Comprehensive cooling water study annual report. Volume V: wetland plant communities, Savannah River Plant
Wetlands cover approximately 4% of the entire Savannah River watershed. The SRP contains 15,885 ha of wetlands of which 12,722 ha are bottomland hardwood and cypress-tupelo forest, predominantly along streams and in the Savannah River floodplain. The most obvious effect of cooling water releases on wetland plant communities is canopy loss by wetland tree species. About 770 ha of wetland tree canopy exhibits degree of alteration as a result of cooling water releases. Canopy loss continues at a rate of 10.5 to 11 ha/yr in river swamp areas associated with streams that currently receive reactor effluents (Pen Branch and Four Mile Creek). Closed canopy forest is replaced by a mixture of algal mat, thermally tolerant herbaceous, and scrub-shrub communities in the thermal streams and deltas. Following cessation of reactor effluent discharges, stream and delta areas are recolonized by a variety of herbaceous and scrub-shrub species, including many species that occur in the thermal deltas. Successional processes in the post-thermal areas result in a shift from herb dominated to shrub dominated communities. Limited data on primary production indicate that community biomass production rates recover to predistribution levels much faster than community structural parameters. Bald cypress trees in the nonthermal swamp areas do not appear to be replacing themselves, while water tupelo appears to be experiencing adequate regeneration. 65 refs., 52 figs., 45 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 6242238
- Report Number(s):
- DP-1697-5; ON: DE86003107
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
WETLANDS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
COMMUNITIES
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
PLANTS
PRODUCTIVITY
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
TREES
COOLING SYSTEMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
520400* - Environment
Aquatic- Thermal Effluents Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)