Does vegetation prevent wave erosion of salt marsh edges?
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 significantly 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 best-suited 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.
Feagin
R A
RA
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA. feaginr@tamu.edu
Lozada-Bernard
S M
SM
Ravens
T M
TM
Möller
I
I
Yeager
K M
KM
Baird
A H
AH
D063245:Plant Development; D054712:Salinity; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil; D053833:Wetlands
D012987:Soil; D012965:Sodium Chloride