Tidal Marsh Restoration

A Synthesis of Science and Management

Edited by Charles T. Roman and David M. Burdick

432 pages | 53 figures, 24 tables, references, index | 7 x 10

The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series

Many coastal tidal marshes have been significantly degraded by roadways and other projects that restrict tidal flows, limiting their ability to provide vital ecosystem services including support of fish and wildlife populations, flood protection, water quality maintenance, and open space.

Tidal Marsh Restoration provides the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary for coastal zone stewards to initiate salt marsh tidal restoration programs. The book compiles, synthesizes, and interprets the current state of knowledge on the science and practice of salt marsh restoration, bringing together leaders across a range of disciplines in the sciences (hydrology, soils, vegetation, zoology), engineering (hydraulics, modeling), and public policy, with coastal managers who offer an abundance of practical insight and guidance on the development of programs.

The work presents in-depth information from New England and Atlantic Canada, where the practice of restoring tidal flow to salt marshes has been ongoing for decades, and shows how that experience can inform restoration efforts around the world. Students and researchers involved in restoration science will find the technical syntheses, presentation of new concepts, and identification of research needs to be especially useful as they formulate research and monitoring questions, and interpret research findings.

Tidal Marsh Restoration is an essential work for managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in planning, designing, and implementing projects or programs aimed at restoring tidal flow to tide-restricted or diked salt marshes.

Review Quotes
Contents

"Tidal Marsh Restoration: A Synthesis of Science and Management explores the advances in the attempts to restore damaged salt marshes that have been reduced in number through human excesses. ... Many writers come together to give a scholarly review on these elements on how they have succeeded and failed throughout the world. With a great amount of information, charts, and graphs spread throughout, Tidal Marsh Restoration is a scholarly take on this international project, highly recommended."

Midwest Book Review

"If you are interested in coastal wetlands and their restoration, especially in New England, this book is an essential addition to your library. It is comprehensive, nicely organized, and the chapters are based on up-to-date compilations of the literature as well as a wealth of knowledge based on teh practical experiences of well-chosen authors."

Dennis F. Whigham, Senior Botanist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

"In their foreword to Tidal Marsh Restoration, Hood and Simenstad observe that restoration scientists and managers are physicians for dysfunctional ecosystems. To make the analogy more specific, Roman and Burdick's book is a bible for 'ecosystem cardiologists': If the circulatory system of the salt marsh is not functioning, then nothing else matters. This is a must-read book for those interested in wetlands 'vascularization' and its consequences."

Jack Gallagher, Professor Emeritus, Halophyte Solutions Laboratory, University of Delaware

PART I. Introduction

Chapter 1. A Synthesis of Research and Practice on Restoring Tides to Salt Marshes
Charles T. Roman and David M. Burdick

PART II. Synthesis of Tidal Restoration Science

Chapter 2. Predicting the Hydrologic Response of Salt Marshes to Tidal Restoration: The Science and Practice of Hydraulic Modeling
James G. MacBroom and Roy Schiff
Chapter 3. Biogeochemical Responses to Tidal Restoration
Shimon C. Anisfeld
Chapter 4. Vegetation Responses to Tidal Restoration
Stephen M. Smith and R. Scott Warren
Chapter 5. Ecology of Phragmites australis and Responses to Tidal Restoration
Randolph M. Chambers, Laura A. Meyerson, and Kimberly L. Dibble
Chapter 6. A Meta-analysis of Nekton Responses to Restoration of Tide-Restricted New England Salt Marshes
Kenneth B. Raposa and Drew M. Talley
Chapter 7. Avian Community Responses to Tidal Restoration along the North Atlantic Coast of North America
W. Gregory Shriver and Russell Greenberg

PART III. The Practice of Restoring Tide-Restricted Marshes

Chapter 8. Restoration of Tidal Flow to Degraded Tidal Wetlands in Connecticut
Ron Rozsa
Chapter 9. Salt Marsh Restoration in Rhode Island
Caitlin Chaffee, Wenley Ferguson, and Marci Cole Ekberg
Chapter 10. Restoration of Tidal Flow to Salt Marshes: The Massachusetts Experience
Hunt Durey, Timothy Smith, and Marc Carullo
Chapter 11. Restoration of Tidal Flow to Salt Marshes: The New Hampshire Experience
Ted Diers and Frank D. Richardson
Chapter 12. Restoration of Tidal Flow to Salt Marshes: The Maine Experience
Jon Kachmar and Elizabeth Hertz
Chapter 13. Salt Marsh Tidal Restoration in Canada’s Maritime Provinces
Tony M. Bowron, Nancy Neatt, Danika van Proosdij, and Jeremy Lundholm

PART IV. Integrating Science and Practice

Chapter 14. Adaptive Management and Monitoring as Fundamental Tools to Effective Salt Marsh Restoration
Robert N. Buchsbaum and Cathleen Wigand
Chapter 15. Recovering Salt Marsh Ecosystem Services through Tidal Restoration
Gail L. Chmura, David M. Burdick, and Gregg E. Moore
Chapter 16. Role of Simulation Models in Understanding the Salt Marsh Restoration Process
Raymond A. Konisky
Chapter 17. Incorporating Innovative Engineering Solutions into Tidal Restoration Studies
William C. Glamore

PART V. Communicating Restoration Science

Chapter 18. Salt Marsh Restoration at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts: The Role of Science in Addressing Societal Concerns
John W. Portnoy
Chapter 19. Drakes Island Tidal Restoration: Science, Community, and Compromise
Susan C. Adamowicz and Kathleen M. O’Brien
Chapter 20. Role of Science and Partnerships in Salt Marsh Restoration at the Galilee Bird Sanctuary, Narragansett, Rhode Island
Francis C. Golet, Dennis H. A. Myshrall, Lawrence R. Oliver, Peter W. C. Paton, and Brian C. Tefft
Chapter 21. Restoration of Tidally Restricted Salt Marshes at Rumney Marsh, Massachusetts: Balancing Flood Protection with Restoration by Use of Self-Regulating Tide Gates
Edward L. Reiner

PART VI. Summary