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SUMMARY 11 longer). As a result, such wetlands maybe overrun by exotic species, quickly filled by sediment, polluted, or otherwise misused. The practice of wetland restoration needs to move from atrial- and-error process to a predictive science. The following recommended practices should be applied by resource managers to wetland restora- tions: • Strive to restore wetlands to self-sustaining ecosystems requir- ing minimal maintenance. • Provide buffers to protect restored wetlands, ensuring that re- stored coastal wetlands have room to migrate inland as long-term increases in sea level occur. • Develop innovative methods of accelerating the restoration pro- cess (e.g., better propagation techniques for native plant species and protocols for obtaining adequate genetic diversity in the transplant material), and establish regional and national data bases to provide comparisons of the natural functioning of different wetland ecosys- tem types in different regions. • Design and conduct experimental research programs to examine wetland restoration techniques and functional development over time in different system types. • Use wetland restoration sites for scientific experiments that are designed to accelerate the restoration process. • Support baseline studies of wetland ecosystem functioning to provide comparisons of different wetland types among regions and at different stages of development. Traditional research on wetlands and ecosystem development should also be continued, using both natural and restored wetlands. Ex- amples of this traditional research include the following topics adapted from Kusler and Kentula (1989): • The hydrologic needs and requirements of wetland plants and animals, including minimum water depths, hydroperiod, velocity, dis- solved nutrients, the role of large-scale but infrequent events, such as floods, and the effects of long-term fluctuations in water levels. • The importance and functional significance of substrate to wet- land plants and animals and to chemical and biological functions. • Characteristics of development rates for natural successional vegetation. • Recolonization of restored sites by invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. • Functions of wetlands, with special emphasis on habitat values for a broad range of species, food chain support, and water quality enhancement.