An Evaluation of Sampling Methods to Estimate Seed Production to Support Waterfowl in Tidal and Managed Marshes of Suisun Marsh, California

An Evaluation of Sampling Methods to Estimate Seed Production to Support Waterfowl in Tidal and Managed Marshes of Suisun Marsh, California
Author: Caitlin Erinn Roddy
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN: 9780355969078

The Suisun Marsh Habitat Management, Preservation, and Restoration Plan (USBR 2011) includes several actions that may change the value of the landscape for supporting healthy waterfowl populations. Such actions include restoration of managed seasonal wetlands to tidal habitat, and enhancement of the remaining managed wetlands. To evaluate the impacts on waterfowl and maximize habitat benefits, an understanding of food production across the various habitat types is needed. In this study, I evaluated moist soil core sampling as a method to estimate food production in the brackish marsh habitats of the Suisun Marsh, and developed preliminary estimates of seed production in managed and tidal wetlands at three locations across the marsh. I present estimates of seed depletion at each site, and identify possible sources of error that could be addressed in an ongoing collaborative project to estimate carrying capacity of the Suisun Marsh for waterfowl. My preliminary results indicate low seed production in all habitat types (less than 150 pounds per acre at each site) in winter 2015-2016. Seed production varied between locations, and I did not detect a significant difference between managed and tidal habitats, although my sample of sites was very limited. Seed depletion was significantly higher in managed sites than tidal sites, although I did not determine if this was due to consumption or decomposition of seeds. Results from this pilot study will help to identify sampling methodology required to provide landscape scale estimation of seed production. These data will inform modeling efforts to identify specific enhancement actions to improve waterfowl habitat in the Suisun Marsh.

Suisun Marsh

Suisun Marsh
Author: Peter B. Moyle
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2014-03-26
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520276086

One of California's most remarkable wetlands, Suisun Marsh is the largest tidal marsh on the West Coast and a major feature of the San Francisco Estuary. This productive and unique habitat supports endemic species, is a nursery for native fishes, and is a vital link for migratory waterfowl. The 6,000-year-old marsh has been affected by human activity, and humans will continue to have significant impacts on the marsh as the sea level rises and cultural values shift in the century ahead. This study includes in-depth information about the ecological and human history of Suisun Marsh, its abiotic and biotic characteristics, agents of ecological change, and alternative futures facing this ecosystem.

Wetland Creation and Restoration

Wetland Creation and Restoration
Author: Jon A. Kusler
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1990
Genre: Restoration ecology
ISBN: 9781559630443

This is a preliminary evaluation of the status of the science of wetland creation and restoration in the United States. It contains a series of regional reviews. Each review summarizes wetland creation and restoration experiences in broadly defined wetland regions (e.g. Pacific coastal wetlands, wooded wetlands of the Southeast). It also includes a series of theme papers, covering a wide range of topics of general application to wetland creation and restoration (hydrology, management techniques, planning).

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
Author: U.S. Global Change Research Program
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2009-08-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0521144078

Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.

The Ecology and Management of Wetlands

The Ecology and Management of Wetlands
Author: Donal D. Hook
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 602
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1468483781

This book contains the proceedings of a symposium held at the College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, 16-20 June 1986. The seed for this symposium arose from a group of physiologists , soU scientists and biochemists that met in Leningrad, USSR in July 1975 at the 12th Botanical Conference in a Session organized by Professor B.B. Vartepetian. This group and others later conspired to contribute to a book entitled Plant Life in Anaerobic Environments (eds. D. D. Hook and R. M. M. Crawford, Ann Arbor Science, 1978). Several contributors to the book suggested in 1983 that a broad-scoped symposium on wetlands would be useful (a) in facilitating communication among the diverse research groups involved in wetlands research (b) in bringing researchers and managers together and (c) in presenting a com prehensive and balanced coverage on the status of ecology ami management of wetlands from a global perspective. With this encouragement, the senior editor organized a Plan ning Committee that encompassed expertise from many disciplines of wetland scientists and managers. This Committee, with input from their colleagues around the world, organized a symposium that addressed almost every aspect of wetland ecology and management.

From the Sierra to the Sea

From the Sierra to the Sea
Author: William S. Alevizon
Publisher: Bookbaby
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781543948349

The original report From the Sierra to the Sea: Ecological History of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Watershed was a product of a three-year effort to develop a landscape level overview of the natural ecological structure, function and organization of the watershed, and the way it had changed over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Technical review and contributions from government and water agencies helped produce a collaborative document that provided information on the historical ecological baseline in order to assist in what was envisioned at the time as the most ambitious restoration effort ever undertaken in the United States. We are proud of the fact that the original document is still used as an objective reference, and has provided a foundation and inspiration for similar but more intensively researched localized efforts by others in the Bay-Delta watershed. This 20th anniversary edition contains a new Afterword describing changes to the estuary and its watershed since the report was originally published in 1998.

Tidal Marsh Restoration

Tidal Marsh Restoration
Author: Charles T. Roman
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2012-08-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781597265751

Many coastal tidal marshes have been significantly degraded by roadways and other projects that restrict tidal flows, limiting their ability to provide vital ecosystem services including support of fish and wildlife populations, flood protection, water quality maintenance, and open space. Tidal Marsh Restoration provides the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary for coastal zone stewards to initiate salt marsh tidal restoration programs. The book compiles, synthesizes, and interprets the current state of knowledge on the science and practice of salt marsh restoration, bringing together leaders across a range of disciplines in the sciences (hydrology, soils, vegetation, zoology), engineering (hydraulics, modeling), and public policy, with coastal managers who offer an abundance of practical insight and guidance on the development of programs. The work presents in-depth information from New England and Atlantic Canada, where the practice of restoring tidal flow to salt marshes has been ongoing for decades, and shows how that experience can inform restoration efforts around the world. Students and researchers involved in restoration science will find the technical syntheses, presentation of new concepts, and identification of research needs to be especially useful as they formulate research and monitoring questions, and interpret research findings. Tidal Marsh Restoration is an essential work for managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in planning, designing, and implementing projects or programs aimed at restoring tidal flow to tide-restricted or diked salt marshes.