Drainage enhancement effects on a waterlogged Rhode Island (USA) salt marsh

Raposa, Kenneth B.; Weber, Robin L. J.; Ferguson, Wenley; Hollister, Jeffrey W.; Rozsa, Ron; Maher, Nicole; Gettman, Alan D.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2019.106435

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In a drainage enhancement study, Raposa et al (2019) used studied creeks that were wider (approximately 1.3-3.3 m in width and approximately 0.5 m in depth) than the runnels used in our experiment and found no significant changes in pre-existing vegetation in control or the creek areas at the marsh-wide scale. However, on a smaller scale, areas that were initially bare completely recolonized after 3 years, which is similar to the results of the Low Elevation Runnel in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…These similar results highlight the effectiveness of drainage enhancement on a smaller-marsh scale, but runnels rather than creeks can be a more effective method since the creeks can lead to elevation decline. Raposa et al (2019) found that elevation declined in areas of creeks of high widths and depths, potentially due to the introduction of oxygen in marsh peat enhancing decomposition and marsh subsidence. The use of shallow runnels provides the benefits of enhanced drainage with little risk of elevation decline that is seen in creeks or ditches of greater depths and has shown to promote positive impacts on vegetation recolonization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Salt marsh climate change adaptation: Using runnels to adapt to accelerating sea level rise within a drowning New England salt marsh

Perry

Ferguson

Thornber

2022

Restoration Ecology

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Sea level rise within New England is accelerating at a rate faster than the global average, leaving salt marshes particularly susceptible to degradation. Hydrological alteration is a type of climate change adaptation technique that can be used to combat the effects of sea level rise within salt marshes. Runnels (shallow channels) are a type of climate adaptation strategy used to enhance drainage in drowning marshes. In this study, we investigated the impacts of runnel installations, 3–5 years post‐implementation, on soil properties, vegetation composition, and greenhouse gas fluxes. We studied two runnel treatments (Low Elevation Runnel and High Elevation Runnel) and found that in the Low Elevation Runnel areas Spartina alterniflora stem density significantly increased in the three growing seasons after runnels were installed, and the high marsh plant, Spartina patens, persisted in the High Elevation Runnel areas. There was a significant difference in carbon dioxide uptake rates among treatments, with the unmanipulated (Reference) areas having the highest uptake rates and an increase in CO2 uptake over time seen in the Low Elevation Runnel treatment. These findings highlight the potential use of a climate change adaptation strategy to combat sea level rise impacts and provide insights for future adaptation efforts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt marsh climate change adaptation: Using runnels to adapt to accelerating sea level rise within a drowning New England salt marsh

Perry

Ferguson

Thornber

2022

Restoration Ecology

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“…Researchers and resource managers have recently pointed to the widespread increase of interior shallow water as an indicator of marsh loss (Watson et al 2017;Campbell and Wang 2019;Adamowicz et al 2020;Schepers et al 2020;Taylor et al 2020;Duran Vinent et al 2021;Himmelstein et al 2021), and have responded with management actions to stop or slow open water conversion (Wigand et al 2017;Raposa et al 2019;Adamowicz et al 2020;Babson et al 2020;Perry et al 2021;Wolfe et al 2021). However, in some marshes an increase in standing surface water could represent a recovery of "natural" hydrology after marshes were historically over-drained by ditches, and some marshes show potential for pool recovery (Wilson et al 2014;Smith and Pellew 2021).…”

Section: The Problem: Changing Hydrologic Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Runnels are constructed using hand-digging and low-ground pressure excavators or ditchers (Supplemental File 1) to follow topographical low areas, and only drain water within the rooting zone (Hulsman et al 1989;Wigand et al 2017). Runnels are similar in principle to tidal creek extension projects that connect an area of inundation to the tidal creek network, though tidal creek extensions are larger in scale than runnels (Raposa et al 2019;Taylor et al 2020; Wetland restoration at Farm Creek Marsh 2021). After observing rapid expansion of shallow water within northeastern US marshes, restoration ecologists began working with mosquito control agencies to use runnels for the dual purpose of mosquito abatement and marsh adaptation to SLR.…”

Section: Runnels As a Climate Adaptation Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A surge in restoration of Northwest Atlantic salt marshes (specifically, northeastern USA) occurred over the past decade, funded by the US government in the Communicated by Kenneth L. Heck aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 (Babson et al 2020). One technique involved digging "runnels"-small channels meant to drain standing water and promote revegetation (Wigand et al 2017;Raposa et al 2019;Babson et al 2020;Perry et al 2021;Wolfe et al 2021). As of 2019, knowledge on runnel efficacy as a tool to build marsh resilience to SLR (defined here as the ability of a marsh to resist a state-change to open water) had not been widely shared.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buying Time with Runnels: a Climate Adaptation Tool for Salt Marshes

Besterman

Jakuba

Ferguson

et al. 2022

Estuaries and Coasts

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A prominent form of salt marsh loss is interior conversion to open water, driven by sea level rise in interaction with human activity and other stressors. Persistent inundation drowns vegetation and contributes to open water conversion in salt marsh interiors. Runnels are shallow channels originally developed in Australia to control mosquitoes by draining standing water, but recently used to restore marsh vegetation in the USA. Documentation on runnel efficacy is not widely available; yet over the past 10 years dozens of coastal adaptation projects in the northeastern USA have incorporated runnels. To better understand the efficacy of runnels used for restoration, we organized a workshop of 70 experts and stakeholders in coastal resource management. Through the workshop we developed a collective understanding of how runnels might be used to slow or reverse open water conversion, and identified unresolved questions. In this paper we present a synthesis of workshop discussions and results from a promising case study in which vegetation was restored at a degraded marsh within a few years of runnel construction. Despite case study outcomes, key questions remain on long-term runnel efficacy in marshes differing in elevation, tidal range, and management history. Runnel construction is unlikely to improve long-term marsh resilience alone, as it cannot address underlying causes of open water conversion. As a part of holistic climate planning that includes other management interventions, runnels may “buy time” for salt marshes to respond to management action, or adapt to sea level rise.

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Wetland Conservation and Its Effects on Mosquito Populations

2022

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To stop the worldwide decline of wetlands, conservation measures like restoration, protection and construction of these ecosystems are indispensable. However, wetland conservation could influence mosquito populations. We analysed how conservation measures affect the species composition and abundance of mosquitoes by conducting a systematic literature review and generated results from 113 selected articles. Thereby, we separately assessed conservation measures in constructed, for example polders, and natural, non-constructed, wetlands. An increase in overall mosquito abundance was more prevalent in constructed wetlands, but not in studies conducted in non-constructed wetlands. Besides assessing overall mosquito abundance, we developed a scheme to rank mosquito species-specific nuisance after conservation measures. Mosquito species can differ in their nuisance potential according to their biting and host-seeking behaviors. We further assessed the effects of mosquito management practices on specific mosquito species and discussed different practices between constructed and non-constructed wetlands. Whereas in constructed wetlands more management practices could be applied, practices in non-constructed wetlands were limited. In conclusion, we were not able to reject entirely the hypothesis that mosquito populations change after conservation measures in wetlands.

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Drainage enhancement effects on a waterlogged Rhode Island (USA) salt marsh

Cited by 9 publications

References 38 publications

Salt marsh climate change adaptation: Using runnels to adapt to accelerating sea level rise within a drowning New England salt marsh

Salt marsh climate change adaptation: Using runnels to adapt to accelerating sea level rise within a drowning New England salt marsh

Buying Time with Runnels: a Climate Adaptation Tool for Salt Marshes

Wetland Conservation and Its Effects on Mosquito Populations

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