Ecological Evaluation of an Artificially Created Salt Marsh at Harrington, Maine

摘要

In 1975, an experimental salt marsh (ESM) was created as part of a bridge construction project at Harrington, Maine. The project was unique because of the high latitude and the use of non-colonizer species from the upper marsh for transplants. The ESM was equivalent in area to the marsh destroyed by construction and consisted of 4 subsections (deposit, plug, sod and pond). A number of ecological measurements were used to assess the development of the ESM. Four species, Puccinellia, Salicornia, Scipus and Spartina alterniflora, colonized the ESM and thus showed good potential for use in salt marsh creation. Growth and development was consistently best on elevated, dry areas and poorest in continually wet depressions (pannes).