[PDF] The Ecology Of Tidal Marshes Of The Pacific Northwest Coast eBook

Author : William E. Odum
Publisher :
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 37,32 MB
Release : 1984
Category : Freshwater ecology
ISBN :

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This report is part of a series of community profiles produced by the Fish and Wildlife Service to provide up-to-date information on coastal ecological communities of the tidal freshwater marsh community along the Atlantic coast from southern New England to northern Florida. Tidal freshwater marshes occupy the uppermost portion of the estuary between the oligohaline or low salinity zone and nontidal freshwater wetlands. By combining the physical process of tidal flushing with the biota of the freshwater marsh, a dynamic, diverse, and distinct estuarine community has been created. The profile covers all structural and functional aspects of the community: its geology, hydrology, biotic components, and energy, nutrient and biomass cycling.

Author : M.P. Weinstein
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 862 pages
File Size : 19,83 MB
Release : 2000-10-31
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0792360192

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Tidal salt marshes are viewed as critical habitats for the production of fish and shellfish. As a result, considerable legislation has been promulgated to conserve and protect these habitats, and much of it is in effect today. The relatively young science of ecological engineering has also emerged, and there are now attempts to reverse centuries-old losses by encouraging sound wetland restoration practices. Today, tens of thousands of hectares of degraded or isolated coastal wetlands are being restored worldwide. Whether restored wetlands reach functional equivalency to `natural' systems is a subject of heated debate. Equally debatable is the paradigm that depicts tidal salt marshes as the `great engine' that drives much of the secondary production in coastal waters. This view was questioned in the early 1980s by investigators who noted that total carbon export, on the order of 100 to 200 g m-2 y-1 was of much lower magnitude than originally thought. These authors also recognized that some marshes were either net importers of carbon, or showed no net exchange. Thus, the notion of `outwelling' has become but a single element in an evolving view of marsh function and the link between primary and secondary production. The `revisionist' movement was launched in 1979 when stable isotopic ratios of macrophytes and animal tissues were found to be `mismatched'. Some eighteen years later, the view of marsh function is still undergoing additional modification, and we are slowly unraveling the complexities of biogeochemical cycles, nutrient exchange, and the links between primary producers and the marsh/estuary fauna. Yet, since Teal's seminal paper nearly forty years ago, we are not much closer to understanding how marshes work. If anything, we have learned that the story is far more complicated than originally thought. Despite more than four decades of intense research, we do not yet know how salt marshes function as essential habitat, nor do we know the relative contributions to secondary production, both in situ or in the open waters of the estuary. The theme of this Symposium was to review the status of salt marsh research and revisit the existing paradigm(s) for salt marsh function. Challenge questions were designed to meet the controversy head on: Do marshes support the production of marine transient species? If so, how? Are any of these species marsh obligates? How much of the production takes place in situ versus in open waters of the estuary/coastal zone? Sessions were devoted to reviews of landmark studies, or current findings that advance our knowledge of salt marsh function. A day was also devoted to ecological engineering and wetland restoration papers addressing state-of-the-art methodology and specific case histories. Several challenge papers arguing for and against our ability to restore functional salt marshes led off each session. This volume is intended to serve as a synthesis of our current understanding of the ecological role of salt marshes, and will, it is hoped, pave the way for a new generation of research.

Author : Charles L. Coultas
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 382 pages
File Size : 43,47 MB
Release : 1997-03-07
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9781574440263

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This is a major compendium of the existing knowledge of the ecology and management of tidal marshes by some of the leading experts in the field. The major theme of the book is the interconnectedness of the marsh, plants, marine organisms, soils and geology, energy and money flow, and legal and management effects on the system. Emphasis is placed throughout on the fact that nature has provided a free service that can either be maintained and enhanced by man or destroyed and forever lost. At a time of declining fisheries, this book points the way to management strategies that are needed to effect improvement.

Author : Charles Seabrook
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
Page : 381 pages
File Size : 36,31 MB
Release : 2012-05-01
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0820327069

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A wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast celebrates its natural history, its people and their way of life and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival in hopes to create an appreciation for this vital ecosystem.

Author : Sergio Fagherazzi
Publisher : American Geophysical Union
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 11,36 MB
Release : 2004-01-09
Category : Nature
ISBN :

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Located between sea and land, salt marshes are complex environments that provide critical ecosystem functions, such as production of organic material and nutrient cycling. This book examines the geomorphology of salt marshes with emphasis on the interaction between landscape and biota.