| Project Overview |
Project Director: Robert Costanza and Roelof Boumans*
NERRS sites involved in the project: Jug Bay, MD, Great Bay
Estuary, NH; Webhanet River Estuary, Wells, ME; Waquoit Bay, MA;
Prudence Island, RI; Tijuana River, CA; Rookery Bay, FL and North
Inlet-Winyah Bay, SC
First goal of the project is to establish a standardized protocol to
obtain, analyze, and interpret substrate elevation change using the
Sediment Elevation Table (SET). Marsh elevation changes and accretion
processes will be linked to reductions in suspended sediments and
nutrient concentrations of the estuarine waters.
A data depository on sediment elevation changes in estuarine habitat
will be developed in cooperation with NERRS research coordinators and
participating scientists across the country.
A standardized analytical protocol that can be compared
to regional and nationwide readings would largely improve assessment
capability of coastal stability. Currently, methods of monitoring
elevation change are very diverse and not very compatible as they
often measure processes in various time and space units. Because of
the great accuracy and permanence of the stations, the SET method will
be able to measure elevation changes in multiple units of time and
space and provide the link between various information on elevation
change.
Our project creates an enormous potential for regional and nation-wide
comparisons and predictions of estuarine habitat sustainability.
The data base and protocol will establish NERRS as a leader in
providing restoration assessment guidelines with respect to habitat
elevation measures, criteria, analys is and interpretation.
University of Maryland, Institute for Ecological Economics,
P.O. Box 38, Solomons, MD 20688
* Fax: 410 326 7354, e-mail: boumans@cbl.umces.edu
Co-investigators:
Christopher Swarth
Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary,
1361 Wrighton Rd., Lothian, MD 20711
Fax: 410-741-9346 jugbay@clark.net
David M. Burdick
Jackson Estuarine Laboratory,
University of New Hampshire,
85 Adams Point Road Durham, NH, 03824-3406
Fax 603-862-1101 e-mail: dburdick@christa.unh.edu
Donald Cahoon
Wetlands National Research Center,
700 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, LA 70506
e-mail:don_cahoon@usgs.gov
The ecology of intertidal estuarine habitats is primarily influenced
by their elevation relative to local sea level. Small changes in
elevation can dramatically alter critical habitats leading to habitat
losses or community changes. Since the ability of natural and restored
marshes to persist and sustain themselves along our transgressive
coasts depends upon accretionary processes, elevation dynamics of
marshes must be considered a critical indicator for successful coastal
management. Monitoring coastal changes in sediment elevation has
become a primary issue in understanding how intertidal estuarine
habitats are affected by sea-level rise.
The data base established during this project will serve national
estuarine research goals of establishing baseline data of sediment
elevation changes from a variety of estuaries, a standardized
protocol for use and analysis of SET data, and criteria that will be
used to assess s uccess in created and restored critical habitats.
The database will contain data from SET stations and marker horizons
along with bibliographic references.
We will use the data base also to establish restoration assessment
guidelines (success criteria) with respect to measures of elevation
change in critical estuarine habitats.