![]() To this end, we plan to establish combinations of large versus small, deep versus shallow, and clustered versus isolated pools at the Heiberg Research Forest. Moreover, USC has offered its assistance in securing EPA funding to further the collaboration once initiated. The USC will cover the very significant costs of pool installation and is looking to ESF to design the network and fund a complementary research program. The USC is willing to create up to 50 pools in late 2009. Project Methods SUNY-ESF recently formed a collaboration with the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC) - a network of 19 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (16 in NY and 3 in PA) that cover the entire headwaters of the Susquehanna River - to establish a research network of constructed pools on the Heiberg Forest. How does pool construction alter hydrological processes of the adjacent forest Do created pools attract terrestrial wildlife 5. What are the effects of pool construction on soil compaction, plant communities and tree growth 4. What are the patterns of assembly of aquatic communities in constructed pools in relation to pool characteristics (small/large, deep/shallow), wetland proximity, and features of the adjacent upland (slope, aspect, and adjacent uplands, including forest type) How do biotic communities of natural pools differ from constructed pools 3. Do constructed pools represent population "sinks" or "sources" to amphibian production at the landscape scale Moreover, what is the relationship between local pool density and amphibian population response In other words, how many pools is "enough" 2. To this end we will address the following questions: 1. Moreover, a specific and frequent criticism of pool restoration programs - that they will generate habitats that are demographic "sinks" that depress rather than augment the amphibian populations they are targeted to conserve - must be examined. From a restoration perspective research is urgently needed on how to improve the likelihood of success when either mitigation calls for vernal pool creation or when land managers seek to restore the bank of small ephemeral wetlands destroyed by historical land use practices. ![]() Data are lacking on both short- and long-term responses of the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biota (e.g., plant and amphibian populations) to managed manipulations of the forest matrix. Despite a widespread interest in large-scale pool restoration, we possess little knowledge or experience of how to accomplish this. With the understanding of this legacy of loss of small ephemeral wetlands comes a new challenge: how to restore them to the landscape. Despite their typical small size, ephemeral wetlands were formerly extremely numerous in the forested landscape and provided important biological, hydrologic, and ecosystem functions at the landscape scale. ![]() Small headwater wetlands, especially ephemeral wetlands such as so-called "vernal pools" are the most vulnerable to draining. Goals / Objectives New York State has lost 60% of its historical wetlands.
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