Physical and Vegetative Characteristics of a Newly Constructed Wetland and Modified Stream Reach, Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 2000-2006

摘要

To compensate for authorized disturbance of naturally occurring wetlands and streams during roadway improvements to U.S. Highway 202 in Chester and Montgomery Counties, Pa., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) constructed 0.42 acre of emergent wetland and 0.94 acre of scrub-shrub/forested wetland and modified sections of a 1,600-foot reach of Valley Creek with woody riparian plantings and stream bank stabilization structures (including rock deflectors). In accordance with project permits and additional guidance issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with PennDOT, collected data from 2000 through 2006 to quantify changes in (1) the vegetation, soils, and extent of emergent and scrub-shrub/forested parts of the constructed wetland, (2) the profile, dimension, and substrate in the vicinity of rock deflectors placed at two locations within the modified stream reach, and (3) the woody vegetation within the planted riparian buffer. The data for this investigation were collected using an approach adapted from previous investigations so that technology and findings may be more easily transferred among projects with similar objectives.