Thin-layer Sediment Placement: Evaluating an Adaptation Strategy to Enhance Coastal Marsh Resilience - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

Thin-layer placement (TLP) is an emergent climate adaptation strategy that mimics natural deposition processes in tidal marshes by adding a small amount of sediment on top of marsh in order to maintain elevation relative to sea level rise. This project addressed the needs of coastal managers and restoration practitioners for more information about TLP's effectiveness across diverse marsh plant communities and regions. Researchers conducted coordinated restoration experiments at eight National Estuarine Research Reserves across the East and West Coasts. The team assessed the impact of elevation, sediment type, and layer thickness on the success of this marsh adaptation technique. Greenhouse experiments exploring the effect of sediment texture and the addition of biochar as a soil amendment complemented these field studies. To support future use of TLP, the project team and an advisory committee of coastal managers at state and federal agencies and nonprofit groups created a suite of guidance documents including a consensus statement on thin-layer placement in tidal marsh ecosystems.

Tidal marshes provide key ecosystem services, but are threatened by sea level rise. For these ecosystems to survive, it will require active management to increase tidal marsh resilience. Researchers at the Narragansett Bay and Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserves recently led the first national assessment of tidal marsh resilience to sea level rise to monitor coastal reserve sites across the continental United States. Now the research team is moving beyond marsh resilience monitoring and assessment to actively test strategies to enhance resilience. This project tested the restoration effectiveness of thin-layer placement, an emergent climate adaptation strategy and one of the only viable strategies to protect tidal marshes in their current footprint.

Project Lead

Kenny Raposa

Narragansett Bay National Estuarine

Research Reserve

(401) 683-7849

kenny@nbnerr.org

Project Type

Collaborative Research – generating science

that informs decisions

Project Partners

• Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine

Research Reserve

• Chesapeake Bay Virginia National Estuarine

Research Reserve

• Drexel University

• Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research

Reserve

• Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

• Narragansett Bay National Estuarine

Research Reserve

• North Carolina National Estuarine

Research Reserve

• Roca Communications+, LLC

• San Francisco National Estuarine

Research Reserve

• Waquoit Bay National Estuarine

Research Reserve

The distributor does not assume liability.

None

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