Iowa Fen Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands v. 1 Quantitative Rating, 2016

Rapid assessment methods are valuable tools for collecting information about the quality and status of natural systems. However, they are not a substitute for detailed surveys of those systems. Users of this method should consider that the method may under-score or over-score the site that’s assessed, especially when the site is not a typical fen (i.e. a sedge meadow could score lower than fens, but in-fact be a relatively high quality sedge meadow). This assessment can be used throughout most of the spring, summer and fall period, however the ideal “index period” would be from late May through early October when native plant communities, as well as invasive species, are most apparent.

Development of a Rational Characterization Method for Iowa Fly Ash, HR-286, Annual Progress Report 2, 1987

The following report summarizes research activities on the project for the period December 1, 1986 to November 30, 1987. Research efforts for the second year deviated slightly from those described in the project proposal. By the end of the second year of testing, it was possible to begin evaluating how power plant operating conditions influenced the chemical and physical properties of fly ash obtained from one of the monitored power plants (Ottumwa Generating Station, OGS). Hence, several of the tasks initially assigned to the third year of the project (specifically tasks D, E, and F) were initiated during the second year of the project. Manpower constraints were balanced by delaying full scale implementation of the quantitative X-ray diffraction and differential thermal analysis tasks until the beginning of the third year of the project. Such changes should have little bearing on the outcome of the overall project.