Journal of Student Research 2023

Tamarack Restoration in a Wetland Reserve Property: Comparison with a Natural Reference Site 11

restoration to a natural tamarack stand found in a State Natural Area. The primary purpose of our study was to determine if the tamaracks planted at the Downsville Wetland are recruiting and how their size and structure compares to a local natural tamarack stand. We also investigated the relationship between tamarack size and water depth at Muddy Creek to examine how hydrology may be influencing tamarack establishment. We hypothesized that (H1) the planted stand would have a more homogenous size-class structure than the natural stand, and (H2) the natural stand would have a greater number of non-tamarack woody individuals. Based on the claims of Evans and Farrar, we hypothesize that (H3) water depth will have a negative relationship with tamarack size (Evans et al., 2016; Farrar, 1995). The restored tamarack stand is part of a generational farm located near Downsville, WI (44.729267, -91.956360), and is now owned by Bud Kadinger. The site was a natural tamarack bog in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Shortly thereafter, cattle began grazing the site and, as a result of root damage and soil compaction, the tamarack bog died out by the 1980’s. Around 2015, the site was enrolled in the NRCS Wetland Reserve Program. The application was accepted in 2016, and soon after, the NRCS began replanting tamaracks. In 2018 the NRCS added to the restoration effort by constructing a dam and weir to restore historic hydrology (Bud Kadinger, personal communication). Today, the site consists of an open water aquatic bed and sedge meadow. The natural tamarack stand is located at Muddy Creek Sedge Meadow State Natural Area (195 acres), near Elk Mound, WI (44.888206, -91.753026). The property is owned by the Wisconsin DNR and consists of high-quality sedge meadow with an understory of poison sumac ( Toxicodendron vernix ) and royal fern ( Osmunda regalis ). The Wisconsin DNR claims this site is a “transitional zone” which contains species found in both northern and southern sedge meadow communities (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, n.d.). Data Collection Slightly different data collection methods were used for the two sites to better accommodate the differences in area and tamarack density. The data collected at both sites include tamarack size (DBH), the count of other woody individuals in the plot, the count of dead tamaracks, the count of tamaracks in each DBH size class (< 1 cm, 1-2 cm, > 2 cm for the Downsville Wetland and < 2 cm and > 2 cm at the Muddy Creek site), the count of tamaracks with cones, and presence or absence of deer rubs on all trees in the plots. Data from the Downsville Wetland was collected from 20 plots spread across 5 transects. Each plot had a radius of 5 m and was spaced every 30 m along the transect (Figure 1). The transects were systematically established prior to sampling using Google Earth Pro. They ran parallel North to South spaced 25 m apart, and their length ranged between 75 m and 256 m. We made use of the point-center- Methods Study Sites