Heterogeneity can boost biodiversity, as well as increase the resilience of an ecosystem to changing environmental conditions; therefore, it is important to understand how topographic heterogeneity in ecosystems is formed. Sandy tidal marshes have a repetitive pattern of higher elevated hummocks surrounded by lower elevated depressions, representing topographic heterogeneity at the scale of a f...

Many marshes in the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain, USA, are managed through a combination of fall or winter burning and structural marsh management (i.e., levees and water control structures; hereafter SMM). The goals of winter burning and SMM include improvement of waterfowl and furbearer habitat, maintenance of historic isohaline lines, and creation and maintenance of emergent wetlands. Although m...

INTRODUCTION Coastal vegetated habitats are on a global decline due to climate change, specifically sea level rise (SLR) and increased storminess (IPCC, 2014). These fringing environments connecting land and sea are important mediators of SLR and increased wave action, providing essential ecosystem services such as coastal protection, water purification, and erosion control (Barbier et al., 201...

The distribution of New England salt marsh communities is intrinsically linked to the magnitude, frequency, and duration of tidal inundation. Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) exclusively inhabits the frequently flooded lower elevations, whereas a mosaic of marsh hay (Spartina patens), spike grass (Distichlis spicata), and black rush (Juncus gerardi) typically dominate higher elevations. Monito...

Extensive alteration of the tidal salt marshes of San Francisco Bay has created an urgent need to preserve the few remaining areas of relatively pristine tidal marshes. The dynamics of these marshes can be quantified and mapped using the high vertical and horizontal point density of airborne laser scanners (lidar) if their data quality is adequate. We evaluated lidar’s ability to characterize w...

Since the early 1990s managed realignment, where formerly reclaimed land is re-exposed to tidal inundation through breaching of coastal embankments, has been increasingly used throughout Northern Europe as a cost effective and sustainable response to biodiversity loss and flood management. This study aimed to evaluate the success of managed realignment schemes that resulted in salt-marsh develo...

Survival of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, differed among marshes in a demonstration 9.9-ha multipurpose constructed treatment wetland designed to improve the quality of secondary-treated municipal wastewater in southern California. At a mean loading rate of 3.3 kg NH4-N ha(-1) d(-1) (6 kg total N ha(-1) d(-1)), the suitability of the wetland to support a population of stic...