Wetland Mitigation
Wetland 
The goal of this project was to
restore forested wetland in an area that had been deforested, used for sugar
cane production for many years and most recently has been used for cattle
grazing. The two major barriers for forest regeneration in this site appear to
be: 1) the change in the topography and 2) the presence of rapid growing
grasses. The topography of the site has changed due to the activities associated
with sugar cane production. After the area was deforested, canals were cut to
dry the area and this exposed the thick peat layer to conditions that would
accelerate decomposition. Furthermore, when the cane residuals were burned the
peat also burned, and this lowered the surface level. Due to the lower elevation
of the site, it now stays flooded for a longer period and is dominated by fast
growing grass species, particularly Typha.
To overcome these barriers we
decided that it was necessary to create a microtopography that would reduce the
time that tree seedlings were exposed to flooded conditions. To do this we used
a low ground pressure bulldozer to create mounds that were approximately 2 x 4 x
0.5 m (height). We have created approximately 1500 mounds. To reduce competition
with the grasses we covered the mounds with ground cloth.
In the mounds we have planted
seedlings of Pterocarpus officinalis and Annona glabra. Plants are
growing well and a few individuals of P. officinalis have begun to
reproduce after just three years.
Pterocarpus officinalis seeds
Pterocarpus officinalis
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