Assessing Ecological and Physical Performance of Sustainable Shoreline Structure - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

From 2010 to 2018, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s Science Collaborative supported the Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project, which engages a regional research team to quantify the ecological functions and physical stresses on the full range of Hudson River, New York shorelines. This research is the basis for development of information and tools to identify the best settings and approaches for sustainable shoreline protection in the Hudson River Estuary. Work has included the establishment of a sustainable shoreline demonstration network of seven sites with varying modes of construction distributed along the Hudson. The most recent project-- the focus of this InPort entry-- expanded that effort by working closely with regulators, engineers, and land managers to 1) develop and field-validate a rapid assessment protocol manual for physical and ecological functions of ecologically enhanced shorelines and 2) train local land managers in the protocols. This work helps to solidify confidence in the suitability of novel shoreline techniques in the Hudson River Estuary and has enabled local managers to track performance into the future. The project also produced a dataset comprised of a suite of measures of ecological and physical functions of built sustainable shorelines along the Hudson River.

Nature-based, ecologically enhanced, or soft shoreline stabilization techniques (hereafter termed "sustainable shorelines") have the potential to maintain and enhance important ecological services, provide greater resilience to physical forces, and be cost-competitive with traditional approaches such as revetments and bulkheads. In order for these techniques to be used more widely in the Hudson River Estuary, their performance must be demonstrated and evaluated locally. Landowners, site designers, and decision makers have expressed this need to enhance their confidence in proposing innovative designs to clients, investing in sustainable shoreline construction, and steering permit applications toward these less traditional options.

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Stuart Findlay

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

findlays@caryinstitute.org

(845) 677-7600 x138

Partners:

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Consensus Building Institute

Hudson River NERR, NY

Stevens Institute of Technology

Site name derived from Hudson Maps or common usage

DAYOFYEAR Day of Year

YEAR Year

SEGMENTNUMBERS segments are sections of shoreline, typical on the order of 100 m long sharing a similar physical/ecological condition

PROFILENUMBER Profiles are the sampling transects running from the water to upland

APNUMBER Assessment points (AP) are representative places along the transects where data are collected.

BEDROCK Cover of AP by bedrock or v large stone Value is "class" as indicated in Protocol

BOULDER Cover of AP by boulder

GRAVELCOBBLE Cover of AP by gravel/cobble

SANDMUD Cover of AP by Sand/Mud

STONECOUNT Count of stones > 6" within a 0.25 m quadrant

MEANSIZEINCOUNT Mean size of stones in quadrant

WRACK Wrack is present/absent

WOODYDEBRIS Woody Debris (> 1" diameter, > 3 feet long) is present/absent

MEANSLOPE Mean slope (degrees)

CANOPY Cover of AP by vegetated canopy

UNDERSTORY Cover of AP by understory

GROUNDCOVER Cover of AP by groundcover

SPPRICHNESS Estimated number of plant species, Value is "class" as indicated in Protocol

AQUATICPLANTS Aquatic plants are present/absent

MOWMANAGE Mowing or other management is evident at site

SPPCOMP List of top 3 plant species at the AP

INVASIVES Invasives present absent

POINUMBER Point of interest is a particular feature worthy of monitoring over time

POITYPE Type of feature (i.e. large stone, built structure, erosion feature, crest, etc.

CRESTSTONECOUNT Number of stones (> 6") at the crest

CRESTSTONESIZE Mean size of stones comprising the crest

EROSIONVOLUME Estimated volume of erosion feature

ASSETDISPLACE Location of previously identified object or feature

BULKENERGYDIFFERENCE Difference in sphere mass loss between exposed and sheltered location

WAVEHTDIFFERENCE Difference in wave height between exposed and sheltered location

WAKEDIFFERENCE Difference in wake height between exposed and sheltered location

The distributor does not assume liability.

None

Cite this dataset when used as a source: NOAA retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the NERRS/NSC data. The NERRS/NSC retains the right to be fully credited for having collected and process the data. Following academic courtesy standards, the NERR site where the data were collected should be contacted and fully acknowledged in any subsequent publications in which any part of the data are used. The data enclosed within this package/transmission are only as accurate as the quality assurance and quality control procedures that are described in the associated metadata reporting statement allow. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data. Requested citation format: NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative(NSC).