TY - JOUR
T1 - Does vegetation prevent wave erosion of salt marsh edges?
AU - Feagin, R. A.
AU - Lozada-Bernard, S. M.
AU - Ravens, T. M.
AU - Möller, I.
AU - Yeager, K. M.
AU - Baird, A. H.
PY - 2009/6/23
Y1 - 2009/6/23
N2 - This study challenges the paradigm that salt marsh plants prevent lateral wave-induced erosion along wetland edges by binding soil with live roots and clarifies the role of vegetation in protecting the coast. In both laboratory flume studies and controlled field experiments, we show that common salt marsh plants do not signifi-cantly mitigate the total amount of erosion along a wetland edge. We found that the soil type is the primary variable that influences the lateral erosion rate and although plants do not directly reduce wetland edge erosion, they may do so indirectly via modification of soil parameters. We conclude that coastal vegetation is bestsuited to modify and control sedimentary dynamics in response to gradual phenomena like sea-level rise or tidal forces, but is less well-suited to resist punctuated disturbances at the seaward margin of salt marshes, specifically breaking waves.
AB - This study challenges the paradigm that salt marsh plants prevent lateral wave-induced erosion along wetland edges by binding soil with live roots and clarifies the role of vegetation in protecting the coast. In both laboratory flume studies and controlled field experiments, we show that common salt marsh plants do not signifi-cantly mitigate the total amount of erosion along a wetland edge. We found that the soil type is the primary variable that influences the lateral erosion rate and although plants do not directly reduce wetland edge erosion, they may do so indirectly via modification of soil parameters. We conclude that coastal vegetation is bestsuited to modify and control sedimentary dynamics in response to gradual phenomena like sea-level rise or tidal forces, but is less well-suited to resist punctuated disturbances at the seaward margin of salt marshes, specifically breaking waves.
KW - Coast
KW - Hurricane
KW - Wave attenuation
KW - Wetland
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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.0901297106
DO - 10.1073/pnas.0901297106
M3 - Article
C2 - 19509340
AN - SCOPUS:67649880576
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 106
SP - 10109
EP - 10113
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 25
ER -