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Pétillon J, McKinley E, Alexander M, Adams JB, Angelini C, Balke T, Griffin JN, Bouma T, Hacker S, He Q, Hensel MJS, Ibáñez C, Macreadie PI, Martino S, Sharps E, Ballinger R, de Battisti D, Beaumont N, Burdon D, Daleo P, D'Alpaos A, Duggan-Edwards M, Garbutt A, Jenkins S, Ladd CJT, Lewis H, Mariotti G, McDermott O, Mills R, Möller I, Nolte S, Pagès JF, Silliman B, Zhang L, Skov MW. Top ten priorities for global saltmarsh restoration, conservation and ecosystem service research. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 898:165544. [PMID: 37453706 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Coastal saltmarshes provide globally important ecosystem services including 'blue carbon' sequestration, flood protection, pollutant remediation, habitat provision and cultural value. Large portions of marshes have been lost or fragmented as a result of land reclamation, embankment construction, and pollution. Sea level rise threatens marsh survival by blocking landward migration where coastlines have been developed. Research-informed saltmarsh conservation and restoration efforts are helping to prevent further loss, yet significant knowledge gaps remain. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper identifies ten research priorities through an online questionnaire and a residential workshop attended by an international, multi-disciplinary network of 35 saltmarsh experts spanning natural, physical and social sciences across research, policy, and practitioner sectors. Priorities have been grouped under four thematic areas of research: Saltmarsh Area Extent, Change and Restoration Potential (including past, present, global variation), Spatio-social contexts of Ecosystem Service delivery (e.g. influences of environmental context, climate change, and stakeholder groups on service provisioning), Patterns and Processes in saltmarsh functioning (global drivers of saltmarsh ecosystem structure/function) and Management and Policy Needs (how management varies contextually; challenges/opportunities for management). Although not intended to be exhaustive, the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for addressing each research priority examined here, providing a blueprint of the work that needs to be done to protect saltmarshes for future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Pétillon
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO, University of Rennes, 35042 Rennes, France; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, Summerstrand Campus, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa.
| | - Emma McKinley
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Meghan Alexander
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Janine B Adams
- Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, Summerstrand Campus, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa
| | - Christine Angelini
- Environmental School for Sustainable Infrastructure and the Environment, University of Florida, Weil Hall 365, 1949 Stadium Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Thorsten Balke
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - John N Griffin
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Tjeerd Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, the Netherlands; Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Building with Nature group, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Vlissingen, the Netherlands
| | - Sally Hacker
- Department of Integrative Biology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Qiang He
- Duke University Marine Lab, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Marc J S Hensel
- Department of Environmental Biology, University of Massachusetts, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Carles Ibáñez
- Climate Change Department, Area of Sustainability, Eurecat - Technological Centre of Catalonia, 43870 Amposta, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | | | - Elwyn Sharps
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK; RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK; Natural Resources Wales, TY Cambria, Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Rhoda Ballinger
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Davide de Battisti
- Chioggia Hydrobiological Station "Umberto D'Ancona", Department of Biology, University of Padova, Palazzo Grassi, Calle Grassi Naccari 1060, 30015 Chioggia, Ve, Italy
| | - Nicola Beaumont
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Daryl Burdon
- Daryl Burdon Ltd., Marine Research, Teaching and Consultancy, Willerby HU10 6LL, UK
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMDP - CONICET, CC 1260 Correo Central, B7600WAG Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Andrea D'Alpaos
- Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | | | - Angus Garbutt
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Stuart Jenkins
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Cai J T Ladd
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Heather Lewis
- Natural Resources Wales, TY Cambria, Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Giulio Mariotti
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, 1002-Q Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Osgur McDermott
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), UN-Environment, 219 Huntingdon Rd, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK
| | - Rachael Mills
- Natural England, Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX, UK
| | - Iris Möller
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Stefanie Nolte
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR47TJ, UK; Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Jordi F Pagès
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Brian Silliman
- Department of Integrative Biology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Liquan Zhang
- State Key Lab. of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Martin W Skov
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
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Marin‐Diaz B, Govers LL, van der Wal D, Olff H, Bouma TJ. The importance of marshes providing soil stabilization to resist fast-flow erosion in case of a dike breach. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2622. [PMID: 35389532 PMCID: PMC9541637 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Salt marshes provide valuable ecosystem services including coastal protection by reducing wave loading on dikes and seawalls. If the topsoil is erosion resistant to fast-flowing water, it may also reduce breach depth if a dike fails. In this experiment, we quantified the topsoil erosion resistance from marshes and bare tidal flats with different soil types to understand the extent to which they can help reduce breach depth. Intact soil samples were collected from 11 locations in the Netherlands at different tidal elevations and then exposed for 3 h to 2.3 m/s currents. To the samples that remained stable after flow exposure, an artificial crack was made to test their stability following soil disturbance. All samples from the tidal flats were completely eroded, regardless of sediment type. In contrast, all samples from well-established marsh plateaus were stable as long as no disturbances were made, including those with sandy subsoils. After creating artificial cracks, samples with a thin cohesive top layer on top of sandy subsoil collapsed, while marshes with silty subsoils remained stable. Pioneer marshes on sandy substrate without a cohesive top layer were the only vegetated soils that completely eroded. The lower erosion of marshes with either sandy or silty soils compared to bare tidal flats was best explained by the presence of a top layer with belowground biomass, high organic content, high water content, and low bulk density. When analyzing the erodibility of marshes only, fine root density was the best predictor of erosion resistance. This study demonstrates the importance of preserving, restoring, or creating salt marshes, to obtain a topsoil that is erosion resistant under fast-flowing water, which helps reduce breach dimensions if a dike fails. The probability of topsoil erosion in established marshes with sandy subsoil is higher than in silty marshes. A silty layer of cohesive sediment on top of the sand provides extra erosion resistance as long as it does not break. Pioneer marshes that have not developed a cohesive top layer are erosion sensitive, especially in sandy soils. For future marsh creations, using fine-grained sediments or a mixture of sand with silt or clay is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Marin‐Diaz
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systemsNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchYersekeThe Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Laura L. Govers
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
- Department of Coastal SystemsNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchDen BurgThe Netherlands
| | - Daphne van der Wal
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systemsNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchYersekeThe Netherlands
- Faculty of Geo‐Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)University of TwenteEnschedeThe Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J. Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta systemsNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchYersekeThe Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of GeosciencesUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
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