Differentiating Industrial from Natural Wetlands via Structural and Geographic Attributes

Abstract

Process-affected wetlands are characterized by reduced plant cover, reduced above-ground biomass, reduced above-ground plant density, and shorter plants than those of natural wetlands. Natural wetlands are located in landscapes with a greater areal extent of nearby wetlands than are industrial wetlands. Open water lakes and ponds are more areally extensive near natural wetland sites than near process-affected sites. The marsh portions of natural wetland sites tend to be larger than those of OSREF sites, which in turn are larger than those of process-affected sites. Natural forests and agricultural lands tend to be more areally extensive near natural wetlands than near industrial wetlands. Conversely, dry tailings, tailings ponds, unvegetated bare ground, anthropogenic revegetated uplands, industrial and commercial land types, and roads are more areally extensive near industrial wetland sites than they are near natural wetland sites. Relative to natural wetlands, process-affected wetlands tend to be smaller and more uniform in size, and both process-affected and OSREF wetlands are more isolated from other wetlands than are natural wetlands. The small areal extent and hydraulic isolation of industrial wetlands act to limit their species pool and increase their susceptibility to external influences. Industrial wetlands may be limited in their capacity to function as normal wetlands. The effect of geographic location on the vegetation assemblages is modest and is not a factor in the compositional discontinuities between industrial and non-industrial wetlands.