NRE 3105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Sea Level Rise, Beach Nourishment, Denitrification
26 Jan 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Where do salt marshes occur: where the land meets the sea, moderately sloped coastlines. Why are salt marshes important: they are very productive ecosystems, they sequester a lot of carbon (carbon sinks), provide habitat shellfish, fisheries, threatened & endangered species. Improve water quality: removes nitrogen via denitrification, reduce storm impacts, reduce erosion. Why are salt marsh sparrow nests drowning: salt marsh plant zonation: very dramatic zonation, sea level rise is occurring, human development will impede on salt marsh migration (physical barriers, salt marsh squeeze . Landowner behaviors may be influenced by education, economic status, behaviors of others, social norms, etc. Very few are likely to participate in conservation agreements. In new england, salt marshes are threatened by: sea level rise. Impediments to marsh migration: physical barriers- roads, seawalls, forests, agriculture. Institutional barriers- lack of proactive government policies: social barriers- people not interested in doing anything. Salt marshes occur where the river meets the ocean.
