Shifting reproductive strategies in riparian plant communities after restoration

Laurel Martinez, MS Student

Biology
Mentor: Thomas Turner

Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are new restoration techniques being implemented in streams across the U.S. BDAs mimic the effects of natural beaver dams by raising water tables, increasing soil moisture, and reconnecting floodplains in degraded stream systems.

I am examining how plant reproductive strategies shift in response to the environmental changes caused by BDAs. While many restoration monitoring efforts focus on recruitment from seeds, belowground traits and the clonal reproduction associated with them are often overlooked. I am interested in understanding changes in recruitment from sexual reproduction via seeding to clonal reproduction via belowground rhizomes after restoration.

I am also assembling a reference collection of the plant communities at a restored and a degraded stream for future research and assessment of community changes following restoration.