Conditions of Wetlands in the Appoquinimink River Watershed, Delaware Erin E
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Conditions of Wetlands in the Appoquinimink River Watershed, Delaware Erin E. Dorset Alison B. Rogerson Kenneth E. Smith Brittany L. Haywood Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Division of Watershed Stewardship 100 W. Water St., Suite 10B Dover, DE 19904 The citation for this document is: Dorset, E. E., Rogerson, A. B., Smith, K. E., and B. L. Haywood. 2019. Condition of Wetlands in the Appoquinimink River Watershed, Delaware. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Watershed Assessment and Management Section, Dover, DE. 59p. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreements CD-96330901 and # CD-96347201 to Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document. Tom Kincaid and Tony Olsen with the EPA Office of Research and Development Lab, Corvallis, Oregon provided the data frame for field sampling and statistical weights for interpretation. Andy Howard, Alison Rogerson, Brittany Haywood, Kenny Smith, and Mollie Nugent, Trevor Adams, and Tess Strayer participated in field assessments of tidal and non-tidal wetlands. All tidal field assessments were conducted with assistance from the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) staff. The collection of these data would not be possible without the cooperation and assistance from private landowners, DNREC, the Forest Service, and other conservation partners. ii CONTENTS Executive Summary .........................................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3 Watershed Overview………………………………………………………………………..5 Hydrogeomorphology ...........................................................................................................6 Land Use and Land Cover .....................................................................................................8 Natural Areas and Unique Wetlands…………...…………………………………………10 Wildlife Habitat and Outdoor Recreation ...........................................................................11 Methods..........................................................................................................................................13 Changes to Wetland Acreage ..............................................................................................13 Field Site Selection ..............................................................................................................13 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................14 Landowner Contact and Site Access....................................................................... 14 Assessing Tidal Wetland Condition........................................................................ 15 Assessing Non-tidal Wetland Condition ................................................................. 16 Assessing Non-tidal Wetland Value………………………………………………20 Wetland Condition and Value Data Analysis ......................................................................20 Wetland Health Report Card……………………………………………………………...22 Results ............................................................................................................................................23 Wetland Acreage .................................................................................................................23 Landowner Contact and Site Access ...................................................................................25 Wetland Condition and Value .............................................................................................27 Tidal Estuarine Wetlands ........................................................................................ 27 Non-tidal Flat Wetlands .......................................................................................... 29 Non-tidal Riverine Wetlands .................................................................................. 32 Non-tidal Depression Wetlands .............................................................................. 35 Overall Condition and Watershed Comparison ...................................................................37 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………..38 Acreage Trends…………………………………………………………………………….38 Tidal Estuarine Wetland Condition………………………………………………………..40 Non-tidal Palustrine Wetland Condition and Value……………………………………….42 Management Recommendations ....................................................................................................43 Environmental Scientists, Researchers, and Land Managers………………..…………….44 iii . Decision Makers (State, County, and Local)………………………………………………45 Landowners………………………………………………………………………………..47 Literature Cited ..............................................................................................................................49 Appendix A: Qualitative Disturbance Rating (QDR) Category Descriptions ...............................54 Appendix B: DERAP Stressor Codes and Definitions ..................................................................55 Appendix C: DERAP IWC Stressors and Weights........................................................................57 iv FIGURES Figure 1. The four-tiered approach that is used to evaluate wetland condition across the Mid-Atlantic region…………………………………………………………………….................4 Figure 2. Proportions of assessed hydrogeomorphic (HGM) wetland types in the Appoquinimink River watershed...................................................................................................................…...….6 Figure 3. LULC status in the Appoquinimink River watershed in 2012. Percentages shown are based on the 2012 NLCD……………….…………………………………………………………8 Figure 4. Clapper rail eggs in a Delaware salt marsh…………………………………...……….11 Figure 5. Blue crabs are often found in and around estuarine wetlands in Delaware......………..12 Figure 6. Standard assessment area (AA) in green, subplot locations, and buffer (red) used to collect data for the Mid-Atlantic Tidal Rapid Assessment Method (MidTRAM).………….…...15 Figure 7. Standard assessment area (green) and buffer (red) used to collect data for the Delaware Rapid Assessment Procedure (DERAP) v.6.0.…………………………………...……………...19 Figure 8. An example CDF showing wetland condition. The blue line is the population estimate, the dashed blue lines are 95% confidence intervals, and colored arrows show condition category ranges. The orange and green dashed lines show the numeric breakpoints between condition categories………………………………………………………………………..……………….22 Figure 9. Sampling success for estuarine and palustrine wetlands. Shown are percentages of the total number of sites that we attempted to sample for each class (estuarine: n=39; palustrine: n=300)..……………..……………………………………………………………………….…...26 Figure 10. Cumulative distribution function (CDF) for tidal estuarine wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed. The solid blue line is the population estimate, the dashed blue lines are 95% confidence intervals, and colored arrows show condition category ranges. The orange and green dashed lines show the numeric breakpoints between condition categories…...27 Figure 11. A dense stand of invasive P. australis in an estuarine wetland in the Appoquinimink River watershed.………………………………………………………………………………....29 Figure 12. Cumulative distribution function (CDF) for non-tidal flat wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed. The solid blue line is the population estimate, the dashed blue lines are 95% confidence intervals, and colored arrows show condition category ranges. The orange and green dashed lines show the numeric breakpoints between condition categories…...30 Figure 13. Ditches, such as the large one pictured here, were frequently found in flat wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed.............................................................................................31 Figure 14. Percentage of flats that scored in each of the 3 value-added categories (n=31)……...32 v Figure 15. Cumulative distribution function (CDF) for non-tidal riverine wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed. The solid blue line is the population estimate, the dashed blue lines are 95% confidence intervals, and colored arrows show condition category ranges. The orange and green dashed lines show the numeric breakpoints between condition categories..…………………………………………………………………………...……...…...33 Figure 16. Invasive species were frequently found in riverine wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed. Pictured here, Japanese stilt grass (M. vimineum) formed a carpet across a riverine wetland..…………………………………………………………...……………...…….34 Figure 17. Percentage of riverine wetlands that scored in each of the 3 value-added categories (n=36).…………………………………………………………………………….…………...…34 Figure 18. Cumulative distribution function (CDF) for non-tidal depression wetlands in the Appoquinimink River watershed. The solid blue line is the population estimate, the dashed blue lines are 95% confidence intervals, and colored arrows show condition category