Effects of a Highway on Plant Species Composition and Diversity of a Southwestern Michigan Wetland
Loading...
Authors
Augustine, Andrea
Issue Date
1999
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Human interactions with the environment are diverse and ubiquitous. One of the
most notable of these interactions comes in the form of roads. Because of the widespread
nature of roadways in the US (approximately 6.2 million km of public roads), the
potential for marked ecological effects is high. Roads have been implicated in damage to
vegetation, reduction of regional biodiversity and facilitation of alien species invasions.
Yet, road effects on vegetation diversity and composition are poorly studied to date.
Accordingly, a study of the effects of a state highway (M-43) was taken on an
adjacent wetland community in the Lillian Anderson Arboretum in Kalamazoo County,
Michigan. Six transects were established perpendicular to M-43 within a one hectare
area of the wetland. Plant species composition and frequency were sampled at six points
along each transect and on the roadbank above the wetland using 0.5 m2 plots.
Groundwater pH, conductivity and osmolarity of a subset of the 35 sample points were
measured.
We found that groundwater conductivity within the wetland was four times
greater near the highway. Wetland vegetation also changed with distance from road, with
Typha sp. (cat-tail) dominating near the road and species density increasing linearly with
distance from road. The percentage of introduced species was nearly ten times greater on
the roadbank than in the wetland. There are substantial road effects on plant species
composition in this wetland, which appear to be directly correlated to groundwater
conductivity. The dominance of Typha sp. seems to facilitate loss of biodiversity, which
can lead to long-term sustainability difficulties for the wetland.
Description
iv, 36 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.