Journal of Student Research 2023

Tamarack Restoration in a Wetland Reserve Property: Comparison with a Natural Reference Site 17

part of the overstory at Muddy Creek. This suggests that Muddy Creek has moved beyond the time of tamarack dominance as the tamaracks have already facilitated the establishment of shade tolerant species that are gaining dominance instead (Duncan, 1954; Miletti et al., 2005). Muddy Creek could be an example of what the Downsville Wetland could look like as it eventually transitions to a shade tolerant forest. This study also brings up the question of the goals of ecological restoration. Were the goals of the Downsville Wetland restoration to recreate a system like the Muddy Creek site, or to create a functional wetland that provides lost ecosystem services? If the purpose was to recreate a site like Muddy Creek, then the restoration at Downsville Wetland was unsuccessful due to the lack of proper hydrology and the current community composition. If the purpose of restoration was to recreate a functional wetland, then the restoration was successful because it provides wildlife habitat, as evidenced by the numerous bird nests and buck rubs observed. Overall, our study shows that tamarack restoration takes time and that continued data collection of the restoration can further inform the restoration process. The Downsville Wetland will require many years of natural development after restoration activities before it can be considered an equivalent to a reference site like Muddy Creek. The restoration at the Downsville Wetland may be improved by creating hummock-hollow topography to improve tamarack regeneration (Filicetti et al., 2019). It may be worthwhile to research if hummock-hollow topography ever existed at the Downsville Wetland. Continued human activity (e.g., mowing and potentially other management activities) at the Downsville Wetland may cause it to always be substantially different than that of a natural tamarack stand. Even if the Downsville Wetland tamarack stand fails to recruit, the current individuals could persist, and the attempted restoration is not a failure. Currently, the site is frequented by deer and many different species of waterfowl, and this attraction may be due to the combination of restored hydrology and the return of the tamarack stand.