A Report on the Development of

Indices of Biotic Integrity for Minnesota Wetlands

S. Galatowitsch, J. Tester, D. Whited and S. Moe, University of Minnesota,

and other investigators and cooperators listed here

Project Sponsors

Overview

Interest in biological assessments of wetlands is growing with the recognition that physical and chemical measurements may be inadequate for establishing standards that ensure ecosystem integrity and for detecting cumulative impacts from diverse land uses (Karr 1995). Making decisions on how to avoid or minimize degradation to wetlands requires an understanding of how land use affects biological diversity. When this information is lacking, wetlands and their associated watersheds are often reconfigured and altered so they bear little resemblence to intact, natural systems. In the past, assessing mitigation has been limited to documenting quantity rather than the quality of restorations and creations (NRC 1992).

Developing indices of biotic integrity (IBIs) for Minnesota was pursued by researchers at the University of Minnesota to enable quality assessments of existing and restored wetlands. Eight series of fifteen wetlands (120 sites) were used to develop wetland IBIs. Each series covers a major wetland type in the state and is comprised of reference sites (unaltered wetlands in an unimpaired setting), sites surrounded by land use typical of the region, and sites that are highly altered. When a species (or group of species) is known to prefer either unaltered or altered wetlands, they may be a useful indicator of site quality if they can be reliably observed. In this project, plants, birds, fish, invertebrates, and amphibians were surveyed to select the best IBIs for each series.

Wetland Series

These eight series include the commonest wetlands, but not all wetlands, found in Minnesota. IBIs are specific to each series and their use should not be extrapolated to other kinds of wetlands.

This report is organized by wetland series. Within each series section, the following information is provided:

Map showing wetland sites sampled for indicator development;

Description of the landscape setting, land uses of the wetland series, and site selection criteria;

Site records with information on location, environmental characteristics, and vegetation. These records also include a photograph of the site, and land use maps of the surrounding area;

Summary table of land use and environmental data;

Summary tables of plant and animal data;

Methods for land use and biological surveys;

Description of IBIs.

Select a Wetland Series

Forest Glacial Marshes	Stream & Small River Floodplains
Prairie Glacial Marshes	Medium River Floodplains
Wet Prairies & Sedge Meadows	Large River Floodplains
Calcareous Littoral Wetlands	Non-Calcareous Littoral Wetlands

Supporting Information

Species Life History/Taxonomy

GIS Data Standards

Ecoregion Descriptions

Literature Cited

Abstracts from Project Publications

Lehtinen, R.L., S.M. Galatowitsch, and J.R. Tester. Consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation for wetland amphibian assemblages. Accepted for publication in Wetlands

D.M. Mensing, S.M. Galatowitsch, and J.R. Tester. Anthropogenic effects on the biodiversity of riparian wetlands of a northern temperate landscape. In press, Journal of Environmental Management.

Whited, D.C. et al. The importance and influence of landscape characteristics on patterns of biodiversity in depressional wetlands. In review, Landscape Ecology

Galatowitsch, S.M. et al. The vegetation of wet meadows in relation to their land use. In Review, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.