Large-scale erosion driven by intertidal eelgrass loss in an estuarine environment

Walter, Ryan; O’Leary, Jennifer; Vitousek, Sean; Taherkhani, Mohsen; Geraghty, Carolyn; Kitajima, Ann

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106910

Cited by 25 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“… 2018 ), massive system‐wide erosion and sediment resuspension shifting tidal elevations throughout the estuary (Walter et al. 2020 ), or restoration design.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in Morro Bay, California. 95% of eelgrass has been lost and efforts to restore have had variable success; this may be linked to the degraded state of natural meadows (Harenčár et al 2018), massive system-wide erosion and sediment resuspension shifting tidal elevations throughout the estuary (Walter et al 2020), or restoration design.…”

Section: Successful Seagrass Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid enhancement of multiple ecosystem services following the restoration of a coastal foundation species

Beheshti

Williams

Boyer

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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The global decline of marine foundation species (kelp forests, mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses) has contributed to the degradation of the coastal zone and threatens the loss of critical ecosystem services and functions. Restoration of marine foundation species has had variable success, especially for seagrasses, where a majority of restoration efforts have failed. While most seagrass restorations track structural attributes over time, rarely do restorations assess the suite of ecological functions that may be affected by restoration. Here we report on the results of two small‐scale experimental seagrass restoration efforts in a central California estuary where we transplanted 117 0.25‐m2 plots (2,340 shoots) of the seagrass species Zostera marina. We quantified restoration success relative to persistent reference beds, and in comparison to unrestored, unvegetated areas. Within three years, our restored plots expanded ~8,500%, from a total initial area of 29 to 2,513 m2. The restored beds rapidly began to resemble the reference beds in (1) seagrass structural attributes (canopy height, shoot density, biomass), (2) ecological functions (macrofaunal species richness and abundance, epifaunal species richness, nursery function), and (3) biogeochemical functions (modulation of water quality). We also developed a multifunctionality index to assess cumulative functional performance, which revealed restored plots are intermediate between reference and unvegetated habitats, illustrating how rapidly multiple functions recovered over a short time period. Our comprehensive study is one of few published studies to quantify how seagrass restoration can enhance both biological and biogeochemical functions. Our study serves as a model for quantifying ecosystem services associated with the restoration of a foundation species and demonstrates the potential for rapid functional recovery that can be achieved through targeted restoration of fast‐growing foundation species under suitable conditions.

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“… 2018 ), massive system‐wide erosion and sediment resuspension shifting tidal elevations throughout the estuary (Walter et al. 2020 ), or restoration design.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Successful Seagrass Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid enhancement of multiple ecosystem services following the restoration of a coastal foundation species

Beheshti

Williams

Boyer

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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“…Since then, other decline events of Z. marina, conspicuous but more localized than the wasting disease, have been reported in Chesapeake Bay (USA), Portugal, Arcachon Bay (France), Netherlands, Japan, California (USA), etc. ; they have been attributed to local disturbances, e.g., pollution, turbidity, and oyster dredges [28,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Some were also due to natural events, such as the passage of the tropical storm Agnes in 1972 in Chesapeake Bay [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Boudouresque

Blanfuné

Pergent

et al. 2021

Water

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Some species of seagrasses (e.g., Zostera marina and Posidonia oceanica) have declined in the Mediterranean, at least locally. Others are progressing, helped by sea warming, such as Cymodocea nodosa and the non-native Halophila stipulacea. The decline of one seagrass can favor another seagrass. All in all, the decline of seagrasses could be less extensive and less general than claimed by some authors. Natural recolonization (cuttings and seedlings) has been more rapid and more widespread than was thought in the 20th century; however, it is sometimes insufficient, which justifies transplanting operations. Many techniques have been proposed to restore Mediterranean seagrass meadows. However, setting aside the short-term failure or half-success of experimental operations, long-term monitoring has usually been lacking, suggesting that possible failures were considered not worthy of a scientific paper. Many transplanting operations (e.g., P. oceanica) have been carried out at sites where the species had never previously been present. Replacing the natural ecosystem (e.g., sandy bottoms, sublittoral reefs) with P. oceanica is obviously inappropriate in most cases. This presupposes ignorance of the fact that the diversity of ecosystems is one of the bases of the biodiversity concept. In order to prevent the possibility of seagrass transplanting from being misused as a pretext for further destruction, a guide for the proper conduct of transplanting is proposed.

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“…The effect of vegetation on the change of flow features, i.e., flow velocity, flow turbulence, wave dissipation, and drag force, has been studied widely [34][35][36][37][38][39]. Due to the effect of vegetation, the flowinduced bed shear stress can be reduced so that the capacity of sediment motion can be weakened [35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Therefore, the authors introduced a new way to control sediment and erosion in a river.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near-Nature Ecological Technique for Pier Scour Countermeasure in a Submerged Overfall

Lee

Huang

2022

Applied Sciences

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This paper proposes a near-nature ecological technique, which can consist of a wide range of materials, to protect against pier scouring. The proposed technique can involve the use of many long strips that behave like water weeds. This paper studied a protection method against pier scour by using long strips in a submerged overfall, particularly for a pier located at the maximum depth area of overfall scour. The length and size of the strips were chosen as factors to study their protective effect. Our results showed that this approach slowed the flow velocity between the installed strips and bed. The sediment in flow might accordingly move slowly or even settle down. Thus, the pier could be kept stable and safe by the installation of those strips. Experimental results show that the protective effect is more efficient when the strip length is closer to the pier and has a small diameter. Moreover, the maximum protective effect reached 45.5% scour reduction. Varied lengths provided different protective effects against overfall scour. These findings show that this near-nature ecological technique could be a good and economical solution for pier protection in submerged overfalls.

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Large-scale erosion driven by intertidal eelgrass loss in an estuarine environment

Cited by 25 publications

References 32 publications

Rapid enhancement of multiple ecosystem services following the restoration of a coastal foundation species

Rapid enhancement of multiple ecosystem services following the restoration of a coastal foundation species

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Near-Nature Ecological Technique for Pier Scour Countermeasure in a Submerged Overfall

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