EVALUATION OF A NEW METHOD OF RESTORING A SALT MARSH BY CHANNELIZATION OF A HIGHWAY SPOIL BARREN

A bare coastal Georgian spoil area located in a smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) salt marsh was channelized by using an amphibious rotary ditcher to evaluate its use in marsh restoration. The method has been found to offer an inexpensive and rapid, yet safe, technique of wetland mitigation in salt marshes that exhibit the proper hydrological and elevational characteristics. Amphibious rotary ditching has been found to have less of an impact on the marsh than excavation, which usually requires large earth-moving equipment, earth mats, site access, and traffic control. The surcharge is dispersed evenly to either side of the ditcher onto the marsh; thus, an upland disposal site is not required. In this case, the impact from the rotary ditcher's tracks and sidecast material to the existing salt marsh communities surrounding the spoil was temporary. Recovery and even enhancement of existing S. alterniflora communities has been rapid. Compared with an unchannelized (reference) spoil area, the marsh restoration channel has increased tidal frequency, duration, and flushing during ebb tide. In spite of drought, S. alterniflora coverage on the channelized spoil zone more than doubled over the first 2 years after the construction of the channel. Remote sensing using aerial photography has revealed a 42% decrease in unvegetated area on the channelized site.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1989/1224/1224-003.pdf
• Record URL:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1224, Rest Areas, Wetlands, and Hydrology. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Pruitt, Bruce A
  • Middlebrooks Jr, Percy B
  • Parrish, Fred K
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 15-24
• Monograph Title: Rest areas, Wetlands and hydrology
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1224
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Amphibious vehicles; Area; Cost effectiveness; Environmental impacts; Marshes; Measures of effectiveness; Spoil; Traffic mitigation; Wetlands
• Uncontrolled Terms: Channelization; Effectiveness; Mitigation; Rapid methods; Restoration
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00495037
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309048184
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 30 1990 12:00AM