Biology 578—Review for Exam 3

Wetland Functions and Values (Chapter 15, in part)

What’s the difference between a wetland "function" and a "value"? Give as many examples of each as you can think of. For values, which are quantifiable in terms of money or usage? Which are "warm and fuzzy"? Do all wetlands have all such values? (Hint: The answer is "no".) Describe an example of a value that may be unique to one particular wetland. Are there non-unique wetlands?

Regulating Human Impacts on Wetlands in the United States (Chapter 16, in part)

Overall, how have human activities affected wetlands in the US? What has been the main reason why wetlands have been lost in this country?

Describe the roles of the federal government in wetland conservation. What is the single most important piece of legislation that is used to prevent wetland impacts? Who is charged with enforcing this legislation? What kinds of activities does this legislation regulate? What kinds of activities are exempt? Read the first few sub-sections of this document, as well as the last few sections dealing with penalties for violations.

This legislation is rather puzzling to many people, because it seems to have little to do with wetlands per se. In 1993, a significant court case was heard between the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and a developer named Tulloch. Describe the outcome of this case. How did this affect the authority of the Corps of Engineers? How exactly did the COE come to have regulatory authority in wetlands? What is "incidental fallback?" What has happened to the definition of "discharge of dredged material" since then?

Describe the "Swampbuster" provision of the Food Security Act. What exactly does it restrict? What’s a "prior converted cropland"? What happens if a farm reverts to wetland conditions?

Be ready to answer questions about a hypothetical scenario facing a landowner who farms an area that may contain wetlands, similar to the "Imagine you're a farmer…." handout.

Wetland Delineation

Who developed the currently-used guidelines for wetland delineation? Other agencies developed their own manuals, and in 1989 they agreed on a single document. However, this document was abandoned for a number of reasons, and everybody is now using the 1987 version. What result did these manuals have?

How do you do a wetland delineation? What different methods can be used? How do you decide which method to use? Be ready to choose the most appropriate method given a description of the kind of data available. If I describe the plant community, you should, by now, have a feel for how easy it is to say whether it's hydrophytic vegetation. For example, if the major plants are baldcypress (an OBL species) that's pretty clearly a wetland. However, if I say the vegetation is mainly red maple (FAC), American holly (FAC-), loblolly pine (FAC), and yellow poplar (FACU), you couldn't do a delineation without some serious field work. (Don't worry—I'll give you species data like this.)

Wetland Creation and Restoration (Chapter 17, in part)

What's the story at the Georgetown County landfill? What was Jennifer Spicer trying to test? How did she do that? How did she evaluate "hydrophytic vegetation?" In which of her plots was PI lowest? What effect did leveling have on PI? Why does she think this happened? What are her recommendations based on these results?

What does it mean to "restore" a wetland? What is the single most important thing to define at the beginning of a restoration? What is the main reason for "failures" in wetland restoration? What kinds of activities may be necessary during (or even after) the restoration process?