Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2012KY199B

Development of wetland assessment methods for Kentucky

Institute: Kentucky
Year Established: 2012 Start Date: 2012-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $4,295 Total Non-Federal Funds: $8,816

Principal Investigators: David Brown

Abstract: Because of the similarity of wetland vegetation communities in Ohio and Kentucky, we expect that indices of biotic integrity (IBI) developed for Ohio can be adjusted for Kentucky with only minor modifications. The objectives of this project are (1) to develop vegetation-based IBI (level 3) methods based on existing methods previously developed in Ohio, and (2) validate a rapid assessment method recently developed by a multi-agency technical committee using the vegetation-based IBI. Ultimately, the goal is to develop methods that will be applicable statewide in all types of wetlands, but since this project is in the relatively early stages of development, the goal for the current project is to develop and validate methods for riverine wetlands in eastern Kentucky.