Restoring Tidal Wetlands : Restoration Of Natural Habitats

How does the vegetation vary between the part of the marsh east of I280 and that

In 1985, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) evaluated the Silver Creek Wetland, and qualified it for environmental protection. A re-evaluation was done in 1995, and a decision was made to combine three areas into one complex. The provincially significant wetland is listed as “unimpaired” and protection was recommended in 2000 by Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority’s watershed health monitoring summary. As the area provides vital biological, social, and hydro geological functions, protection is crucial. Not only does the area act as flood control, water purification, and sediment containment, it is a prime fishing location for locals as it provides a cold-water habitat and spawning grounds for several varieties of game fish such as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Numerous species of birds, such as the Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), the great egret (Ardea alba), the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and other waterfowl also favour the staging and feeding grounds that the

So far, many measures have been taken to conserve Oshawa’s Second Marsh. Firstly, a dike was created along Harmony Creek to prevent the sediment- and nutrient-overloaded water from directly entering the marsh, which can improve water quality (Wilcox & Whillans, 1999). A fish pathway has been built along the dike, which can used to prevent carp from getting into the wetland, and a water-control structure was also constructed, which allows water to get in or out when required (Wilcox & Whillans, 1999). Secondly, several methods, including physical harvesting, chemical control, and biological control, have been used to control and manage invasive species (Wilcox & Whillans, 1999). And, variety of native vegetation was planted in the Marsh. For

For the purpose of this interview assignment, Kimberli Ponzio will be the interviewee as she has earned her B.S. degree in zoology from Florida Atlantic University in 1987 and an M.S. degree in wetlands ecology from the University of Florida in 1997. Her thesis concerned the germination of sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense). She has worked at both the South Florida and St. Johns Water Management Districts (SJWMD) for over 27 years of experience. During that time, she has been involved in wetland research and restoration in the Upper St. Johns River basin, the Kissimmee River Basin, and the Florida Everglades. Also, she is currently the President of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS).

The erosion of shorelines is a natural process that can have beneficial or adverse impacts on the creation and maintenance of habitats. Sands and gravels eroded from the shores of coastal bays maintain the beach as a natural barrier between the open water and coastal wetlands. Beaches move back and forth onshore, offshore and along shore with changing wave conditions. The finer-grained silts and clays derived from the erosion of shorelines are sorted and carried as far as the waters of wetlands or tidal flats, where benefits are derived from addition of the new material. However, excessively high sediment loads can smother submerged aquatic vegetation beds, cover shellfish beds and tidal flats, fill in riffle

Wetlands are important to animals because they provide shelter and a good living environment for certain species. For example, species such as Rafinesque’s big-eared bat and bald eagles depend on the trees in these wetlands and their hardwood forests to survive and grow.

With oxygen levels in the dead zone being so low during the summer months marine life is almost nonexistent. This not only hurts the wild life of Louisiana’s coast but, also its economy and fishing based culture. In the future with the normal levels of oxygen returning to our gulf we can hope to see wild life slowly but surely returning. Also there is hope for the conservation and growth of the wetlands through the nutrient rich canals developed, enhancing Louisiana’s economy, culture, and

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species

The people that live in the marshlands were influenced by the texture and what the land provided for them. The marshlands provided them with water and reeds, so they used them to make reed houses and water to transport to form their culture. In the text it said that “Local architecture plays an important role in the culture of the marsh”. They used what they had in their region to make a working culture, and a functioning place for people to

It has become common for sand dunes to be bulldozed to improve the views to the sea. However this destroys the natural protection of the coast. Human activities such as water transport also can cause problems for coastal areas. The dredging of navigation channels and the discharging of the material in deep water to enable larger ships to travel though water channels removes sediment from the coastal system leaving the area susceptible to erosion and will also interfere with longshore drift which will prevent the coastal beach landforms from being maintained such as the development of a spit. It is likely that a spit will be eroded and start to regress in conditions such as these.

reach pre-subsidence levels in 60 years. To put this in more manageable terms, the rate of land renewal performed by marshes has the capacity to significantly alter the landscape in subsidized areas in less than the span of a human life.

The vegetation provides shade to regulate water temperature, the plants’ root structure serves to stabilize the banks and reduce erosion, the leaf litter input to the stream provides nutrients for aquatic organisms, and large woody debris deposits contribute to habitat structure.

A clear and widely accepted definition of a wetland has yet to be established. Wetlands are of various types and function, and occur in diverse locations, and climates which in part make them difficult to define. Many definitions of a wetland have been posed by different groups and individuals, some of the definitions include: “An area of land that has hydric soil and hydrophytic vegetation, typically flooded for part of the year, and forming a transition zone between aquatic and terrestrial systems (Brady and Weil, 1999).” A wetland is an ecosystem that depends on constant or recurrent, shallow inundation or saturation at or near the surface of the substrate (soil). The minimum essential characteristics of a

From the results there is an interaction between hydrology, vegetation and depth. The lower depths had a lack of vegetation, less surface water and high levels of conductivity. This suggests that vegetation is unable to deal with living at low depths on the bog and this is due to four factors. Firstly, the high conductivity suggests that the water is toxic for the sphagnum mosses to survive. The nutrient cycle is highly disturbed and there is no oxygen available for sphagnum mosses to grow.

I decided to test the ecological status of the wetland by gathering samples from the wetland and testing it for various aspects in the water and the plants that are found within the area.