Abstract
Excerpt: The Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project in northeastern Illinois, USA, represents one of the most intensively studied wetland restoration projects ever undertaken. It has integrated wetland design and construction issues with comprehensive ecosystem studies of hydrology, hydrodynamics, water quality, sediment dynamics, and general wetland ecology. The project is a long-term commitment to understanding ecosystem restoration as it progresses from the initial construction phase to wetlands that appear to be structurally and functionally equivalent to natural systems. The following research articles represent only the initial phase in describing the ecological changes which have occurred since construction and will continue to occur as these systems mature.