Vegetation Change and Seed Banks in Marshes: Ecological and Management Implications

Natural waterfowl habitat management (Weller 1981) involves the use of natural forces (e.g., water levels, muskrat activity) to develop a mosaic of native plant communities, i.e., a habitat complex. Such a complex is designed to provide the nutritional and structural requirements for not only waterfowl, but also for a large variety of migratory bird and nongame species (Fredrickson and Taylor 1982). Natural management is less costly, more permanent, more esthetically pleasing, and provides more resources for wildlife than do standard agronomic practices (Fredrickson and Taylor 1982). Because natural marsh management is primarily the application of ecological principles, the successful development of a habitat complex requires a conceptual grasp of vegetation dynamics and a detailed understanding of the biological and physical factors that produce vegetation changes in wetlands