Successful wetland restoration depends on the development of the vegetation community post-restoration. Woody vegetation provides functional and structural support to the wetland ecosystem and community development post-restoration dictates restoration outcomes. We investigated basal area, stem density, and species richness of woody vegetation in 40 restored wetlands across West Virginia, USA, ranging in age from 1 to 29 years post-restoration. We aggregated field-collected data into eight indicators at the site scale and investigated stem size distribution to describe the overall woody vegetation community. Generalized linear regression shows native species richness slightly declined as wetland site age increased. In contrast, the total basal area increased over time since restoration. Total stem density did not vary by age. Regardless of age, all sites were dominated by woody vegetation with a stem diameter < 9.1 cm, whereas the frequency of stems > 9.1 cm increased as wetland age increased. This study demonstrates that the development of woody vegetation post-restoration occurs over decades in central Appalachian wetlands and shows the diverse conditions between restoration sites.

湿地恢复的成功取决于恢复后植被群落的发展。木本植被为湿地生态系统提供功能和结构支持，恢复后的社区发展决定了恢复结果。我们调查了美国西弗吉尼亚州 40 个恢复湿地（恢复后树龄从 1 到 29 年不等）的木本植被的断面积、茎密度和物种丰富度。我们将现场收集的数据汇总为场地尺度的八个指标，并调查茎大小分布以描述整个木本植被群落。广义线性回归显示，随着湿地年龄的增加，本地物种丰富度略有下降。相比之下，自修复以来，总断面积随着时间的推移而增加。总茎密度不随年龄而变化。无论年龄如何，所有地点均以茎直径< 9.1 cm的木本植被为主，而茎> 9.1 cm的频率随着湿地年龄的增加而增加。这项研究表明，阿巴拉契亚中部湿地恢复后木本植被的发展发生了数十年，并显示了恢复地点之间的不同条件。