2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
6/08/2017 | 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM | North Carolina Coastal Plain ditch types support distinct hydrophytic communities | 301B
North Carolina Coastal Plain ditch types support distinct hydrophytic communities
Ditches in flat temperate areas can resemble wetlands, yet ecologists rarely examine ditches. In summer 2015, we surveyed 32 ditch reaches in the North Carolina Coastal Plain. These ditches were constructed in agricultural or forested areas, or alongside highways. We examined herbaceous plant and tree community composition, soil properties, hydrologic indicators, and morphology. Herbaceous community composition differed among agricultural, forested, and highway sites, but all ditch types supported predominantly hydrophytes. These communities appeared to respond to wetness, geographic location, and mowing, which apparently limited biodiversity on roadsides. Agricultural ditches had the greatest herbaceous percent cover and biodiversity, up to 41 taxa. Forested ditches were apparently wettest and had the most soil organic matter, up to 61% by mass, but 22/32 sites, including 4/10 forested sites and 11/12 highway sites, had less than 10% organic matter. Most variables measured ranged widely, in ways difficult to explain with this dataset. Better parsing drivers of this variability could allow managers to promote wetland-like behavior in existing and future ditches.
- S04 Natural and Constructed Wetlands – improving water quality and watershed health
- C08 Urban Ecology
- S05 Social-Ecological Freshwater Systems
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Presenters/Authors
Chelsea Clifford
(), Iowa State University, chelseaclifford@gmail.com;
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Jim Heffernan
(), Duke University, james.heffernan@duke.edu;
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