Journal
PLOS ONE
Volume 9, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111456
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division, Coastal Section
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management [10NOS4190206]
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Groundwater flow rates and nitrate removal capacity from an introduced solution were examined for five marsh restoration designs and unvegetated plots shortly after planting and 1 year post-planting. The restoration site was a sandy beach with a wave-dampening fence 10 m offshore. Simulated groundwater flow into the marsh was introduced at a rate to mimic intense rainfall events. Restoration designs varied in initial planting density and corresponded to 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the plot area planted. In general, groundwater flow was slower with increasing planting density and decreased from year 0 to year 1 across all treatments. Nevertheless, removal of nitrate from the introduced solution was similar and low for all restoration designs (3-7%) and similar to the unvegetated plots. We suggest that the low NO3- removal was due to sandy sediments allowing rapid flow of groundwater through the marsh rhizosphere, thereby decreasing the contact time of the NO3- with the marsh biota. Our findings demonstrate that knowledge of the groundwater flow regime for restoration projects is essential when nutrient filtration is a target goal of the project.
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