Principal Investigator(s)
- Angela Burrow, Michigan State University
- Kimberly Hall, The Nature Conservancy
- Abu Kibria, Michigan State University
- Jen Owen, Michigan State University
- Barret M. Wessel, Michigan State University
Cooperators/Collaborators
- Peter Levi, Drake University
- Todd Losee, Niswander Environmental
- Chris May, GEI Consultants
- Kali Rush, Ducks Unlimited
- Christopher Tonra, The Ohio State University
Wetlands are vital ecosystems that provide carbon storage, water purification, flood mitigation, and habitat for diverse species. Yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. In the Midwest U.S., inland wetland decline has largely been driven by agricultural drainage, with urbanization and habitat conversion contributing to more recent reductions. Hydrological alterations, invasive species, nutrient loading, and climate change further degrade these systems. While guidance on how to evaluate climate change risks and develop adaptation strategies that help sustain the many values of wetland systems continues to expand (e.g., Staffen et al. 2019, Tribal Adaptation Menu Team 2019, Hansen et al. 2022), significant knowledge gaps remain. To address these challenges, this research synthesis seeks to (1) identify ways to build on current knowledge and expertise to promote siting and implementation of restoration projects in ways that integrate climate resiliency, and meet multiple biodiversity, cultural resource, and water quality benefits, (2) contribute to best practices for key project steps, such as identifying the “desired future condition” for a project given current conditions and climate projections, and (3) identify potential roadblocks to resource/tool utilization for climate adaptive management.
Restoring wetlands in the Midwest requires a collaborative, stakeholder-driven approach to ensure ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. Traditional top-down research strategies often lead to mismatches between proposed solutions and real-world conditions, resulting in low translation from research to practice. Therefore, we adopted a bottom-up approach where stakeholders and rights holders are engaged early and often to guide research development, identify the key gaps, and co-develop research driven solutions that effectively address the local complexities of climate adaptation and restoration in Midwest wetlands.
Currently, we are conducting a comprehensive review of both academic and grey literature to identify restoration practices and tools addressing climate change adaptation. To support this effort, AI tools are being developed to efficiently analyze large volumes of documents, enabling a more robust, evidence-based decision-making process. Future plans include organizing facilitated discussions and workshops, creating guidance materials, and organizing symposia focused on climate adaptive wetland restoration.