation of river channels by navigation dams and reduced hydrologic connectivity between floodplains and the main river channel due to levees are two primary impacts that threaten ecological integrity of these working rivers (e.g., Dynesius & Nilsson, 1994; Gore & Shields, 1995; Lamouroux et al., 2015) . Hydrologic alteration and habitat degradation accompanying this infrastructure are two major drivers that have placed riverine floodplains among the most globally endangered ecosystems such that up to 90% of floodplains in Europe and North America have lost many of their natural ecological functions (Sparks, 1995; Tockner & Stanford, 2002) . Increased efforts to conserve and restore floodplain rivers have paralleled a rising global awareness of the importance of these ecosystems for biodiversity and the environmental services they provide. The Mississippi River watershed in the United States is the fourth largest in the world, providing critical habitat that supports incredible biological diversity for resident and migratory aquatic and terrestrial species (Page & Burr, 1991; UMRCC, 2000; Weitzell et al., 2003) . Although 90% of the Lower Mississippi River has been leveed and drained primarily for agricultural production, an estimated 50% of the original floodplain remains hydrologically connected to the main channel of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) and retains seasonal flood-pulsed events (Sparks et al., 1998) . The Illinois River is one of the major tributaries to the UMR, draining 44% of the state of Illinois and linking the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Glacial activity and subsequent flood events created an extensive floodplain in the Illinois River basin relative to the size of the river channel, approximately 50% of which remains unleveed from the main channel (Sparks, 1995; Mettler-Cherry & Smith, 2009) . A study conducted by the National Research Council (NRC, 1992) recommended the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers as two of the three large, river–floodplain systems remaining in the U.S. that were priorities for restoration. Several successive reports by the UMR Conservation Committee (2000) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2007 ) supported NRC (1992) conclusions regarding the importance of restoring floodplain function to ensure the ecological integrity of these river systems. Development of an operational framework that coordinates such recommendations with science and management is integral to comprehensive planning, implementation, and assessment of restoration projects (Rogers, 2006; Roux et al., 2006) . As such, frameworks hav (...truncated)


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A. Maria Lemke, James R. Herkert, Jeffery W. Walk, K. Douglas Blodgett. Application of key ecological attributes to assess early restoration of river floodplain habitats: a case study, Hydrobiologia, 2017, pp. 1-15, DOI: 10.1007/s10750-017-3261-9