Measuring Hydrologic and Ecological Functioning of Vernal Pool Wetlands
RC-200923
Objective
Vernal pools are seasonal wetlands occurring in different parts of the United States and in a variety of vegetation types, including grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, and forests. Vernal pools have a relatively high biodiversity that includes native and rare species of plants, amphibians, and invertebrates. This project will demonstrate an innovative approach for measuring the key environmental components of hydrologic and ecological functioning of vernal pools at three Department of Defense (DoD) installations in California. Specific objectives are to (1) demonstrate how to gather, compared with current approaches, higher quality and quantity of data that requires fewer person-days of field monitoring to measure watershed parameters such as days of duration and height of surface ponding, subsurface water flow, and soil moisture; (2) demonstrate how to measure the responses of native plant and invertebrate species to hydrologic conditions and changes in the environment; (3) demonstrate a new method for determining the depth of the subsurface restrictive layer that causes vernal pools to retain water; and (4) include peer scientist and regulatory agency review of methods, data, and reports, which will provide assurances that these technologies will meet regulatory standards and provide the best available science.
Technology Description
Two of the key parameters that are used to measure the functioning of wetlands are hydrology and ecology. Typically, hydrologic field measurements require staff to conduct weekly field surveys, while ecological information is based on biological studies of plants and aquatic organisms. This project will integrate hydrology and ecology by demonstrating the use of equipment commonly used by hydrologists in surface water and groundwater studies to gather vernal pool surface and subsurface data. Demonstrations will apply the use of water level dataloggers (leveloggers), soil moisture sensors, a global positioning system (GPS) capable of centimeter level topographic surveys, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) to measuring the environmental components relevant to the functioning of ecological systems in wetlands. The leveloggers and soil sensors will collect hydrologic data at hourly intervals with centimeter level water depths. The leveloggers and soil sensors only require one day of setup followed by data downloading seven to eight months later; this substantially reduces staff labor while gathering more high quality data. The GPS and GPR will be used to measure watershed areas and identify areas suitable for mitigation through vernal pool creation and restoration. These technologies will be able to track not only surface ponding in the wetlands, but also subsurface saturated soil water flow and soil moisture content changes over a season. This information is typically lacking for these systems. The GPS will be used to measure the surface extent and slope of the watershed contributing to the vernal pool hydrology. In addition, the GPS will be used to measure plant species distributions along the vernal pool hydrologic gradient and identify species that may be key indicators of particular hydrologic conditions. The GPR will be used to identify the depth and continuity of the subsurface water-restricting soil layer that is so critical to the vernal pool ecosystem functioning.
Benefits
This project will provide DoD installations with the technological tools to accurately identify potential impacts to vernal pool hydrologic and ecological functions from military projects. The technologies will significantly aid efforts to incorporate avoidance measures into construction projects and enhance compensation measures by better identifying the appropriate site conditions needed to create vernal pools. They also will provide better hydrologic information from monitoring at half the cost of current methods. In addition, regulatory agency staff will have the information they typically lack when evaluating project impacts to wetlands. This should result in more accurate impact assessments and expedite the regulatory review process. Finally, cost savings will be realized by reducing the number of acres of impacts required to be mitigated, as well as reducing staff time required for field monitoring. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2014)
Symposium & Workshop
FY 2013 New Start Project Selections
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Ms. Kirsten Christopherson
Travis Installation Support Team Lead Environmental Center of Excellence (ECOE)
Phone: 707-424-8622
Fax: DSN 837-8622
Program Manager
Resource Conservation and Climate Change
SERDP and ESTCP
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.