Ecohydrology of saline grasslands: Consequences for their restoration

Abstract

Abstract. By the approval of the European Bird Directive (79/409/EEC) in 1979 and the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC) in 1992, nature protection has become an important part of European law with direct consequences for land use, industrial development and agriculture. If a member state reclaims an area that is protected by these directives, it has to take compensational measures. When such an area includes saline grasslands that require very specific abiotic conditions, a place with similar conditions must be available to re‐establish those grasslands at another location in a sustainable way. This will limit the number and extent of possible sites for compensation. In the conflict between economy and ecology in the Schelde polders, Flanders has chosen to expand the port of Antwerp in the polders at the left Schelde bank and destroy a protected saline grassland site. As a consequence, it has to compensate for this loss. Therefore, we made a detailed study of the hydrology, geology and soil conditions of the endangered saline grassland site. The same was done in four possible compensation sites, all situated in nearby polders. We found that the presence of upwelling groundwater flowing through a saline peat layer is necessary for the occurrence of saline grasslands. Only in one of the four possible compensation sites, called Muggenhoek, we found such conditions. So, we indicate this place as a possible site for the re‐creation of saline grasslands and give some recommendations for their development.

Use of Ground Penetrating Radar, Hydrogeochemical Testing, and Aquifer Characterization to Establish Shallow Groundwater Supply to the Rehabilitated Ni-les’tun Unit Floodplain: Bandon Marsh, Coquille Estuary, Oregon, USA

“…Patches of saline tolerant vegetation (Salicornia) in small depressions indicated saline capillary rise during periods of summer evaporation. Such saline conditions could lead to saline toxicity in the broader marshgrassland top soils and/or shallow window ponds (Beyen and Meire, 2003). In consultation with wetland hydrologists from Ducks Unlimited (USFWS, 2019b), the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge staff designed a network of reconstructed channels in the Ni-les'tun Unit (Figure 14).…”

Effect of experimental top soil removal on vegetation of Pannonian salt steppes

“…It plays a limiting role for the successful application of top soil removal as a restoration measure for saline habitats on large scale. If the abiotic conditions have changed to the extent that soil removal itself is not able to restore the natural movement of salinization, it may be combined with hydrological restoration [63]. However, in highly fragmented vegetation, as our study site, rehabilitating substrates by hydrological restoration is not feasible.…”

Impact of Water Level on Species Quantity and Composition Grown from the Soil Seed Bank of the Inland Salt Marsh: An Ex-Situ Experiment

“…Saltmarsh biotopes form a specific niche harboring not only rare plant species but also are home to many specialized fungi [25,26], invertebrates [27], and bird species [28,29]. However, they have faced many long term threats, such as drying out, fertilization and subsequent eutrophication, weedy and ruderal plant species expansion, absence of halophytic species typical for these biotopes, and the succession of grasses with a greater competitive ability [10].…”