Wetland functions and plant communities
Zedler’s research spans southern Californian salt marshes and freshwater wetlands in Wisconsin and elsewhere. She investigates links among hydrological disturbance, native and exotic plants, and ecosystem functioning, including invasion by reed canary grass and hybrid cattails.
References: [1]
Designing restoration as an experiment
She promotes adaptive restoration: comparing alternative methods within projects, assessing them against defined goals and learning from the outcomes. A 2008 university report described her students’ review of 311 wetland-restoration papers. Fewer than half used experimentation, and about 13 percent included experiments of at least one hectare.
References: [2]
When experimental scale changes the answer
Zedler recalled a Californian plant-restoration study in which added nitrogen improved the target plant’s growth in controlled two-by-two-metre plots. In twenty-by-twenty-metre plots, however, nutrients allowed another plant to establish and displace the target. The experience emphasised testing responses at scales closer to actual restoration.
References: [2]
Monitoring and communicating results
Her research connects wetland biodiversity, ecosystem services and long-term monitoring with restoration. Recording both interventions and ecological responses allows a project to provide evidence for subsequent work as well as changes on the ground. University research and communication extend that knowledge to practitioners and other audiences.