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Restoring Eelgrass to the Neponset River Estuary

Restoring Eelgrass to the Neponset River Estuary. The Influence of Salt Marshes. Goals of Neponset Restoration. Restore water quality Restore ecosystem heath and function Restore ecosystem services. Are oysters the answer?.

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Restoring Eelgrass to the Neponset River Estuary

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  1. Restoring Eelgrass to the Neponset River Estuary The Influence of Salt Marshes

  2. Goals of Neponset Restoration • Restore water quality • Restore ecosystem heath and function • Restore ecosystem services

  3. Are oysters the answer?

  4. Conversion from NTU to TSS is site specific but is estimated as NTU*2.5 =TSS (mg/L)

  5. Conversion from NTU to TSS is site specific but is estimated as NTU*2.5 =TSS (mg/L)

  6. Salt Marshes • Extremely productive ecosystems • Rich in marine life • Important animal habitat • Nursery • Sanctuary • Protect shore lines • Wave action • Erosion • Filtering nutrients • Enhance water quality

  7. Water Quality Improvement • Sedimentation along marsh • Deposited during tidal flux and storms • Rates vary among sites and depend on particle size • Rates currently unknown for Neponset • Will be enhanced with salt marsh restoration • Particulate nutrients also deposited in marsh • Excess of nutrients in most coastal systems • Basins general net importers of nutrients • Majority of nutrients deposited in marsh

  8. Marshes of Neponset Historic

  9. Marshes of Neponset Present

  10. How much marsh do we need? For 1km -39.5 33.3 -1.1 -2.6 -0.6 9.0 -1.6 -0.4 -2.2 These are measurements of kg/ 532 km2 In 1991 there was ~1km2of marsh in the Neponset

  11. Examples of Restoration • Success • Long Island Sound- CT • Sachuest Salt Marsh- RI • San Francisco Bay- CA • And failures • San Diego Bay- Sweetwater Marsh • Several small sites in NW Europe • Debate over “success” vs. “failure” • What is “restoration”? • What goals need to be reached? • Often cannot restore biodiversity • May take longer for some factors to recover

  12. Neponset Restoration Potential • Two projects already under taken: • In 2005 dredging restored 0.06km2of salt marsh to the Neponset Estuary • In 2011 0.2km2were restored at Broad Meadows in Quincy • Small restoration takes a lot of effort • Broad Meadows cost $5.4 million • Need to set goals and timeline • Need room to expand • Needs to be suitable habitat

  13. Marshes of Neponset Present

  14. References • Oysters and TSS: • Cerco and Noel 2007 • Nutrient Data: • MWRA Neponset River Physical Measurements, collected 1989 through 2011 • http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/bhnip/MonitoringRpt09/Summary%20Report%20Plume%20Monitoring.pdf • General Marsh Information: • http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/saltmarsh.html • http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/saltmarshes.htm • http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/dynamic.html • Water Quality and Marshes: • http://www.bainbridgewa.gov/documents/pln/2011_smp_reference3/stumpf_rp_the_process_of_sedimentation_on_the_surface_of_salt_marsh.pdf • http://geotest.tamu.edu/userfiles/167/110.pdf • Maps of Marsh Loss: • http://www.mass.gov/czm/ma_estuarine_trends_1.pdf • Marsh Nutrient Up-take: • http://www.bainbridgewa.gov/documents/pln/2011_smp_reference3/stumpf_rp_the_process_of_sedimentation_on_the_surface_of_salt_marsh.pdf • Current Marsh Extent: • http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/oliver.php • http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Documents/Wetland-Status-and-Recent-Trends-for-the-Neponset-Watershed-Massachusetts-1977-1991.pdf • Restoration Information: • ftp://ftp.epchc.org/EPC_Wetlands_FTP/Hart/Literature/Zedler%20and%20Callaway%201999.%20Tracking%20Wetland%20Rest..pdf • http://www.ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us/documents/pln/2011_smp_reference3/thom_rm_adaptive_mgmt_of_coastal_ecosystem_restoration_projects.pdf • http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/114137.pdf • Prior Restoration Efforts: • http://www.neponset.org/Restoration-SaltMarsh.htm • http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/der/pdf/der_annual_report_2011.pdf • Cover and Land Use Maps: • http://www.neponset.org/BasinPlan/Low%20Resolution/NeponsetAssessLoRes.pdf

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