A hybrid shoreline stabilization technique: Impact of modified intertidal reefs on marsh expansion and nekton habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico
A hybrid shoreline stabilization technique: Impact of modified intertidal reefs on marsh expansion and nekton habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico
复制标题
混合海岸线稳定技术：改良潮间带珊瑚礁对墨西哥湾北部沼泽扩张和游生物栖息地的影响
DOI：
10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.02.003
复制
发表时间：
2016
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
C. Ferraro
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Sharma;J. Goff;J. Cebrian;C. Ferraro
为减轻海岸线侵蚀，在墨西哥湾退化的海岸沿线广泛采用了许多装甲技术。海岸线装甲战略结合了建造的垂直结构，导致了许多不受欢迎的生态后果。由“活海岸线”组成的生物工程混合技术正在成为减少海岸线损失和克服硬化结构的生态缺陷的一种替代选择。到目前为止，只有少数研究评估了混合技术在稳定海岸线和改善邻近栖息地方面的效果。在这项研究中，我们整合了可渗透的潮间带礁石-防波堤(也称为波浪衰减单元或WAU)和主要恢复的天然Spartinaternifloramarsh植被，以减轻沿GOM北部狭窄半岛严重退化的海岸的侵蚀。特别是，我们评估了大规模部署Wau礁对一系列物理和生物参数的影响，包括侵蚀缓解(海岸线稳定)、促进创建的沼泽扩张和为沼泽利用Nekton提供栖息地。我们比较了Wau珊瑚礁和没有WAUS的邻近空隙区域，以评估潮汐开度对测量的指标的影响。我们3年多的研究结果表明，潮间带Wau礁促进了沼泽的扩张，礁体之间的潮汐开口允许利用沼泽的Nekton动物自由移动。根据我们的结果，我们得出结论，混合恢复技术在减缓侵蚀、扩大邻近湿地和创造栖息地方面是非常有效的。然而，需要在其他沿海系统中进行更多的工作，以确认混合技术对减缓侵蚀的影响，从而对沼泽和利用沼泽的内克顿的影响。
To mitigate shoreline erosion numerous armoring techniques have been employed extensively along the degrading shores of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Shoreline armoring strategies incorporating built vertical structures have resulted in numerous undesired ecological consequences. Bioengineeringhybridtechniques consisting of “living shorelines” are emerging as an alternative option to mitigating shoreline loss and overcoming ecological shortcomings of hardened structures. Hitherto, only a few studies have assessed efficacy of hybrid techniques on shoreline stabilization and adjacent habitat enhancement. In this study, we integrated permeable intertidal reef-breakwaters (also known as wave attenuation units or WAUs) and predominantly restored nativeSpartinaalternifloramarsh vegetation to mitigate erosion along severely degrading shores of a narrow peninsula in the northern GoM. Particularly, we evaluated impacts of a large-scale WAU reef deployment on a range of physical and biological parameters including erosion mitigation (shoreline stabilization), facilitation of created marsh expansion and habitat provision to marsh-utilizing nekton. We compared WAU reefs to adjacent gap areas without WAUs to evaluate the effects of tidal openings on the metrics measured. Our results of over 3 years suggest that, intertidal WAU reefs facilitate in created marsh expansion and the tidal openings between the reef complexes allow free movement of marsh-utilizing nekton fauna. Based on our results, we conclude that hybrid restoration technique is highly efficacious on erosion mitigation, adjacent marsh expansion and habitat creation. However, more works in other coastal systems are required to confirm the impacts of hybrid techniques on erosion mitigation and consequently on marshes and marsh-utilizing nekton.