Ecosystem Restoration Flashcards

Which technique is most effective for restoring riparian vegetation to stabilize stream banks and reduce sediment input?

Answer: Live staking with native willows and dogwoods

Live staking with native willows and dogwoods establishes root systems that stabilize banks and provide fish habitat structure.

What is the primary goal of large wood (LW) placement in stream restoration?

Answer: Create hydraulic complexity, pools, and cover for fish

Large wood placement increases hydraulic complexity, forming pools and cover that enhance fish habitat.

Nutrient spiraling length in a stream decreases when restoration efforts successfully increase:

Answer: Biotic uptake and retention capacity

Shorter nutrient spiraling lengths indicate higher biotic uptake and retention, reflecting improved ecosystem function.

Which metric best indicates successful macroinvertebrate community recovery following restoration of a degraded stream?

Answer: Increase in EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) taxa richness

EPT taxa are pollution-sensitive indicators; their return signals improved water quality and habitat conditions.

When reconnecting floodplains to their river channel, the primary ecological benefit for fish is:

Answer: Access to floodplain nursery habitat and food resources

Floodplain reconnection provides fish with spawning and nursery habitat and increases allochthonous food inputs.

Reference reach analysis in stream restoration primarily serves to:

Answer: Establish restoration targets based on a comparable undisturbed system

A reference reach provides design templates and success benchmarks derived from a minimally disturbed, comparable system.

Which sediment management practice most directly improves spawning habitat for gravel-spawning salmonids?

Answer: Both B and C

Combining upstream settling basins with riparian buffers reduces fine sediment delivery and improves gravel permeability for egg survival.