Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PART IV
Project Aftercare
The message in part IV is to keep watch over your project as it develops by executing a well-
thought-out maintenance program and conducting monitoring to help assess the progress of the
site. Collect the data in a manner that permits analysis. The real acid test of an ecological resto-
ration project plan occurs after it is “in the ground.” A site will go through a maturation process,
especially in the first few years. Understanding how the site is developing can lead you to new
ideas on how to approach design or plant material selection in the future. Young sites are more
vulnerable to climatic changes, insect outbreaks, weed invasion, and hydrologic changes. In some
cases, the natural processes that you have helped to express will tell you how and when you should
decrease, or even cease, your involvement. The only way to know when to stop maintenance or
stewardship is to conduct routine monitoring. Depending on the goals of your project, and the
uniqueness of the target species, your sampling may range from very simple to quite complex.
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