Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Health and Long Term Stability of Natural and Restored Marshes in Chesapeake Bay

  • Chapter
Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology

Abstract

Recent evidence in Chesapeake Bay suggests that the majority of the tidal marsh acreage has been negatively affected by sea-level rise in recent years. The ultimate impact, total marsh loss, centers on Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) which has encountered particularly high rates of land subsidence in the twentieth century. Analysis using digitized photography has revealed that marshes are being lost more rapidly in the northern than southern sections of Blackwater. The former is closest to the center of a large cone of depression in the most important underlying aquifer in the region. The groundwater withdrawals at Cambridge correspond to a rapid rise in sea level which appears to be two to three times the present global rate of 1 to 2 mm y−1. The declining health of the marshes, reflected in reduced productivity, canopy thinning, channel enlargement, rotten spots and salt pans as well as ultimate conversion to mudflat and open water, can be tracked using satellite imagery. Although not as dramatic as marsh conversion to open water at Blackwater NWR (over 50% during the 20th century), other marshes on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland show clear signs of incipient change. Past attempts at restoring Blackwater marshes have not been successful due in part to the combination of excessive grazing by muskrats and nutria as well as anthropogenic influences (reduced diel tidal amplitude because of road building, increasing salinity because of canals, and possibly large-scale burning).Ultimately, restoration efforts depend on the maintenance of groundwater pressure and/or on supplementation of the system with sediment from other sources to keep them abreast of rising sea level. Restoration efforts will depend not only on controlling groundwater withdrawals, but possibly in revitalizing existing marshes by promoting rhizosphere oxygenation. Where these strategies are not practical, more innovative approaches may be necessary such as the use of highly productive species (e.g., Phragmites australis) that appear to be more efficient in promoting sedimentation and long term accretion than other marsh species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Literature Cited

  • Barras, J.A., P.E. Bourgeois, L.R. Handley. 1994. Land loss in coastal Louisiana 1956–1990. National Biological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center, Open File Report 94-01.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besitka, M.A. 1996. An ecological and historical study of Phragmites australis along the Atlantic Coast. Thesis. Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, B.W. 1997. Sinkholes, soils, fractures and drainage: Interstate 70 near Frederick, Maryland. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience 3:469–485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M.L. and R. G. Brown. 1984. Herbaceous Plants of Maryland. Port City Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon, D.R. 1994. Recent accretion in two managed marsh impoundments in coastal Louisiana. Ecological Applications 4:166–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon, D.R. and J.H. Cowan, Jr. 1988. Environmental impacts and regulatory policy implications of spray disposal of dredged material in Louisiana wetlands. Coastal Management 16:341–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon, D.R. and C.G. Groat, editors. 1990. A study of marsh management practice in coastal Louisiana. Volume I: Executive summary. Final report submitted to Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, Contract No. 14-12-0001-30410, OCS Study/MMS 90-0075.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chabreck, R. H. 1982. Effects of burn date and regrowth rate of Scirpus olneyi and Spartina patens. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 35:201–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chrysler, M. A. 1910. The ecological plant geography of Maryland, coastal zone, western shore district. Pages 149–193 in F. Shreve, M.A. Chrysler, F. H. Blodgett and F. W. Besley, editors. The plant life of Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coops, H., N. Geilen, H. J. Verheij, R. Boeters, G. van der Velde. 1996. Interactions between waves, bank erosion and emergent vegetation: an experimental study in a wave tank. Aquatic Botany 53:187–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, D.H. and K. L. Fleming. 1989. Control of Phragmites or common reed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report CO.RWS/OIT-13.4.12: 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Culliton, TJ., M.A. Warren, L.R. Goodspeed, D.G. Remer, C.M. Blackwell and J.J. McDonough. 1990. The second report of a coastal trends series: 50 years of population change along the nation’s coasts, 19602010. Strategic Assessment Branch, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rockville, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curray, J. R. 1965. Late quaternary history, continental shelves of the United States. Pages 723–735 in H. E. Wright and D. G. Frey, editors, The Quaternary of the United States. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, P. B., B. G. Drake, P. W. Leadley, W. J. Arp and D. F. Whigham 1989a. Growth and senescence in plant communities exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations on an estuarine marsh. Oecologia 78:20–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, P. B. and B.G. Drake and D.F. Whigham 1989b. Nitrogen and carbon dynamics in C3 and C4 estuarine marsh plants grown under elevated CO2 in situ. Oecologia 78:297–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darmody, R. G. and J. E. Foss. 1979. Soil-landscape relationships of the tidal marshes of Maryland. Soil Science of America Journal 43: 534–541.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darmody, R.G. 1975. Reconnaissance survey of the tidal marsh soils of Maryland. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, G. H. 1985. Land subsidence and sea-level rise on the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States. Environmental Geology and Water Science 10:67–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, J. W. Jr., F. Scarton, A. Rismondo and D. Are. 1998. Rapid deterioration of a salt marsh in Venice Lagoon, Italy. Journal of Coastal Research 14: 583–590.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewar, J.L. and J.C. Stevenson. 1998. High nitrate groundwater effects on a sandy fringe marsh mesocosm. Presentation, concepts and controversies in tidal Marsh ecology, Vineland, New Jersey, USA, April. 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, B.C. 1991. Global sea-level rise. Journal of Geophysical Research 96:6981–6982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, B.C. 1995. Global sea-level change: determination and interpretation. U.S. National Representative of the International Union Geodetics and Geophysics. 1991–1994. Review of Geophysics 33:1425–1432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dozier H. L., M. H. Markley and L. M. Lewllyn. 1948. Muskrat investigations on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, 19411945. Journal of Wildlife Management 12:177–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairbanks, R. G. 1989. A 17,000-year glacio-eustatic sea-level record: Influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature 342:637–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, J. E. 1998. Historical Perspectives on Climate Change, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, M. and J. B. Grace. 1998. The interactive effects of fire and herbivory on a coastal marsh in Louisiana. Wetlands 18:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foss, J. E., D. S. Fanning, F. P. Miller and D. P. Wagner. 1978. Loess deposits of the eastern shore of Maryland. Soil Science Society of America Journal 42: 329–334.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Froomer, N. L. 1980. Sea-level changes in the Chesapeake Bay during historic times. Marine Geology 36: 289–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gambolati, G., P. Gatto and R. A. Freeze. 1974. Predictive simulation of subsidence of Venice. Science 183:849–851.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gatto P. and L. Carbognin. 1981. The lagoon of Venice: natural environmental trend and man-induced modification. Hydrological Science Bulletin 26: 379–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L.M. and S.J. Baker. 1989. The eradication of muskrats and coypus from Britain. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 38:39–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graneli, W. 1989. Influence of standing litter on shoot production in reed, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel. Aquatic Botany 35:99–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hellings, S. E and J. L. Gallagher. 1992. The effects of salinity and flooding on Phragmites australis. Journal of Applied Ecology 29:41–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdahl, S. R. and N. L. Morrison. 1974. Regional investigations of vertical crustal movements in the U. S., using precise relevelings and mareograph data. Tectonophysics 23:373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, T. 1982. Notes on the State of Virginia. W. Peden, editor, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, A. I. and D. A. Morris. 1962. Relation of volumetric shrinkage to clay content of sediments from the San Joaquin Valley, California. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 450B, 59 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L.A. and A.L. Foote. 1997. Vertebrate herbivory in managed coastal wetlands: a manipulative experiment. Aquatic Botany 59:17–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, E. 1902. History of Dorchester County. Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. L. and W. C. Lehman. 1987. Phragmites control and revegetation following aerial applications of glyphosate in Delaware. Pages 184–199 in W.R. Whitman and W. H. Meredith, editors. Waterfowl and wetlands symposium, Dover, Delaware, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, M.S. 1996. Sea-level change during the last thousand years in Chesapeake Bay. Journal of Coastal Research, 12:977–983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, M.S., R. E. Grace and J. C. Stevenson. 1988. Marsh loss in the Nanticoke Estuary, Chesapeake Bay. Geographical Review 78:205–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, M S. and J. C. Stevenson. 1991. Island land loss and marsh vertical accretion rate evidence for historical sea-level changes in Chesapeake Bay. Journal of Coastal Research 7:403–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, M.S., J. C. Stevenson and L. G. Ward. 1994. Spatial and temporal changes in marsh vertical accretion rates at Monie Bay: implications for sea-level rise. Journal of Coastal Research 10:1010–1020.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knutson, P. L. 1988. Wave damping in Spartina alterniflora marshes. Wetlands 2:87–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koch, M.S., LA. Mendelssohn and K.L. McKee. 1990. Mechanism for the hydrogen sulfide-induced growth limitation in wetland macrophytes. Limnology and Oceanography 35:399–408.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mack, F.K., W.E. Webb and R.A. Gardner. 1971. Water resources of Dorchester and Talbot Counties, Maryland, with special emphasis on the ground-water potential of the Cambridge and Easton areas. Report of Investigations No. 17, Maryland Geological Survey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marks, M., B. Lapin and J. Randall. 1994. Phragmites australis (P. communis): threats, management and monitoring. Natural Areas Journal 14:285–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meade, R. H. 1966. Factors influencing the early stages of the compaction of clays and sands—a review. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. 36:1085–1101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelssohn, I. A., K. L. McKee and W. H. Patrick. 1981. Oxygen deficiency in Spartina alterniflora roots: metabolic adaptation to anoxia. Science 214:214-439-441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzler, K. and R. Rozsa. 1987. Additional notes on the tidal wetlands of the Connecticut River. Newsletter of the Connecticut Botanical Society 15:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J. T. B. Kjerfve and J. M. Dean. 1990. Dependence of estuarine productivity on anomalies in mean sea-level. Limnology and Oceanography 24:960–966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myneni, R. B., C. D. Keeling, C. J. Tucker, G. Asar and R. R. Newmani. 1997. Increased plant growth in the northern high latitudes from 1981 to. 1991. Nature 386:698–702.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nerem, R.S., T.M. van Dam and M.S. Schenewerk. 1998. Chesapeake Bay subsidence monitored as wetlands loss continues. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union 79:149,156–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niering, W.A. and R.S. Warren. 1977. Our dynamic tidal marshes: vegetation changes as revealed by peat analysis. Connecticut Arboretum Bulletin 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. G. 1991. Ecological health and resource management Pages 102–117 in R. Costanza, editor. Ecological economics. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, E. P. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • -1980. The status of three ecosystem-level hypotheses regarding salt marsh estuaries: tidal subsidy, outwelling and detritus-based food chains. Pages 485–495 in V. S. Kennedy, editor. Estuarine perspectives, Academic Press New York, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, W.E., T.J. Smith III, J.K. Hoover and C.C. McIvor. 1984. The ecology of tidal freshwater marshes of the United States. Biological Services Program (FWS/OBS-83/17). Slidell, Louisiana: United States Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orson, R.A., W.A. Niering and R.S. Warren. 1987. The development of a New England river valley tidal marsh. Estuaries 10:20–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostendorp, W. 1989. Die-back of reeds in Europe-a critical review of the literature. Aquatic Botany 35:5–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • -1993. Reed bed characteristics and significance of reeds in landscape ecology. Pages 149–161 in W. Ostendorp and P. Krumscheid-Plankert, editors. Lakeshore deterioration and restoration works in central Europe. Gustav Fischer, New York, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pendleton, E. and J. C. Stevenson. 1983. Investigations of marsh losses at Blackwater Refuge. Final Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Tidewater Administration of Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poland, J. F. 1972. Land subsidence in the western United States due to groundwater overdraft. Water Resources Bulletin 8:118–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poland J. F. and G. H. Davis. 1969. Land subsidence due to withdrawal of fluids. Pages 187–269 in D. J. Varness and G. Kiersch, editors. Reviews in engineering geology, Volume 2, Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rampino, M. E. and J. Sanders. 1981. Episodic growth of Holocene tidal marshes in the northeastern United States: a possible indicator of eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Geology 9:63–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, D.J. 1989. Patterns of sediment deposition in subsiding coastal salt marshes, Terrebone Bay, Louisiana: the role of winter storms. Estuaries 12:222–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice, D. and J. C. Stevenson. 1996. The distribution and expansion rate of Phragmites australis in six marshes in Chesapeake Bay. Pages 467–476 in C.A. Hallam, J. M. Salisbury, K. L. Lanfer and W.A. Battaglin, editors. Proceedings of the American Water Resource Association annual (AWRA) symposium, GIS and Water Resources, AWRA, Herndon, Virginia, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rooth, J.E. and J.C. Stevenson. 1998. Vertical accretion in Phragmites australis and Spartina spp. communities in mid-Atlantic marshes: implications for coastal areas threatened by rising sea-level. Presentation, concepts and controversies in tidal marsh ecology, Vineland, New Jersey, USA, April. 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rule, T.C. 1995. Groundwater withdrawal, land subsidence and marsh loss in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder, W. W. and A. Shultz and O. H. Pilkey. 1995. Late Quaternary oyster shells and sea-level history, Inner Shelf, northeast Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Coastal Research 11:664–674.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stauffer, B., T. Blunier, A. Dällenbach, A. Indermühle, J. Schwander, T. F. Stocker, T. Tshumi, J. Chappellaz, D. Raynaud, C.U. Hammer and H. B. Clausen. 1998. Atmospheric CO2 concentration and millennial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period. Nature 392:59–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steever, E. Z., R. S. Warren and W. A. Neiring. 1976. Tidal energy subsidy and standing crop production of Spartina alterniflora. Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Science 4:473–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C., L.G. Ward, M.S. Kearney and T.E. Jordan 1985a. Sedimentary processes and sea-level rise in tidal marsh systems of Chesapeake Bay, Pages 37–62. in H.A. Groman et al., editors. Wetlands of the Chesapeake. Environmental Law Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C., M.S. Kearney and E.C. Pendleton. 1985b. Sedimentation and erosion in a Chesapeake Bay brackish marsh system. Marine Geology 67:213–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C., L.G. Ward and M.S. Kearney. 1986. Vertical accretion in marshes with varying rates of sea-level rise. Pages 241–259 in D. Wolfe, editor. Estuarine variability. Academic Press, New York, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C., L.G. Ward and M.S. Kearney. 1988. Sediment transport and trapping in marsh systems: implications of tidal flux studies. Marine Geology 80:37–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C. and M. S. Kearney. 1996. Shoreline dynamics on the windward and leeward shores of a large temperate estuary. Pages 233–259 in K. F. Nordstrom and C. T. Roman, editors. Estuarine shores: evolution, environments and human alterations. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. C., I. J. Marusic, B. Ozretic, A. Marson, G. Cecconii and M. S. Kearney. 1999. Shallow water and shoreline ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay compared to the Northern Adriatic Sea: transformation of habitat at the land-sea margin. Pages 29–80 in T.C. Malone, A. Malej, L.W. Harding, N. Smodlaka and R.E. Turner, editors. Ecosystems at the land-sea margin: drainage basin to coastal sea. American Geophysical Union, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Takeda, S. and Y. Kurihara. 1988. The effects of reed, Phragmites australis (Trin.), on substratum grainsize distribution in a salt marsh. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 44:103–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, G. C. 1990. The genera of Arundinoideae (Gramineae) in the Southeastern United States. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 71:145–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigley, T. M. L., R. Ricchels and J.A. Edmonds. 1996. Economic and environmental choices in the stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nature 379:240–243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Windham, L. 1995. Effects of Phragmites australis invasion on aboveground biomass and soil properties in brackish tidal marsh of the Mullica River, New Jersey. Thesis, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 775, Cambridge, MD, 21613, USA

    J. C. Stevenson, J.E. Rooth & K.L. Sundberg

  2. Department of Geography, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    M.S. Kearney

Authors
  1. J. C. Stevenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J.E. Rooth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K.L. Sundberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M.S. Kearney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, Fort Hancock, NJ, USA

    Michael P. Weinstein

  2. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Daniel A. Kreeger

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stevenson, J.C., Rooth, J., Sundberg, K., Kearney, M. (2002). The Health and Long Term Stability of Natural and Restored Marshes in Chesapeake Bay. In: Weinstein, M.P., Kreeger, D.A. (eds) Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47534-0_31

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47534-0_31

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-6019-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-47534-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation