Coastal Wetlands

Coastal Wetlands PDF Author: Gerardo M.E. Perillo
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080932134
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 975

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Book Description
Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world. - Includes a CD containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

Coastal Wetlands

Coastal Wetlands PDF Author: Gerardo M.E. Perillo
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080932134
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 975

Get Book Here

Book Description
Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world. - Includes a CD containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

Approaches to Coastal Wetland Restoration

Approaches to Coastal Wetland Restoration PDF Author: Robert Eugene Turner
Publisher: Kugler Publications
ISBN: 9789051031416
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Wetlands Lost. The 1,879 thousand hectares of coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) comprise 58% of the U.S. coastal wetland total (Turner and Gosselink 1975). These wetlands occur in every GOM state, although two-thirds of the GOM total are in Louisiana, and are typically associated with estuaries, bays, rivers, and the lee-side of barrier islands. The objective of this book is to facilitate and encourage the restoration of these and other wetlands by reviewing the details of construction and costs (which can range from $1 to $45,000 per hectare), and by evaluating case studies for levels of success. Each approach is presented in brief chapters outlining the essential points of "what, why, and how" the approach can be planned and implemented. The driving purpose, or goal, of this book is to accelerate regional wetland gains and to promote cost-effective practices in wetland restoration. Why do we think that this book is necessary? The area of wetlands has been diminishing almost everywhere for the last several hundred years, but particularly this century, as the twin juggernauts of population growth and per capita resource exploitation expanded. In 1927, as the Great Depression in the U.S. was about to start, there were 2 billion people on the planet. There were 6 billion people on the Earth in the year 2000 and by 2054 there will be 9 billion. Two hundred years ago there were 89.5 million ha of wetlands in the contiguous 48 U.S. states (Dahl 1990). By 1997 this area had shrunk to 42.7 million ha (Dahl 2001). From the 1970s to the mid-1980s, the annual wetland loss rate was 117,400 ha (Dahl and Johnson 1991). The official national policy of "no net loss" may be why the wetland loss rate slowed to 23.7 thousand ha yr-1 from 1986 to 1997 (Dahl 2001). Although wetland loss rates have also declined in coastal Louisiana in recent years, Louisiana experienced particularly high coastal wetland loss rates of 12.5 thousand ha yr-1 (0.86% yr-1) from 1956 to 1978 (Baumann and Turner 1990). Thus, wetland loss has become a national concern (National Research Council 1991; Dahl 2001, National Research Council 2001) and particularly in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We hope to contribute to the reversal of these wetland losses by presenting wetland restoration and creation approaches appropriate for the Northern Gulf of Mexico, and perhaps elsewhere. (taken from the introduction)

A Blue Carbon Primer

A Blue Carbon Primer PDF Author: Lisamarie Windham-Myers
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781498769099
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Blue Carbon has emerged as a term that represents the distinctive carbon stocks and fluxes into or out of coastal wetlands such as marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses. The Blue Carbon concept has rapidly developed in science literature and is highly relevant politically, as nations and markets are developing blue carbon monitoring and management tools and policies. This book is a compendium of the state of the science, the state of maps and mapping protocols, and the state of policy incentives (including economic valuation of blue carbon), with additional sections on operationalizing blue carbon projects and case studies with global relevance.

Climate Intervention

Climate Intervention PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309305322
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
The signals are everywhere that our planet is experiencing significant climate change. It is clear that we need to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from our atmosphere if we want to avoid greatly increased risk of damage from climate change. Aggressively pursuing a program of emissions abatement or mitigation will show results over a timescale of many decades. How do we actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make a bigger difference more quickly? As one of a two-book report, this volume of Climate Intervention discusses CDR, the carbon dioxide removal of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere and sequestration of it in perpetuity. Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration introduces possible CDR approaches and then discusses them in depth. Land management practices, such as low-till agriculture, reforestation and afforestation, ocean iron fertilization, and land-and-ocean-based accelerated weathering, could amplify the rates of processes that are already occurring as part of the natural carbon cycle. Other CDR approaches, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture and sequestration, and traditional carbon capture and sequestration, seek to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and dispose of it by pumping it underground at high pressure. This book looks at the pros and cons of these options and estimates possible rates of removal and total amounts that might be removed via these methods. With whatever portfolio of technologies the transition is achieved, eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from the global energy and transportation systems will pose an enormous technical, economic, and social challenge that will likely take decades of concerted effort to achieve. Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration will help to better understand the potential cost and performance of CDR strategies to inform debate and decision making as we work to stabilize and reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Structure, Functioning and Conservation of Coastal Vegetated Wetlands

Structure, Functioning and Conservation of Coastal Vegetated Wetlands PDF Author: Jonathan Richir
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 288963843X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description


Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems

Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 9780309045346
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 580

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Book Description
Aldo Leopold, father of the "land ethic," once said, "The time has come for science to busy itself with the earth itself. The first step is to reconstruct a sample of what we had to begin with." The concept he expressedâ€"restorationâ€"is defined in this comprehensive new volume that examines the prospects for repairing the damage society has done to the nation's aquatic resources: lakes, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems outlines a national strategy for aquatic restoration, with practical recommendations, and features case studies of aquatic restoration activities around the country. The committee examines: Key concepts and techniques used in restoration. Common factors in successful restoration efforts. Threats to the health of the nation's aquatic ecosystems. Approaches to evaluation before, during, and after a restoration project. The emerging specialties of restoration and landscape ecology.

Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act

Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309133025
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Recognizing the importance of wetland protection, the Bush administration in 1988 endorsed the goal of "no net loss" of wetlands. Specifically, it directed that filling of wetlands should be avoided, and minimized when it cannot be avoided. When filling is permitted, compensatory mitigation must be undertaken; that is, wetlands must be restored, created, enhanced, and, in exceptional cases, preserved, to replace the permitted loss of wetland area and function, such as water quality improvement within the watershed. After more than a dozen years, the national commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands has been evaluated. This new book explores the adequacy of science and technology for replacing wetland function and the effectiveness of the federal program of compensatory mitigation in accomplishing the nation's goal of clean water. It examines the regulatory framework for permitting wetland filling and requiring mitigation, compares the mitigation institutions that are in use, and addresses the problems that agencies face in ensuring sustainability of mitigated wetlands over the long term. Gleaning lessons from the mixed results of mitigation efforts to date, the book offers 10 practical guidelines for establishing and monitoring mitigated wetlands. It also recommends that federal, state, and local agencies undertake specific institutional reforms. This book will be important to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the "no net loss" issue: policy makers, regulators, environmental scientists, educators, and wetland advocates.

Creating and Restoring Wetlands

Creating and Restoring Wetlands PDF Author: Christopher Craft
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128239824
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Creating and Restoring Wetlands: From Theory to Practice, Second Edition describes the challenges and opportunities relating to the restoration of freshwater and estuarine wetlands in natural, agricultural, and urban environments in the coming century. This second edition is structured by clearly defined chapters based on specific wetland types (e.g. Peatlands, Mangroves) and with a consistent and coherent organization for ease of discoverability. The table of contents is divided into four main subjects: Foundations, Restoration of Freshwater Wetlands, Restoration of Estuarine Wetlands, and From Theory to Practice, each with multiple chapters. Part 1, Foundations, contains chapters describing definitions of wetlands, ecological theory used to guide restoration, and considerations on where to implement restoration on the landscape. In Parts 2 and 3, restoration of specific freshwater (marshes, forests, peatlands) and estuarine (tidal marshes, mangroves) wetlands are described. Part 4, From Theory to Practice, contains chapters describing performance standards to gauge success of projects and case studies describing small-scale and large-scale restoration projects of various freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Each chapter contains clearly labeled sections which assist the reader to quickly and easily key in on the subject matter that they are seeking. The approach of Creating and Restoring Wetlands is unique in that, in each chapter, it links ecological theory important to ecosystem restoration with practical techniques to undertake and implement successful wetland restoration projects, including recommendations for performance standards to gauge success as well as realistic expectations and timescales for achieving success. Each chapter ends with a summary table describing keys to ensure success for a given wetland ecosystem. - Each chapter ends with a summary table describing keys to ensure success for a given wetland ecosystem - Written by a single author, providing a consistent structure that is coherent, cohesive and well referenced - Contains case studies of small- and large-scale restoration activities ensuring relevance to individuals and organizations

Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico

Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309440378
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Gulf Coast communities and natural resources suffered extensive direct and indirect damage as a result of the largest accidental oil spill in US history, referred to as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Notably, natural resources affected by this major spill include wetlands, coastal beaches and barrier islands, coastal and marine wildlife, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, commercial fisheries, deep benthos, and coral reefs, among other habitats and species. Losses include an estimated 20% reduction in commercial fishery landings across the Gulf of Mexico and damage to as much as 1,100 linear miles of coastal salt marsh wetlands. This historic spill is being followed by a restoration effort unparalleled in complexity and magnitude in U.S. history. Legal settlements in the wake of DWH led to the establishment of a set of programs tasked with administering and supporting DWH-related restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. In order to ensure that restoration goals are met and money is well spent, restoration monitoring and evaluation should be an integral part of those programs. However, evaluations of past restoration efforts have shown that monitoring is often inadequate or even absent. Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico identifies best practices for monitoring and evaluating restoration activities to improve the performance of restoration programs and increase the effectiveness and longevity of restoration projects. This report provides general guidance for restoration monitoring, assessment, and synthesis that can be applied to most ecological restoration supported by these major programs given their similarities in restoration goals. It also offers specific guidance for a subset of habitats and taxa to be restored in the Gulf including oyster reefs, tidal wetlands, and seagrass habitats, as well as a variety of birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

Coastal Wetlands: Alteration and Remediation

Coastal Wetlands: Alteration and Remediation PDF Author: Charles W. Finkl
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319561790
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 879

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Book Description
This book delves into human-induced and natural impacts on coastal wetlands, intended or otherwise, through a series of vignettes that elucidate the environmental insults and efforts at amelioration and remediation. The alteration, and subsequent restoration, of wetland habitats remain key issues among coastal scientists. These topics are introduced through case studies and pilot programs that are designed to better understand the best practices of trying to save what is left of these fragile ecosystems. Local approaches, as well as national and international efforts to restore the functionality of marsh systems are summarily approached and evaluated by their efficacy in producing resilient reclamations in terms of climate-smart habitat conservation. The outlook of this work is global in extent and local by intent. Included here in summarized form are professional opinions of experts in the field that investigate the crux of the matter, which proves to be human pressure on coastal wetland environments. Even though conservation and preservation of these delicate environmental systems may be coming at a later date, many multi-pronged approaches show promise through advances in education, litigation, and engineering to achieve sustainable coastal systems. The examples in this book are not only of interest to those working exclusively with coastal wetlands, but also to those working to protect the surrounding coastal areas of all types.