After more than a year of planning, our team is finally ready to launch a new phase of research.
After more than a year of planning, our team is finally ready to launch a new phase of research. We’ve designed and built two small “islands” of wetland plants that will float on Lake Decatur. These living laboratories will help us investigate how floating wetlands may affect nutrient levels and sediment dynamics in lake systems nationwide.
Our wetland raft structures are steel cages with thick coils of natural coconut fiber, known as coir, that will hold the plants in place. At the dock, we begin planting rows of nine native plant species in the coir. The placement of each plant species is carefully planned, not random. Last year, in September, we harvested plants from nearby wetlands and tested them in the Ecohydraulics and Ecomorphodynamics Laboratory at the U. of I. to evaluate whether their roots could withstand the flow of water and how they might affect the lake bottom sediment.
Our findings in the lab guide our planting strategy today. Species are arranged to maximize root protection from higher flow conditions and organized in row plots to help us identify each species in future studies.
Read More: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Image: In June 2025, Illinois State Water Survey research scientist Erin Bauer and her colleagues built and installed two floating wetlands in Lake Decatur, Illinois. The project aims to evaluate the viability of floating wetlands and their potential effects on water quality, sedimentation and wildlife. Photo by Rafael Tinoco
