Aquatic Vegetation Restoration in Cooper Lake, Texas: A Case Study

Abstract

Aquatic plants improve water clarity and quality (James and Barko 1990) and reduce rates of shoreline erosion and sediment resuspension (James and Barko 1995). Further, aquatic plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat (Dibble et al. 1996) and serve as a food source for waterfowl and aquatic mammals. Native aquatic plants also help prevent spread of nuisance exotic plants (Smart et al. 1994), a role that has been of primary interest to the Aquatic Plant Control Research Program (APCRP). Because the research on aquatic plant establishment conducted under the APCRP represented the current "state of the art" (Smart et al. 1996), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department solicited our involvement in the development of techniques (TPWD Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Initiative) for establishing aquatic plants for fish habitat improvement in Texas reservoirs. Because there is still much to learn regarding establishment of beneficial native plants, we elected to participate in this project and to incorporate testing and data collection in an attempt to further advance the science. This report documents the restoration project and describes what we learned in the process.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA424771

Entities

People

  • Gary O. Dick
  • Joetta K. Smith
  • R. Michael Smart

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Construction
  • Dams
  • Deep Water
  • Engineers
  • Fish
  • Flood Control
  • Floods
  • Habitats
  • Medical Personnel
  • Planting
  • Plants
  • Research Facilities
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Underwater Structures
  • Vegetables
  • Water
  • Wildlife

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Wetland-Land-Environmental Management.