Conference proceeding
Paleoecological investigation of New Jersey coastal wetlands and their potential to inform and guide wetland protection, restoration and resilience
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Vol.2018
Dec 2018
Abstract
Due to the recent and pervasive loss of coastal wetland ecosystems and the enumerable services they provide, the protection and restoration of New Jersey's (NJ) wetland assets have become the focus of wetland management programs. To be successful, these programs require knowledge of wetland reference (background) conditions and long-term variability. Unfortunately, gaps exist because long-term monitoring programs are sparse, relatively recent and introduced after the wetlands were already impacted. Here we present results from stratigraphic investigations from wetlands across the NJ shoreline from Raritan Bay to Delaware Bay, along a gradient of urbanization and anthropogenic disturbances, that help address the existing gaps. Sediment core analyses were performed for pollutants (PAH, PCB, pesticides, trace metals), pollen and diatom assemblages. Significant increases in organic and inorganic pollutants, sediment nitrogen, and changes in salinity were associated with European settlement, notably the post-1850 industrial revolution. Pollutant inputs, linked to the post-settlement human activities, continue to increase in some sites even after federal and state agencies enacted environmental regulations to limit emissions and protect the environment. Diatom investigations provided a set of species indicators for reference and polluted conditions, and quantitative models for sediment nitrogen, salinity and habitat changes. The indices, developed based on diatom species, offer a yet untapped possibility to incorporate diatoms into the holistic assessments of coastal wetland condition and future wetland monitoring. While the anthropogenic impacts are more regional in character, reference conditions are site-specific. These results can be used to inform future coastal wetland restoration targets and as a model to develop site-specific goals in other regions. However, to date, gaps exist between acquiring paleoecological data for wetland condition and its use in practical applications for restoration and conservation strategies. Here we discuss how paleoecological investigations and indices based on diatom species can be incorporated into the identification and design of wetland restoration projects, improving long-term outcomes and increasing cost-effectiveness of such projects.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Paleoecological investigation of New Jersey coastal wetlands and their potential to inform and guide wetland protection, restoration and resilience
- Creators
- Mihaela Enache - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Trenton, NJ USA United StatesMetthea YebsenMarina PotapovaDaria NikitinaNina DesiantiJennifer ClearJennifer S. WalkerMargaret ChristieBeatrice OHaraAlan GeyerDaniel JenningsNicholas ProcopioBen HortonAnonymous
- Publication Details
- American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Vol.2018
- Conference
- American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (2018)
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biology; Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Identifiers
- 991019296573504721