Heisler, Evan, Ecology Program, Susquehanna University, 514 University Ave, Selinsgrove, PA, 17870, heislere@susqu.edu; Ashcraft, Sara, A, Freshwater Research Institute, Susquehanna University, 514 University Ave, Selinsgrove, PA, 17870, ashcraft@susqu.edu; Wilson, Matt, J Freshwater Research Institute Susquehanna University 514 University Ave Selinsgrove PA, 17870, wilsonmatt@susqu.edu; Ressler, Daniel, E, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Susquehanna University, 514 University Ave, Selinsgrove, PA, 17870, ressler@susqu.edu.
Stream restoration is performed with many different goals ranging from fish habitat improvement to reduction in nutrient and sediment transport. To achieve these goals, many different restoration techniques are often employed at a single site, making it difficult to track effectiveness of individual practices. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships between restoration structures and physical habitat characteristics over time. Using 6 years of site mapping data, we translated hand-drawn structures into quantified effort by technique and restoration technique and included natural features to characterize the development of stream habitat over time following in-stream restoration. We grouped features by type (e.g., instream and on-bank) and material (e.g., woody and rocky); a feature type generalizes its role in developing habitat over time, and its material informs its construction. By recording features over time, it enables us to understand how specific structures inform channel development, as well as trends, such as where restoration structures may have failed, or where some structures may be more commonly implemented based on a stream’s morphology. Preliminary results from multivariate redundancy analyses show relationships between watershed and some channel morphology characteristics like bankfull width and riffle-run sequence length while measures of channel depth or incision are not. We also found significant changes in stream structures over time when controlling for watershed. Our results indicate strong patterns of change in stream morphology and habitat related to the combination of structures installed that may support future restoration structure design and implementation.
Habitat, Stream Ecology, Geomorphology, Restoration