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The long‐term (10–100 years) evolution of tidal channels is generally considered to interact with the bio‐geomorphic evolution of the surrounding intertidal platform. Here we studied how the geometric properties of tidal channels (channel drainage density and channel width) change as (1) vegetation establishes on an initially bare intertidal platform and (2) sediment accretion on the intertidal platform leads to a reduction in the tidal prism (i.e. water volume that during a tidal cycle floods to and drains back from the intertidal platform). Based on a time series of aerial photographs and digital elevation models, we derived the channel geometric properties at different time steps during the evolution from an initially low‐elevated bare tidal flat towards a high‐elevated vegetated marsh. We found that vegetation establishment causes a marked increase in channel drainage density. This is explained as the friction exerted by patches of pioneer vegetation concentrates the flow in between the vegetation patches and promotes there the erosion of channels. Once vegetation has established, continued sediment accretion and tidal prism reduction do not result in significant further changes in channel drainage density and in channel widths. We hypothesize that this is explained by a partitioning of the tidal flow between concentrated channel flow, as long as the vegetation is not submerged, and more homogeneous sheet flow as the vegetation is deeply submerged. Hence, a reduction of the tidal prism due to sediment accretion on the intertidal platform, reduces especially the volume of sheet flow (which does not affect channel geometry), while the concentrated channel flow (i.e. the landscape forming volume of water) is not much affected by the tidal prism reduction. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

3.
Salt marshes are globally important ecosystems and thus their resilience to climate change holds societal importance. To date, studies addressing salt marsh responses to climate change have focused on sea-level rise and biogeochemical feedbacks with increasing inundation. Less is known about how salt marsh sediment temperatures, which impact physical, biological, and chemical ecosystem processes, will respond to climate change. In this study, we present multi-depth sediment temperature and porewater level data from low-, mid-, and high-marsh sites at a New England salt marsh for a 1-year period and investigate how salt marsh sediment temperatures respond to atmospheric and oceanic forcing. We use spectral analyses to identify the frequencies at which sediment temperatures vary and link the temperature variations to specific forcing mechanisms. We find that all sites across the marsh responded to air temperature with roughly equal amplitude whereas the responses to radiative heating and ocean tides varied spatially. The high-marsh site is more sensitive to radiative heating than the mid- and low-marsh sites. The low-marsh is affected by tidal processes and inundation whereas the high- and mid-marsh sites are not. In addition, we find that the bulk thermal diffusivity of the saturated sediments decreases with distance from the tidal channel. These factors contribute to considerable temporal and spatial variability in sediment temperatures with elevation, distance from the tidal channel, and time of year (season) being most important.  相似文献   

4.
Macro-pores such as crab burrows are found commonly distributed in salt marsh sediments. Their disturbance on the soil structure is likely to influence both pore water flows and solute transport in salt marshes; however, the effects of crab burrows are not well understood. Here, a three-dimensional model simulated tidally driven pore water flows subject to the influence of crab burrows in a marsh system. The model, based on Richards’ equation, considered variably saturated flow in the marsh with a two-layer soil configuration, as observed at the Chongming Dongtan wetland (Shanghai, China). The simulation results showed that crab burrows distributed in the upper low-permeability soil layer, acting as preferential flow paths, affected pore water flows in the marsh particularly when the contrast of hydraulic conductivity between the lower high-permeability soil layer and the overlying low-permeability soils was high. The burrows were found to increase the volume of tidally driven water exchange between the marsh soil and the tidal creek. The simulations also showed improvement of soil aeration conditions in the presence of crab burrows. These effects may lead to increased productivity of the marsh ecosystem and enhancement of its material exchange with coastal waters.  相似文献   

5.
Little Ice Age lateral moraines represent one of the most important sediment storages and dynamic areas in glacier forelands. Following glacier retreat, simultaneous paraglacial adjustment and vegetation succession affect the moraine slopes. Geomorphic processes (e.g. debris flows, interrill erosion, gullying, solifluction) disturb and limit vegetation development, while increasing vegetation cover decreases geomorphic activity. Thus, feedbacks between geomorphic and vegetation dynamics strongly control moraine slope development. However, the conditions under which these biogeomorphic feedbacks can occur are insufficiently understood and major knowledge gaps remain. This study determines feedback conditions through the analysis of geomorphic and vegetation data from permanent plots in the Turtmann glacier foreland, Switzerland. Results from multivariate statistical analysis (i) confirm that Dryas octopetala L. is an alpine ecosystem engineer species which influences geomorphic processes on lateral moraines and thereby controls ecosystem structure and function, and (ii) demonstrate that biogeomorphic feedbacks can occur once geomorphic activity sufficiently decreases for D. octopetala to establish and cross a cover threshold. In the subsequent ecosystem engineering process, the dominant geomorphic processes change from flow and slide to bound solifluction. Increasing slope stabilization induces a decline in biogeomorphic feedbacks and the suppression of D. octopetala by shrubs. We conceptualize this relationship between process magnitude, frequency and species resilience and resistance to disturbances in a ‘biogeomorphic feedback window’ concept. Our approach enhances the understanding of feedbacks between geomorphic and alpine vegetation dynamics on lateral moraine slopes and highlights the importance of integrating geomorphic and ecological approaches for biogeomorphic research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

6.
Recreation or restoration of salt marsh through the deliberate removal of flood defences (managed realignment or de‐embankment) is a common practice across Europe and the USA, with potential to enhance delivery of ecosystem services. However, recent research suggests that physical, chemical and ecological processes may be impaired in recreated sites as a result of the modified morphology, sediment structure and hydrology associated with both the restoration process and historic land use. This paper compares physical sediment properties and subsurface water levels recorded in paired natural and de‐embanked (recreated) salt marshes in SE England. Using a combination of statistical and time‐series modelling, significant differences between the natural and recreated marshes are identified. Sediment properties (bulk density, moisture content and organic content) within each marsh were statistically different and imply that de‐embanked sediments are compacted, which may affect subsurface water movement. Analysis of hydrological time series reveals that the de‐embanked salt marsh is characterized by a damped response to tidal flooding with elevated and less variable water levels. This, combined with analysis of hydrographs and hysteresis patterns over individual tidal cycles, suggests that fast, horizontal near‐surface flows enhanced by the relict land surface may play a greater role in drainage of the de‐embanked salt marsh. The importance of hydrological functioning in governing many important physical and biogeochemical processes in salt marshes suggests any modifications would have significant implications for the delivery of ecosystem services. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

7.
We evaluated injuries to Spartina alterniflora by debris items common to North Carolina coastal waters as a function of debris type (wire blue crab pots, vehicle tires, and anthropogenic wood) and deployment duration, and monitored S. alterniflora recovery following debris removal. Injuries sustained by S. alterniflora and subsequent recovery, varied considerably between debris types. Differences were likely due to dissimilarities in the structure and composition of debris. Tires caused an immediate (within 3 weeks) and long-term impact to S. alterniflora; tire footprints remained devoid of vegetation 14 months post-removal. Conversely, crab pot impacts were not as abrupt and recovery was short-term (<10 months). We suggest that removal programs specifically target habitats that are susceptible to negative impacts (e.g., salt marsh) and prone to debris accumulation. Management would benefit from the inclusion of habitat information in removal databases.  相似文献   

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Spartina alterniflora is ecologically important in its original habitat; however, it has caused controversy since it was introduction into China (now it has been spreading rapidly on the Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian coasts). The purpose of the present contribution is, on the basis of an analysis and synthesis of existing data sets, to evaluate the environmental-ecological effects of S. alterniflora, and to identify the relevant scientific problems that require further research in the future. Investigations have shown that, by reducing the near-bed shear stress associated with tidal currents, S. alterniflora can enhance the settling flux of suspended sediment and deposition rate on the tidal flats over the region. Further, field survey and analysis indicate that the S. alterniflora salt-marsh has a high primary production and provides a new type of habitat for the native benthic fauna. Some macro-, meio- and micro-fauna that used to live in the native salt-marshes have adapted to the S. alterniflora salt-marsh, forming a new ecosystem. Under the influences of a number of background factors, such as latitude variations and the coastal type, the environmental-ecological changes induced by Spartine have regional differentiations. To the north of Hangzhou Bay, with a high position of the pre-Holocene stratum base, a large width of the tidal flats, and a gentle bed slope, only a small part of the intertidal zone is occupied by the S. alterniflora salt-marsh. Here, the S. alterniflora salt-marshes mainly play a positive role in coastal protection and ecosystem functioning. In contrary, to the South of Hangzhou Bay, The pre-Holocene deposits are situated in relatively deeo waters, and the width of the tidal flats formed within coastal embayments is relatively narrow. As such, the expansion of S. alterniflora has squeezed the living space of other intertidal organisms, thus has a negative ecological effect. Therefore, the regional differentiation of the Spartina effects should be sufficiently considered in coastal development and management. Furthermore, in order to predict the future evolution of the S. alterniflora wetlands over the region, in addition to in situ monitoring and measurements, an ecosystem dynamic model should be established, taking into account the coupling of the rerrestrial and marine environmental-ecological processes.  相似文献   

10.
A full‐scale controlled experiment was conducted on an excavated and re‐assembled coastal wetland surface, typical of floristically diverse northwest European saltmarsh. The experiment was undertaken with true‐to‐scale water depths and waves in a large wave flume, in order to assess the impact of storm surge conditions on marsh surface soils, initially with three different plant species and then when this marsh canopy had been mowed. The data presented suggests a high bio‐geomorphological resilience of salt marshes to vertical sediment removal, with less than 0.6 cm average vertical lowering in response to a sequence of simulated storm surge conditions. Both organic matter content and plant species exerted an important influence on both the variability and degree of soil surface stability, with surfaces covered by a flattened canopy of the salt marsh grass Puccinellia experiencing a lower and less variable elevation loss than those characterized by Elymus or Atriplex that exhibited considerable physical damage through stem folding and breakage. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

11.
Organized spatial distribution of plants (plant zonation) in salt marshes has been linked to the soil aeration condition in the rhizosphere through simplistic tidal inundation parameters. Here, a soil saturation index (ratio of saturation period to tidal period at a soil depth) is introduced to describe the soil aeration condition. This new index captures the effects of not only the tidal inundation period and frequency but also the flow dynamics of groundwater in the marsh soil. One‐dimensional numerical models based on saturated flow with the Boussinesq approximations and a two‐dimensional variably saturated flow model were developed to explore the behaviour of this new soil aeration variable under the influence of spring‐neap tides. Simulations revealed two characteristic zones of soil aeration across the salt marsh: a relatively well aerated near‐creek zone and a poorly aerated interior zone. In the near‐creek zone, soils undergo periodic wetting and drying as the groundwater table fluctuates throughout the spring‐neap cycle. In the interior, the soil remains largely water saturated except for neap tide periods when limited drainage occurs. Although such a change of soil aeration condition has been observed in previous numerical simulations, the soil saturation index provides a clear delineation of the zones that are separated by an ‘inflexion point’ on the averaged index curve. The results show how the saturation index represents the effects of soil properties, tidal parameters and marsh platform elevation on marsh soil aeration. Simulations of these combined effects have not been possible with traditional tidal inundation parameters. The saturation index can be easily derived using relatively simple models based on five non‐dimensional variables. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

12.
《Marine pollution bulletin》2014,85(1-2):115-124
To investigate the effects of Spartina alterniflora on heavy metals pollution of intertidal sediments, sediment cores of a S. alterniflora salt marsh and a mudflat in Bohai Bay, China were analyzed. The results showed that S. alterniflora caused higher total C and P, but lower bulk density and electrical conductivity. The levels of Cd, Cu and Pb were higher in S. alterniflora sediment. Both Cd and Zn were higher than the probable effect level at both sites, indicating their toxicological importance. The geo-accumulation and potential ecological risk indexes revealed higher metal contamination in S. alterniflora sediment. Multivariate analysis implied that anthropogenic activities altered mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals. The percentage of mobile heavy metals was higher in S. alterniflora sediment, indicating improvement of conversion from the immobilized fraction to the mobilized fraction. These findings indicate that S. alterniflora may facilitate accumulation of heavy metals and increase their bioavailability and mobility.  相似文献   

13.
Dipper Harbour Creek's lower reaches run through a narrow salt marsh on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. This 2 km long section of the creek constitutes an extreme example of a tide-dominated estuary exhibiting strong downvalley morphology and sedimentology gradients. Dipper Harbour Creek drains a basin of roughly 8.8 km2, but except during the spring snowmelt freshet, tidal flow so overshadows freshwater flow within the salt marsh reach that the system essentially functions as a tidal creek. To identify and explain the main geomorphic processes controlling the creek system, records were collected in summer 1993 of tidal stage and velocity fluctuations, sand dune migration rates, bed material composition, channel cross-sectional geometry and channel sinuosity. Bed materials become progressively finer upvalley, with deposits of medium to coarse sands concentrated in the highly sinuous central reach of the creek during the summer. Current velocities within the creek are strongly flood-dominant, featuring a consistent low-stage peak in flood velocity, a secondary high-stage flood surge, and a weaker ebb peak occurring around bankfull stage. Under summer low freshwater discharge conditions, the predominant direction of bed sand transport is upvalley. The spring freshet, however, causes a major downvalley shift of sand deposits, suggesting a seasonal cycling of medium to coarse sands within Dipper Harbour Creek.  相似文献   

14.
Channel meander dynamics in fluvial systems and many tidal systems result from erosion of concave banks coupled with sediment deposition on convex bars. However, geographic information system (GIS) analysis of historical aerial photographs of the Skagit Delta marshes provides examples of an alternative meander forming process in a rapidly prograding river delta: deposition‐dominated tidal channel meander formation through a developmental sequence beginning with sandbar formation at the confluence of a blind tidal channel and delta distributary, proceeding to sandbar colonization and stabilization by marsh vegetation to form a marsh island opposite the blind tidal channel outlet, followed by narrowing of the gap between the island and mainland marsh, closure of one half of the gap to join the marsh island to the mainland, and formation of an approximately right‐angle blind tidal channel meander bend in the remaining half of the gap. Topographic signatures analogous to fluvial meander scroll bars accompany these planform changes. Parallel sequences of marsh ridges and swales indicate locations of historical distributary shoreline levees adjacent to filled former island/mainland gaps. Additionally, the location of marsh islands within delta distributaries is not random; islands are disproportionately associated with blind tidal channel/distributary confluences. Furthermore, blind tidal channel outlet width is positively correlated with the size of the marsh island that forms at the outlet, and the time until island fusion with mainland marsh. These observations suggest confluence hydrodynamics favor sandbar/marsh island development. The transition from confluence sandbar to tidal channel meander can take as little as 10 years, but more typically occurs over several decades. This depositional blind tidal channel meander formation process is part of a larger scale systemic depositional process of delta progradation that includes distributary elongation, gradient reduction, flow‐switching, shoaling, and narrowing. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

15.
The formation and evolution of tidal platforms are controlled by the feedbacks between hydrodynamics, geomorphology, vegetation, and sediment transport. Previous work mainly addresses dynamics at the scale of individual marsh platforms. Here, we develop a process-based model to investigate salt marsh depositional/erosional dynamics and resilience to environmental change at the scale of tidal basins. We evaluate how inputs of water and sediment from river and ocean sources interact, how losses of sediment to the ocean depend on this interaction, and how erosional/depositional dynamics are coupled to these exchanges. Model experiments consider a wide range of watershed, basin, and oceanic characteristics, represented by river discharge and suspended sediment concentration, basin dimensions, tidal range, and ocean sediment concentration. In some scenarios, the vertical accretion of a tidal flat can be greater than the rate of sea level rise. Under these conditions, vertical depositional dynamics can lead to transitions between tidal flat and salt marsh equilibrium states. This type of transition occurs much more rapidly than transitions occurring through horizontal marsh expansion or retreat. In addition, our analyses reveal that river inputs can affect the existence and extent of marsh/tidal flat equilibria by both directly providing suspended sediment (favoring marshes) and by modulating water exchanges with the ocean, thereby indirectly affecting the ocean sediment input to the system (favoring either marshes or tidal flats depending on the ratio of the river and ocean water inputs and their sediment concentrations). The model proposed has the goal of clarifying the roles of the main dynamic processes at play, rather than of predicting the evolution of a particular tidal system. Our model results most directly reflect micro- and meso-tidal environments but also have implications for macro-tidal settings. The model-based analyses presented extend our theoretical understanding of marsh dynamics to a greater range of intertidal environments. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

16.
Vegetation plays a critical role in modifying inundation and flow patterns in salt marshes. In this study, the effects of vegetation are derived and implemented in a high‐resolution, subgrid model recently developed for simulating salt marsh hydrodynamics. Vegetation‐induced drag forces are taken into account as momentum sink terms. The model is then applied to simulate the flooding and draining processes in a meso‐tidal salt marsh, both with and without vegetation effects. Marsh inundation and flow patterns are significantly changed with the presence of vegetation. A smaller area of inundation occurs when vegetation is considered. Tides propagate both on the platform and through the channels when vegetation is absent, whereas flows concentrate mainly in channels when vegetation is present. Local inundation on vegetated platforms is caused mainly by water flux spilled from nearby channels, with a flow direction perpendicular to the channel edges, whereas inundation on bare platforms has contributions from both local spilled‐over water flux and remote advection from adjacent platforms. The flooding characteristics predicted by the model showed a significant difference between higher marsh and lower marsh, which is consistent with the wetlands classification by the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). The flooding characteristics and spatial distribution of hydroperiod are also highly correlated with the vegetation zonation patterns observed in Google Earth imagery. Regarding the strong interaction between flow, vegetation and geomorphology, the conclusion highlights the importance of including vegetation in the modeling of salt marsh dynamics. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

17.
Vegetation is an important factor influencing solifluction processes, while at the same time, solifluction processes and landforms influence species composition, fine‐scale distribution and corresponding ecosystem functioning. However, how feedbacks between plants and solifluction processes influence the development of turf‐banked solifluction lobes (TBLs) and their geomorphic and vegetation patterns is still poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap in a detailed biogeomorphic investigation in the Turtmann glacier foreland (Switzerland). Methods employed include geomorphic and vegetation mapping, terrain assessment with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and temperature logging. Results were subsequently integrated with knowledge from previous geomorphic and ecologic studies into a conceptual model. Our results show that geomorphic and vegetation patterns at TBLs are closely linked through the lobe elements tread, risers and ridge. A conceptual four‐stage biogeomorphic model of TBL development with ecosystem engineering by the dwarf shrub Dryas octopetala as the dominant process can explain these interlinked patterns. Based on this model, we demonstrate that TBLs are biogeomorphic structures and follow a cyclic development, during which the role of their components for engineer and non‐engineer species changes. Our study presents the first biogeomorphic model of TBL development and highlights the applicability and necessity of biogeomorphic approaches and research in periglacial environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

18.
Modeling efforts have considerably improved our understanding on the chief processes that govern the evolution of salt marshes under climate change. Yet the spatial dynamic response of salt marshes to sea-level rise that results from the interactions between the tidal landforms of interest and the presence of bio-geomorphic features has not been addressed explicitly. Accordingly, we use a modeling framework that integrates the co-evolution of the marsh platform and the embedded tidal networks to study sea-level rise effects on spatial sediment and vegetation dynamics in microtidal salt marshes considering different ecological scenarios. The analysis unveils mechanisms that drive spatial variations in sedimentation rates in ways that increase marsh resilience to rising sea-levels. In particular, marsh survival is related to the effectiveness of transport of sediments toward the interior marshland. This study hints at additional dynamics related to the modulation of channel cross-sections affecting sediment advection in the channels and subsequent delivery in the inner marsh, which should be definitely considered in the study of marsh adaptability to sea-level rise and posterior management.  相似文献   

19.
Coastal marsh loss in Louisiana is attributed to plane dieback caused by processes that stress vegetation, and a common landscape pattern is broken marsh that expands at the expense of surrounding unbroken marsh. We tested the hypothesis that vegetation is more stressed in broken marsh than in adjacent unbroken marsh, as indicated by vegetation aboveground biomass, species diversity and soil Eh, on transects that extended from broken marsh to unbroken marsh at Marsh Island, Louisiana. Soil Eh, vegetation above-ground biomass and species diversity did not differ between broken marsh and unbroken marsh, and above-ground biomass was similar to that reported from other marshes. Thus, we rejected the hypothesis that marsh loss is related to vegetation stress. Two factors were related to vegetation vigour: soil drainage and soil bulk density. Surprisingly, significant soil drainage occurred in broken marsh but not in unbroken marsh. Above-ground biomass of the dominant plant, Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl., was lowest where soil bulk density was less than 0-08 gcm−3, which illustrated the importance of mineral matter accumulation in submerging coastal marshes. The mechanism of marsh loss appeared to be erosion below the living root zone, as indicated by the vertical and often undercut marsh-water interface, and by the separation of sod clasts. This is different from more rapid marsh loss associated with plant stress which we observed in other Louisiana marshes only 135 km away, indicating that marsh loss mechanisms can vary spatially even within a relatively small region.  相似文献   

20.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is outwelled from highly productive salt marshes, but its sources and fates are unclear. To examine common salt marsh plants as sources of coastal DOM, two dominant salt marsh vascular plants Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemarianus, and two major coastal seagrasses Syringodium filiforme and Halodule wrightii, were collected from a Florida salt marsh and studied using laboratory incubation experiments. We investigated the leaching dynamics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from these plants, in conjunction with our field investigations of the sources and outwelling of DOM from Florida salt marshes. The leaching of DOM and CDOM from the plants was a rapid process, and leaching rates were 65–288 µM/g dry weight/day for DOC and 3.8–16 µM/g dry weight/day for TDN from different plants in the bacteria-inhibited incubations. DOC was proportional to TDN in the leachates, but the quantity of C and N leached was dependent on the species and growth stage of the plants. At the end of the 25-day experiments, 5.4–23 % and 10–45 % of solid phase C and N were released into DOC and TDN pools, respectively. Bacteria played an important role during the leaching process. The majority of DOC and TDN leached from marsh plants and seagrasses was labile and highly biodegradable with 56–90 % of the leached DOC and 44–72 % of the leached TDN being decomposed at the end of the experiments. The fluorescence measurements of CDOM indicate that organic matter leached from marsh plants and seagrasses contained mainly protein-like DOM which was degraded rapidly by bacteria. Our study suggests that leaching of DOM from salt marsh plants and seagrasses provide not only major sources of DOC, TDN, and CDOM that affect many biogeochemical processes, but also as important food sources to microbial communities in the marsh and adjacent coastal waters.  相似文献   

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