Trajectory of early tidal marsh restoration: Elevation, sedimentation and colonization of breached salt ponds in the northern San Francisco Bay

Tidal marsh restoration projects that cover large areas are critical for maintaining target species, yet few large sites have been studied and their restoration trajectories remain uncertain. A tidal marsh restoration project in the northern San Francisco Bay consisting of three breached salt ponds...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological engineering 2012-05, Vol.42, p.19-29
Main Authors: Brand, L. Arriana, Smith, Lacy M., Takekawa, John Y., Athearn, Nicole D., Taylor, Karen, Shellenbarger, Gregory G., Schoellhamer, David H., Spenst, Renee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bathymetry
coasts
digital elevation models
Elevation
Freshwater
Marshes
Marshplain development
Meters
pollution load
Ponds
Restoration
Salt marsh
salt marshes
Salt pond
sediment yield
Sedimentation
Sediments
Spartina foliosa
surveys
Vegetation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Tidal marsh restoration projects that cover large areas are critical for maintaining target species, yet few large sites have been studied and their restoration trajectories remain uncertain. A tidal marsh restoration project in the northern San Francisco Bay consisting of three breached salt ponds (≥300ha each; 1175ha total) is one of the largest on the west coast of North America. These diked sites were subsided and required extensive sedimentation for vegetation colonization, yet it was unclear whether they would accrete sediment and vegetate within a reasonable timeframe. We conducted bathymetric surveys to map substrate elevations using digital elevation models and surveyed colonizing Pacific cordgrass (Spartina foliosa). The average elevation of Pond 3 was 0.96±0.19m (mean±SD; meters NAVD88) in 2005. In 2008–2009, average pond elevations were 1.05±0.25m in Pond 3, 0.81±0.26m in Pond 4, and 0.84±0.24m in Pond 5 (means±SD; meters NAVD88). The largest site (Pond 3; 508ha) accreted 9.5±0.2cm (mean±SD) over 4 years, but accretion varied spatially and ranged from sediment loss in borrow ditches and adjacent to an unplanned, early breach to sediment gains up to 33cm in more sheltered regions. The mean elevation of colonizing S. foliosa varied by pond (F=71.20, df=84, P
ISSN:0925-8574
1872-6992
DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.01.012