Study of Marsh Management Practice in Coastal Louisiana. Volume 3: EcologicalEvaluation

摘要

The report is the third volume of a four-volume report. Monitoring conductedduring the study indicated that marsh management was effective at improving marsh-to-water ratios and increasing marsh acreage at less than half of the 16 managed sites the authors evaluated. Field monitoring of two Spartina patens marshes during drawdown years indicated that management reduced (1) water level fluctuations; (2) the import of water, sediment, and nutrients; (3) vertical accretion; (4) soil bulk density; (5) accumulation of organic and mineral matter; and (6) the ingress and egress of marine transient fish species. Management enhanced growth of Spartina patens, the dominant plant species, at Rockefeller Refuge but not in the southern portion of the managed area at Fina LaTerre. The authors hypothesize that the ability to create less biochemically reduced soil conditions during management, within a non-growth limiting salinity range, is central to maintaining vigorous stands of Spartina patens within managed marshes.