Growth and Erosion:

Complexity, Variance, and Nonlinearity: A Multisite, Multiseasonal Study of Tidal Marsh Sedimentation Processes in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada

“…The tidal marsh gradient in the MTZ is usually divided into three tidally controlled elevation zones referred to as mudflat or slikke (a nonvegetated surface inundated twice daily, lying below midtide), low marsh or schorre (a vegetated, often monospecific, surface inundated twice daily, lying above midtide), and high marsh or schorre (lying above the average high-tide line, less frequently flooded, vegetated by a diverse composition of plants, with an upper limit between 6 and 7 m depending on location) (Hatvany, 2014).…”

“…It is well documented that most sediment deposition occurs at high tide during flooding of the marsh surface, at which time there are complex interactions between several factors exhibiting high temporal and spatial variability (Allen, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2000; Bartholomä et al ., 2009; Drapeau, 1992; Fagherazzi et al ., 2012; French, 2019; Nolte et al ., 2013; Silinski et al ., 2016; Temmerman et al, 2003b). These interactions include flood duration and frequency ( e.g., Allen and Duffy, 1998; Cahoon and Reed, 2015; Leonard, 1997), distance to the sediment source (Butzeck et al ., 2015; Esselink et al ., 1998; Temmerman et al ., 2003b), suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs; Bartholomä et al ., 2009; Fettweis, Sas, and Monbaliu, 1998; Temmerman et al ., 2003b), marsh height (Butzeck et al ., 2015; French, 2006; Haaf et al ., 2022), type and abundance of vegetation (D'Alpaos et al ., 2007), salinity gradient ( e.g., Butzeck et al ., 2015), tidal characteristics and currents (Carniello et al ., 2005; Shi et al ., 1996), relative sea-level changes (Hill and Anisfeld, 2015; Kirwan and Temmerman, 2009), seasonal variations in water levels and wind regimes (Amos and Tee, 1989; Neumeier and Amos, 2006; Schuerch et al ., 2016; van Proosdij, Ollerhead, and Davidson-Arnott, 2006b), and anthropogenic activities (Hatvany, 2014, 2020). In the St. Lawrence Estuary, ice and herbivores ( e.g ., geese) must also be taken into account (Allard and Champagne, 1980; Allard, 2008; Dionne, 1969; Dionne, 2002; Kirwan et al ., 2011; Lefebvre et al ., 2017; Mattheus et al ., 2010).…”