SLIDE 1
STATUS OF RHODE ISLAND SALT MARSHES AND THE IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE
Marci Cole Ekberg1 Wenley Ferguson1 Kenny Raposa2
1 2
Beach SAMP Public Stakeholder Meeting October 22, 2014
SLIDE 2
historic salt marshes
centuries* due to filling (loss of about 4,000 acres statewide)
wide assessment of human impacts to salt marshes in 1996 to identify restoration
- pportunities
- Impacted marshes have
since been restored by multiple partners
* Bromberg and Bertness, 2005
1972 1939
SLIDE 3 2010 2004
- Monitoring tidally restricted
marshes has shown that conditions can change rapidly
conditions have been found in marshes with no tidal restrictions
- Increased rate of sea level
rise could be major driver
Gooseneck Cove 2010
SLIDE 4
Initial field and aerial assessment of marshes
SLIDE 5 HEIGHT NOW
Adapted from: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/ sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=8452660%20Newport,%20RI Boothroyd 2013
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Interannual variation since 1990 at Newport, RI
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USACE and NOAA SLR Curves
http://corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm
SLIDE 8 Region-wide assessment of Narragansett Bay and RI South Shore salt marshes: 2012-2014
Goals of RISMA:
marsh condition
- Monitor changes
- ver time of
vegetation communities
management
SLIDE 9 Bearing Capacity Belt Transect
- Monitored vegetation every 10
meters and width of plant communities
- Measured bearing capacity
- Additional data: salinity, mosquito
density, fish presence
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Source: Maine SeaGrant
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Shallow ponded water
Defined pool in foreground versus shallow standing water Mosquito breeding habitat
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Barren peat Degraded Spartina alterniflora Narrow high marsh along upland edge
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Marsh erosion
SLIDE 14 1939 2012
Marsh Loss: Hundred Acre Cove, Barrington
SLIDE 15 Marsh Loss: Mary’s Creek, Warwick 1995-2013
1995 2013
SLIDE 16 High Marsh High Marsh Eroding leading edge Pool Shallow ponded water Short form
Marsh border
~ 53% of marsh
SLIDE 17 Rapid loss of Spartina patens
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Percent Cover
20 40 60 80 100 Spartina alterniflora Spartina patens
Coggeshall Marsh
Data Source: Raposa, Narragansett Bay Estuarine Research Reserve
SLIDE 18 y = -108.8x + 4574.9 R² = 0.52 p < 0.001
20 40 60 80 100 41.2 41.3 41.4 41.5 41.6 41.7 41.8 41.9
% Spartina alterniflora (point int) Latitude
Latitudinal gradient
SLIDE 19
Marsh migration
SLIDE 20 Winnapaug Pond Marsh
Marsh migration occurring yet impounded water creating mosquito breeding habitat
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Adaptive Management
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Thank You
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