Indirect Environmental Effects of Dikes on Estuarine Tidal Channels: Thinking Outside of the Dike for Habitat Restoration and Monitoring
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed historical photos of the Skagit River delta marshes (Washington, U.S.) and compared changes in estuarine marsh and tidal channel surface area from 1956-2000 in the Wiley Slough area of the South Fork Skagits delta, and from 1937-2000 on the North Fork delta.
Abstract: While the most obvious effects of dike construction and marsh conversion are those affecting the con- verted land (direct or intended effects), less immediately apparent effects also occur seaward of dikes (indirect or unintended effects). I analyzed historical photos of the Skagit River delta marshes (Washington, U.S.) and compared changes in estuarine marsh and tidal channel surface area from 1956-2000 in the Wiley Slough area of the South Fork Skagit delta, and from 1937-2000 in the North Fork delta. Dike construction in the late 1950s caused the loss of 80 ha of estuarine marsh and 6.7 ha of tidal channel landward of the Wiley Slough dikes. A greater amount of tidal channel surface area, 9.6 ha, was lost seaward of the dikes. Similar losses were observed for two smaller North Fork tidal channel systems. Tidal channels far from dikes did not show comparable changes in channel surface area. These results are consistent with hydraulic geometry theory, which predicts that diking reduces tidal flushing in the undiked channel remnants and this results in sedimentation. Dikes may have significant seaward effects on plants and animals associated with tidal channel habitat. Another likely indirect dike effect is decreased sinuosity in a distributary channel of the South Fork Skagit River adjacent to and downstream of the Wiley Slough dikes, compared to distributary channels upstream or distant from the dikes. Loss of floodplain area to diking and marsh conversion prevents flood energy dissipation over the marsh surface. The distributary channel has responded to greater flood energy by increasing mean channel width and decreasing sinuosity. Restoration of diked areas should consider historic habitat loss seaward of dikes, as well as possible benefits to these areas from dike breaching or removal. Habitat restoration by breaching or removal of dikes should be monitored in areas directly affected by dikes, areas indirectly affected, and distinct reference areas.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a modeling study for the Skagit River estuary using a three-dimensional unstructured grid, finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) supported by high-resolution LIDAR data is presented.
93 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the growing understanding of the importance of sediment in the deltaic social-ecological system may be revealing an emergent risk; arising from conflicting long and short-term adaptation and agricultural development objectives.
Abstract: Deltas around the globe are facing a multitude of intensifying environmental change and development-linked pressures. One key concern is the reduction in the quantity of suspended sediment reaching and building floodplains. Sediment deposition provides multiple services to deltaic social-ecological systems, in particular, countering the subsidence of the delta-body, and providing plentiful nutrients. Experiencing particularly rapid change is the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). In An Giang Province an increasing number of high dyke rings, which exclude the flood and facilitate triple rice-cropping, simultaneously prevent much of the sediment load from reaching the floodplain. This paper explores the trade-offs implicit in the decision to shift from (i) doublecropping (higher sediment deposition) to (ii) triple cropping (lower sediment deposition) by asking: what is the impact of the shift on VMD farmers? Is it sustainable? And what is the significance of the associated sediment exclusion? A novel survey of An Giang rice farmers was conducted, investigating key agricultural practices, and uniquely, the farmers’ estimates of annual sediment deposition depth. The survey elicits some key changes under the adapted system (ii), particularly, unsustainable trajectories in the yield to fertiliser ratio which penalise land-poor farmers. Furthermore, the value (to farmers) of the sediment contribution to agricultural fertilisation which is lost due to triple-cropping is estimated at USD 15 (±5) million annually. We argue that our growing understanding of the importance of sediment in the deltaic social-ecological system may be revealing an emergent risk; arising from conflicting long and short-term adaptation and agricultural development objectives.
67 citations
Cites background from "Indirect Environmental Effects of D..."
...The compartments which are formed facilitate highly productive agriculture in deltas around the world, such as the Pearl (Seto et al. 2002), Nile (Nixon 2003), Mekong (Hung et al. 2014), Ebro (Ibáñez et al. 1997), and Skagit (Hood 2004)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the most prominent environmental threats to tidalmarsh vertebrates including habitat loss (fragmentation, reductions in available sediment, and sea-level rise), habitat deterioration (contaminants, water quality, and human disturbance), and competitive interactions (invasive species, predation, mosquito and other vector control, and disease).
Abstract: The San Francisco Bay and delta system comprises the largest estuary along the Pacifi c Coast of the Americas and the largest remaining area for tidal-marsh vertebrates, yet tidal marshes have been dramatically altered since the middle of the 19th century. Although recent efforts to restore ecological functions are notable, numerous threats to both endemic and widespread marsh organisms, including habitat loss, are still present. The historic extent of wetlands in the estuary included 2,200 km2 of tidal marshes, of which only 21% remain, but these tidal marshes comprise >90% of all remaining tidal marshes in California. In this paper, we present the most prominent environmental threats to tidalmarsh vertebrates including habitat loss (fragmentation, reductions in available sediment, and sea-level rise), habitat deterioration (contaminants, water quality, and human disturbance), and competitive interactions (invasive species, predation, mosquito and other vector control, and disease). We discuss these threats in light of the hundreds of proposed and ongoing projects to restore wetlands in the estuary and suggest research needs to support future decisions on restoration planning.
52 citations
Cites background from "Indirect Environmental Effects of D..."
...…on the bayside edges of levees where new marshes formed over sediments accreted during the 1850s. Levee networks, tide-control structures, and mosquito ditches not only fragmented wildlife habitat but also altered the hydrology and sediment dispersion patterns of outboard levee areas (Hood 2004)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of habitat-management practices in coastal marshes have been poorly evaluated and the extant literature concerning whether these manipulations achieve their goals and the effects on target organisms and non-target organisms (particularly coastal-marsh endemics).
Abstract: The effects of habitat-management practices in coastal marshes have been poorly evaluated. We summarize the extant literature concerning whether these manipulations achieve their goals and the effects of these manipulations on target (i.e., waterfowl and waterfowl food plants) and non-target organisms (particularly coastal-marsh endemics). Although we focus on the effects of marsh management on birds, we also summarize the scant literature concerning the impacts of marsh manipulations on wildlife such as small mammals and invertebrates. We address three common forms of anthropogenic marsh disturbance: prescribed fi re, structural marsh management, and open-marsh water management. We also address marsh perturbations by native and introduced vertebrates.
51 citations
TL;DR: This study suggests operational strategies for a multi-reservoir system that can be used to reduce the nutrient load being discharged from reservoirs to help improve water quality in the southwestern part of South Korea.
51 citations
Cites background from "Indirect Environmental Effects of D..."
...Diking of estuarine and tidal flows has been an extensive practice in downstream rivers used to effectively manage coastal areas (Hood, 2004), as it plays an important role in the supply of freshwater resources in agricultural areas, preventing floods, etc. (Wetzel, 2001)....
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References
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TL;DR: This book is a blend of erudition, popularization, and exposition, and the illustrations include many superb examples of computer graphics that are works of art in their own right.
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TL;DR: A blend of erudition (fascinating and sometimes obscure historical minutiae abound), popularization (mathematical rigor is relegated to appendices) and exposition (the reader need have little knowledge of the fields involved) is presented in this article.
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"Indirect Environmental Effects of D..." refers background in this paper
...Tidal channel allometry follows from a more general fractal theory of landforms (RodriguezIturbe and Rinaldo 1997), and the scaling of perimeter with surface area is a common reflection of landform fractal geometry (Mandelbrot 1983; Sugihara and May 1990)....
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"Indirect Environmental Effects of D..." refers background in this paper
...Greater adjustment in width relative to depth with changing discharge is consistent with hydraulic geometry theory (Leopold et al. 1964)....
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...Because high sinuosity is associated with small channel width relative to depth (Leopold et al. 1964), the observed correlation between changes in sinuosity and in mean channel width suggests that distributary channel widths changed to a greater degree than channel depths....
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...As a final error check, meander bends in tidal channels were examined at scales ranging from 1:1,000 to 1:10,000 to determine whether erosion had occurred in the cut banks of the meanders and sediment deposition at the point bars, in accord with theoretical expectations (Leopold et al. 1964)....
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...Sinuosity was the ratio of sinuous length to straight length (Leopold et al. 1964)....
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