Introduction: The ecology of a river floodplain and the Emiquon preserve

Hydrobiologia, Sep 2017

Scientific study of the Illinois River began before a century of anthropogenic change, thus providing a unique perspective for describing river ecology restoration. In this issue, we explain how systematic monitoring revealed patterns in the restoration of the 2723-ha Emiquon Preserve on the Illinois River. The papers describe (1) how planktonic microorganisms, vegetation, fish, and waterbird communities responded rapidly to flooding of former shallow lakes and wetlands that had been drained and used for dryland agriculture for 83 years; (2) how variation of hydrologic conditions favors biotic community diversity and conditions for carbon sequestration; (3) how fish populations imposed a trophic cascade and affected diversity, yet may not help control some undesirable fish species; and (4) how simulation models are useful in planning, but that restoration practice and management decisions must adapt to present conditions, involve trade-offs, and are influenced by competing stakeholder interests. Unsurprisingly, water level management remains the most important factor in the restoration ecology of floodplains; however, the establishment of a river–floodplain connection should be managed to achieve a balance between establishing hydrology that mimics natural flood pulses while minimizing contemporary threats, including excessive nutrient and sediment loads and invasive species.

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Introduction: The ecology of a river floodplain and the Emiquon preserve

Introduction: The ecology of a river floodplain and the Emiquon preserve 0 J. W. Walk The Nature Conservancy , 240 SW Jefferson Street, Peoria, IL 61602 , USA 1 M. J. Lemke (&) Biology Department, University of Illinois Springfield , MS HSB 223, One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703-5407 , USA 2 Guest editors: Michael J. Lemke, A. Maria Lemke & Jeffery W. Walk / Large-Scale Floodplain Restoration in the Illinois River Valley , USA 3 R. E. Sparks Illinois Natural History Survey , Champaign, IL 61820 , USA 4 A. M. Lemke K. D. Blodgett The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Rivers Office at Emiquon , 11304 N. Prairie Road, Lewistown, IL 61542 , USA Scientific study of the Illinois River began before a century of anthropogenic change, thus providing a unique perspective for describing river ecology restoration. In this issue, we explain how systematic monitoring revealed patterns in the restoration of the 2723-ha Emiquon Preserve on the Illinois River. The papers describe (1) how planktonic microorganisms, vegetation, fish, and waterbird communities responded rapidly to flooding of former shallow lakes and wetlands that had been drained and used for dryland agriculture for 83 years; (2) how variation of hydrologic conditions favors biotic community diversity and conditions for carbon sequestration; (3) how fish populations imposed a trophic cascade and affected diversity, yet may not help control some undesirable fish species; and (4) how simulation models are useful in planning, but that restoration practice and management decisions must adapt to present conditions, involve trade-offs, and are influenced by competing stakeholder interests. Unsurprisingly, water level management remains the most important factor in the restoration ecology of floodplains; however, the establishment of a river-floodplain connection should be managed to achieve a balance between establishing hydrology that mimics natural flood pulses while minimizing contemporary threats, including excessive nutrient and sediment loads and invasive species. River; Restoration ecology; Ecological attributes; Shallow lake; Flood pulse Introduction Alterations to the Illinois River and its floodplain and watershed began relatively late (1800s) and occurred rapidly when compared to similar modifications in large rivers. One advantage of the relatively recent changes to the Illinois River was the establishment of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) field station along the middle reach of the river where the Emiquon Preserve exists today (Fig. 1). Under the direction of Stephen A. Forbes, a team of scientists conducted systematic field studies of hydrology, chemistry, and biology that documented the productivity of the Illinois River prior to significant alterations for navigation, agriculture, and urban development (Starrett, 1972; Schneider, 2000) . Such extensive historic scientific documentation (e.g., Forbes, 1876, 1888; Hart, 1896; Kofoid, 1903; Forbes, 1907; Forbes & Richardson, 1908) exists for few other rivers worldwide Commercial development and engineering of the Illinois River was swift; however, so was the rise of the U.S. conservation movement in the 1920s and the subsequent environmental movement in the late 1960s. Conservation policies restored 8% of the floodplain wetlands along the Illinois River that had been leveed and drained, and preserved over 90% of the original floodplain in the northern part of the Upper Mississippi River as U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Refuges (Scarpino, 1985; Thompson, 2002) . Environmental policies vastly improved water quality in both rivers, required federal agencies to assess environmental impacts of river development projects, and led to a cooperative federal–state program (the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, UMRRP) that has monitored natural resources and restored degraded habitats in both rivers for over 30 years (USACE, 2016). The INHS has continued to study the river during these periods of change, participating in the UMRRP and documenting the recovery of fish and mussel populations (Sietman et al., 2001; McClelland et al., 2012) . The Nature Conservancy (from here, ‘‘Conservancy’’) has played a coordinating role in recent recovery efforts by working with users of the Illinois River, including commercial interests, non-governmental organizations, and local, state, and federal government agencies, to develop a comprehensive restoration plan (Illinois River Strategy Team, 1997; USACE, 2006) . In addition, the Conservancy developed site conservation plans and demonstration projects in tributary watersheds (Lemke et al., 2010; Lemke et al., 2011) and in the river floodplain that includes the Emiquon Floodplain Restoration Project (TNC, 1998) , which is the focus of this Special Issue. After a decade of restoration at the Emiquon Preserve, considerable progress has been made toward the primary objective of the project to restore the natural hydrology and ecolo (...truncated)


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Michael J. Lemke, Jeffery W. Walk, A. Maria Lemke, Richard E. Sparks, K. Douglas Blodgett. Introduction: The ecology of a river floodplain and the Emiquon preserve, Hydrobiologia, 2017, pp. 1-17, DOI: 10.1007/s10750-017-3335-8