Zedler
Joy Zedler, professor of botany and Aldo Leopold Chair of Restoration Ecology, was elected fellow of the Society of Wetland Scientists at the group's annual international conference this week in Duluth, Minn.
The award subcommittee called Zedler "a world leader in wetland restoration ecology and invasive species ecology, who made restoration a science by using restoration projects to conduct experiments."
"By working directly with managers to improve design and management, she has had a fundamental impact on restoration practice and improved their effectiveness," the subcommittee wrote. "Through her publications, teaching, and application of her findings she has made significant intellectual and practical contributions to the development of the field of restoration and invasion ecology.”
Upon receiving the award and accompanying sculpture of a clear-blue water drop, Zedler thanked "all the wonderful students with whom I have been privileged to work.”
Fellow is the highest recognition of membership bestowed by the SSW. Zedler joins 35 fellows of the 3,500-member society who have been elected since 1994. Fellows are nominated by other active members, recommended by the fellows committee, and elected by the SWS Board of Directors.
Zedler was also honored as SWS’s plenary speaker. Her presentation, entitled “Invasive species effects on wetland ecosystem services,” reviewed research on invasive wetland plants, then summarized effects of ponding and cattail invasion on experimental wetlands at the UW-Madison Arboretum.
Citing new evidence obtained with her UW-Madison collaborators Steve Loheide and Anita Thompson and graduate students Jim Doherty, Jeff Miller and Stephanie Prellwitz, Zedler highlighted the roles of mosses and cattails in treating urban runoff. She urged stormwater facility designers to include biological components in physical models that are currently used to predict how urban runoff will be cleansed.
Zedler cautions that when the biota is ignored, such models can predict that a system will trap nutrients when it actually exports nitrogen and phosphorus. More information can be found at the UW-Madison Arboretum's website.