Wetlands provide key societal benefits that will become increasingly important with climate change exacerbating our need for water filtration, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Yet they are amongst the most stressed ecosystems on earth. To support their rich diversity and long-term provisioning of ecological benefits, it is critical to assess factors impacting their health. This project will leverage floristic surveys conducted by the Illinois Natural History Survey in over 150 wetlands sites across the state to identify site characteristics and landscape factors impacting the species richness and vegetation dynamics of wetland sites. It will also identify low-cost indicators based on freely accessible remote sensing data that can help track changes in the species composition, diversity, and dominance of these wetland sites.

Through this project, the intern will advance their theoretical understanding of wetland and restoration ecology and sharpen their skills in data management, GIS, and spatial and statistical analyses.