CURRENT WORK
University of Connecticut | College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
DISSERTATION: BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR COASTAL MARSH RESTORATION
CHAPTER 1. OUTCOMES OF COASTAL MARSH RESTORATION
Purpose: Defining the many ways people restore coastal marshes, any tradeoffs and what the best use of each method is.
There are a number of strategies for improving hydrology, changing marsh elevation, and restoring vegetation communities that improve individual salt marsh function and coastline resilience (Keer and Zedler 2002; Bauchsbaum et al 2006; Feagin and Wu 2006).
-no standards in strategy, outcomes, or monitoring
-tradeoffs that are not always addressed
Chapter 1 addresses this gap: compiling information across existing literature to evaluate best management practices and ecosystem service tradeoffs for coastal marsh restoration strategies.
CHAPTER 2. EFFECTS OF GRAIN SIZE AND POREWATER CHEMISTRY ON PLANT COMMUNITIES SUBJECT TO THIN LAYER PLACEMENT
Previous TLP study focuses on depth of sediment application as a key method to achieve restoration outcomes (Puchkoff et al 2021, Raposa et al 2023). Typical application utilizes dredged material, due to its logistical ease (close to/part of restoration projects). However, as the technique gains popularity, more work is needed to understand how sediment type is important to achieve restoration outcomes, and how managers can leverage these parameters.
We lack understanding of how different sediment grain sizes influence vegetation recovery trajectories after TLP implementation.
CHAPTER 3. EVALUATING SEDIMENT AMENDMENTS TO THIN LAYER PLACEMENT IN AREAS WITH ACID SULFATE SOIL
Amendments and TLP are understudied: A few studies quantify how iron can bind to sulfide in environmental systems (Ali et al 2008; Mehotra and Sedlak 2005), or in agricultural systems where lime is used to neutralize a low pH (Vossen n.d).
But none are specific to Thin Layer Placement, or use materials available en mass to managers.
Chapter 3 addresses this gap: amendments that are widely available and accessible
TLP and Acid Sulfate Soils
JOINT AQUATIC SCIENCE MEETING
I attended my first in person conference in 4 years in May 2022! The Joint Aquatic Science Meeting was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was a meeting of 9 different aquatic societies. I attended the meeting as a CERF member (Coastal Estuarine Research Federation) but also left as a Society of Wetland Scientists member!
POSTER PRESENTATION
I created a poster (left) on my experimental project looking at soil amendments as solutions for the development of Acid Sulfate Soils in Thin Layer Placement Deposition.
POSTER IS USED AGAIN!
I took the same poster, and brought it to the New England Estuarine Research Society, 50th meeting at Salem State University!
CHAPTER 4. MANAGEMENT SCALE RESTORATION
The marsh restoration will inform managers on how to adapt to the conditions present in their system that can cause acid sulfate soils and amend as needed to ensure restoration success.
This is a necessary gap to fill in the field of restoration as previous studies rely upon space for time, and small-scale experimentation(Doroski et al 2019; Walters and Kirwan 2016; Raposa et al 2023) to inform management decisions, while this work happens on the marsh scale, and has all factors at play.
Chapter 4 addresses this gap: Synthesizing information from marsh scale TLP restoration, to understand how the method, and amendments work on the restoration scale.