Sarah Medland

Significant wetland loss in Ontario has resulted in the loss of important ecosystem services which help to mitigate the effects of global change. This research aimed to create a multi-criteria index for identifying where suitable sites for wetland reconstruction are spatially distributed in Ontario’s Mixedwood Plains. The index is intended as a decision-making tool for reaching wetland reconstruction goals such as those outlined by the Ontario MNRF’s plan to restore historically lost wetland area and function. By incorporating ecosystem services, the index will indicate areas where wetlands would be most beneficial. The resulting index generated a raster with a range of suitability based on seven criteria. Soil drainage and Agriculture were the most important criteria and weighed most heavily in the index. Overlay analysis indicated that suitable sites were clustered in areas which had historically undergone wetland loss or are areas of existing wetlands.