Article
Geography, Physical
Kelly McKeon, Jonathan D. Woodruff, Brian Yellen, Sarah H. Fernald, Mary Chase Sheehan
Summary: This study investigates the impact of sedimentary and hydrologic conditions on wetland development, utilizing anthropogenically created tidal wetlands within the Hudson River Estuary. By examining sediment budgets and trapping processes in two protected bays, the research identifies potential mechanisms driving divergent accumulation regimes in these wetlands. The results highlight the role of invasive aquatic vegetation, such as water chestnut, in inhibiting sediment trapping and promoting erosion, ultimately impacting the geomorphology of tidal wetlands.
EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Maria A. Rodrigo
Summary: Restoration cases with hydrophytes are less abundant compared to those using emergent plants, focusing on both natural wetlands and naturalized constructed wetlands. Challenges and potential solutions in wetland restoration were discussed, emphasizing the importance of selecting suitable wetlands, increasing focus on species biology and ecology, and choosing suitable propagation and revegetation techniques.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kevin J. Buffington, Christopher N. Janousek, Bruce D. Dugger, John C. Callaway, Lisa M. Schile-Beers, Evyan Borgnis Sloane, Karen M. Thorne
Summary: Understanding the impact of sea-level rise on tidal wetland elevation changes and carbon sequestration rates is crucial for assessing wetland loss. Through the enhanced modeling framework WARMER-2, researchers found that wetland elevation is greatly influenced by sediment availability, and areas with higher initial elevations tend to withstand higher rates of sea-level rise better than lower-lying areas.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Davide Tognin, Alvise Finotello, Andrea D'Alpaos, Daniele P. Viero, Mattia Pivato, Riccardo A. Mel, Andrea Defina, Enrico Bertuzzo, Marco Marani, Luca Carniello
Summary: Coastal flooding prevention measures, such as storm-surge barriers, are widely adopted globally due to rising sea levels. However, their effects on shallow tidal embayment morphodynamics are poorly understood. Field data and modeling results from the microtidal Venice Lagoon reveal that artificial reduction of water levels leads to increased sediment resuspension and decreased salt marsh accretion.
Article
Engineering, Civil
M. Y. Guan, L. Zeng, C. F. Li, X. L. Guo, Y. H. Wu, P. Wang
Summary: A concentration transport model has been formulated to characterize the transport of self-propelling active particles in unsteady wetland flow at the phase-averaged scale. The distribution of active particles in tidal wetland flow is found to be similar to that in fully developed wetland flow, but with differences in velocity and longitudinal dispersivity, reaching a stable oscillatory status. The effects of dimensionless parameters on the velocity and dispersivity of active particles in tidal wetland flow are discussed in detail.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Yinrui Cheng, Yong Zha, Chuan Tong, Dandan Du, Lijuan Chen, Geng Wei
Summary: This study examined the landscape changes and carbon budget of the Shanyutan wetland in Southeast China over the past 10 years. The results indicated that aquaculture ponds and bare land are carbon sources, while vegetated marshes act as carbon sinks. Due to degradation, the wetland has transitioned from being a carbon sink to a carbon source, with an increasing carbon efflux over time.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Zeng Zhou, Yiming Wu, Daidu Fan, Guoxiang Wu, Feng Luo, Peng Yao, Zheng Gong, Giovanni Coco
Summary: This study investigates the impact of storms on sediment sorting and bedding behaviors in tidal flats using a biomorphodynamic model. The results show that storms can leave clear signatures on tidal flats and alter the typically observed cross-shore fining phenomenon. The high bed shear stress induced by storms can mobilize coarse sediment and bring it shoreward, leading to the formation of sand-dominated layers on the upper tidal flats.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rong Zhang, Yongping Chen, Peixiong Chen, Xin Zhou, Biying Wu, Kehao Chen, Zhilin Sun, Peng Yao
Summary: Reclamation of tidal flats is a common method used in coastal areas to expand land area and develop the economy. This study investigates the impacts of reclamation on tidal and suspended sediment dynamics using numerical modeling in the Oufei tidal flat at the Wenzhou coast. The results show that reclamation reduces the tidal flat area, weakens tidal currents, and reduces suspended sediment concentration. The construction of the Oufei dike also alters sediment circulation and enhances landward sediment transport inside the estuary. The findings of this study can be used as a reference for analyzing suspended sediment transport in other sites affected by tidal flat reclamation.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Roeland C. van de Vijsel, Jim van Belzen, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Daphne van der Wal, Johan van de Koppel
Summary: The study suggests that benthic algae like Vaucheria play a significant role in promoting tidal marsh formation by creating elevated and stabilized substratum, widening the opportunities for further ecosystem establishment. This biogeophysical feedback cycle could be valuable for the design of managed realignment projects aimed at restoring the unique ecosystem services of coastal wetlands.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lin Yuan, Dongyan Liu, Bo Tian, Xiao Yuan, Shunqi Bo, Qiang Ma, Wei Wu, Zhiyuan Zhao, Liquan Zhang, John K. Keesing
Summary: Loss of coastal wetland habitats has been directly linked to a decline in waterbird populations, leading to calls to reverse this trend by restoring these habitats, which have been hindered by sediment scarcity. This study in the Yangtze River Delta proposes feasible solutions to solve the sediment shortage in habitat restoration, with three different approaches adopted for rehabilitation sites to promote sediment deposition and settle-ment and using dredged sediments to create new habitats. The comparison and assessment results show that proper coastal silting structures and ecological utilization of nearby dredged sediments are effective solutions to restore coastal habitats and increase waterbird diversity and abundance.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Angelo Breda, Patricia M. Saco, Jose F. Rodriguez, Steven G. Sandi, Gerardo Riccardi
Summary: Assessments of coastal wetland vulnerability to Sea Level Rise (SLR) often use simplified representations of tidal levels and sediment input. This study used an ecogeomorphological model and high-performance computing to simulate the variations in wetland evolution. The results showed that the model was able to reproduce the observed soil elevation change and the variability in inputs generated uncertainties in wetland evolution.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jessica R. Lacy, Madeline R. Foster-Martinez, Rachel M. Allen, Judith Z. Drexler
Summary: The impact of Egeria densa on sediment trapping depends on factors such as vegetative coverage and sediment characteristics, with effects varying in different settings.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. Andrew Tirpak, Katharina Tondera, Rebecca Tharp, Karine E. Borne, Peter Schwammberger, Jan Ruppelt, Ryan J. Winston
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis of eight international FTW studies to investigate the influence of retention pond, catchment, and FTW design characteristics on effluent concentrations. The results showed that pond design features had the most influence on effluent water quality, while the benefits of FTWs were limited to improving the mitigation of phosphorus species and TSS.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gwen Joelle Miller, Iryna Dronova, Patricia Y. Oikawa, Sara Helen Knox, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Julie Shahan, Ellen Stuart-Haentjens
Summary: This study utilized a modeling approach to estimate plant greenness in tidal wetlands within the San Francisco Bay Area, finding that the approach accurately estimated plant greenness but with larger errors in more dynamic restored wetlands, particularly at early post-restoration stages. The modeled EVI can be used as an input variable in greenhouse gas models for estimating carbon sequestration and gross primary production. Future research can further develop this strategy by assessing restoration and management effects on wetland phenological dynamics and incorporating the entire Sentinel-2 time series within Google Earth Engine.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William Glamore, Duncan Rayner, Jamie Ruprecht, Mahmood Sadat-Noori, Danial Khojasteh
Summary: Land reclamation projects and drainage infrastructure have impacted coastal wetlands globally, with over 50% of tidal wetlands degraded over the last century. Therefore, restoration projects are crucial, with successful restoration efforts showing the potential for global application and offsetting the impacts of sea level rise on natural inundation patterns.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas D. Ward, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Vanessa L. Bailey, David Butman, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Heida Diefenderfer, Neil K. Ganju, Miguel A. Goni, Emily B. Graham, Charles S. Hopkinson, Tarang Khangaonkar, J. Adam Langley, Nate G. McDowell, Allison N. Myers-Pigg, Rebecca B. Neumann, Christopher L. Osburn, Rene M. Price, Joel Rowland, Aditi Sengupta, Marc Simard, Peter E. Thornton, Maria Tzortziou, Rodrigo Vargas, Pamela B. Weisenhorn, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Daniel J. Coleman, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew L. Kirwan
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
Summary: Bay-marsh systems, consisting of an embayment and fringing marshes, are influenced by external sediment availability, marsh-edge erosion, and sea-level rise. Observations reveal a divergent sedimentary system where most suspended sediment is exported seaward, with a smaller fraction imported landward through tidal channels.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Limnology
Thomas W. Brooks, Kevin D. Kroeger, Holly A. Michael, Joanna K. York
Summary: Nutrient loads delivered to estuaries via submarine groundwater discharge play a key role in the nitrogen budget and eutrophication status. Biogeochemical transformations within reactive estuarine surface sediment are a dominant driver in modifying the nitrogen flux carried upward by SGD. Seasonal shifts in the relative importance of biogeochemical processes alter the composition of the flux to estuarine surface water.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Neil K. Ganju, Brady R. Couvillion, Zafer Defne, Katherine Ackerman
Summary: Effective management and restoration of salt marshes and other vegetated intertidal habitats require objective and spatially integrated metrics of geomorphic status and vulnerability. This study presents a Landsat-based approach to quantify vegetated cover and identify stable thresholds for coastal wetlands in the United States. The data can be used to quantify total vegetated wetland area, track wetland change, and delineate vulnerable areas.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yiyang Xu, Tarandeep S. Kalra, Neil K. Ganju, Sergio Fagherazzi
Summary: This study used a 3D fully coupled modeling system to simulate the final vegetation cover and timescale of salt marshes under different forcing conditions. The simulations showed that sediment concentration, settling velocity, sea level rise, and tidal range each had different impacts on the equilibrium coverage and timescale of marshes.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Faming Wang, Thomas W. Brooks, Jennifer A. O'Keefe Suttles, Sydney K. Nick, Adrian G. Mann, Jianwu Tang
Summary: Saline tidal wetlands are important for carbon sequestration, but management interventions can restrict tidal exchange, causing freshening and impoundment, which affect vegetation shifts and carbon balance. Understanding controls and scaling of carbon exchange in these ecosystems is crucial for climate restoration and management.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Grace D. Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew L. Kirwan
Summary: Sea level rise and saltwater intrusion are causing shifts in coastal ecosystems, and a study on Chesapeake Bay predicts the formation of marshes at the expense of forested wetlands by 2100. The predicted marsh migration exceeds historical observations and is concentrated in a few watersheds. Despite regional marsh maintenance, replacement of local ecosystem services in vulnerable watersheds remains uncertain.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joanna C. Carey, Kevin D. Kroeger, Jianwu Tang
Summary: Salt marsh habitats are important reservoirs of soil organic carbon. The study found that the summer period is the most dynamic for marsh C gas exchange, with substantial fluxes also observed from early summer through late fall. Temperature and elevation were found to significantly impact ecosystem respiration rates.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Caroline Schwab, Michelle Moorman
Summary: This study assesses the relationship between elevation change, relative tidal elevation, and the unvegetated-vegetated marsh ratio in coastal wetlands in the southeastern USA. The results show that there is overall coherence between positive vertical change and high vegetative cover, while sites with high vegetative cover and negative vertical change are also identified.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philip Orton, David Ralston, Bram van Prooijen, David Secor, Neil Ganju, Ziyu Chen, Sarah Fernald, Bennett Brooks, Kristin Marcell
Summary: Rising coastal flood risk and recent disasters are driving interest in the construction of gated storm surge barriers worldwide. Surge barriers can have significant impacts on the environment, including altering stratification and salt intrusion, changing sedimentary systems, and curtailing animal migration and ecosystem connectivity. Given the limited understanding of the broader environmental effects and coupled-human dynamics of surge barriers, an interdisciplinary research agenda is needed.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Neil K. Ganju, Katherine V. Ackerman, Zafer Defne
Summary: Coastal managers need objective methods to determine which wetlands require restoration, monitoring, protection, or acquisition. This study presents a comprehensive spatial data set for Chesapeake Bay salt marshes and demonstrates how these data can be used for decision-making and estimating lifespan under various management actions and sea level rise scenarios.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Shuzhen Song, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Kevin D. Kroeger, Meagan Eagle, Sophie N. Chu, Jianzhong Ge
Summary: This study estimates the variability of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)) and air-water CO2 fluxes over summer and fall of 2014 and 2015 using high-frequency measurements. The results show that CO2 effluxes from the tidal creek and tidally-inundated vegetated platform varied monthly and accounted for a dominant portion of total CO2 effluxes in the inundated marsh. Photosynthesis in tidal water substantially reduced the CO2 evasion.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
James R. Holmquist, Meagan Eagle, Rebecca Lee Molinari, Sydney K. Nick, Liana C. Stachowicz, Kevin D. Kroeger
Summary: This study provides a new assessment of methane reduction opportunities in coastal wetlands in the contiguous United States. The researchers combine multiple map layers, reassess greenhouse gas emissions datasets, and apply geospatial information system and coastal manager surveys to inform their scenarios. They find that restorations of freshwater-impounded wetlands to brackish or saline conditions have the greatest potential climate benefit, but are less common compared to other conversion events.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Tarandeep S. Kalra, Neil K. Ganju, Jeremy M. Testa
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2020)