Bioassessment and Management of North American Freshwater Wetlands

The first resource of its kind-essential practical guidance on wetlands bioassessment and management Although bioassessment has become a vital tool in the successful management of many aquatic ecosystems, to date there has been no single book that covers the application of bioassessment principles to wetland ecosystems. This contributed volume fills this important gap in the literature, with a multifaceted look at the issues and techniques involved in the successful bioassessment and management of freshwater wetlands. The book is divided into two parts-bioassessment and wildlife management. After a review of general bioassessment principles, Part I discusses the statistical issues related to sampling numerous sites, as well as the application of multivariate procedures and invertebrate functional groups to wetland bioassessment. A series of case studies examines bioassessment results using various organismal groups, followed by several chapters that trace the relationship between bioassessment and wetland restoration. Coverage also explores how to use and sample bacteria, algae, macrophytes, and invertebrates. Part II covers key management topics, including many that are frequently overlooked in other treatments of the subject. Separate chapters discuss how to manage fish, waterbirds, and mosquitoes in wetlands. Other chapters address timber harvest strategies and impact assessment, as well as the biological control of an invasive wetland plant. As wetland managers work to strike a vital balance between resource exploitation and resource protection, this book offers an important repository of practical information to use in meeting this formidable challenge. It will be welcomed by wetland managers and scientists, environmental engineers, ecologists, civil engineers, and others whose work involves wetlands study and management.