Restoration of a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh following a fuel oil spill

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: Canada; Usi; Branta canadensis; Canada Goose
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.616.2621; http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~sanpisa/wetlands/reading/bergen2000.pdf

In the seven years since 2.5 million liters of No. 2 fuel oil spilled into the Arthur Kill, the Salt Marsh Restoration Team of New York City Parks has restored Spartina alterniflora (Salt Marsh Cordgrass) to 2.43 ha of shoreline, planting seedlings and transplants in areas of low salt marsh severely impacted by oil. Restoration was undertaken to halt surface erosion and the loss of surviving vegetation and remnant peat. Biomass, stem density, flower density, height of plants, rhizome spread, basal area and plant cover were monitored for a minimum of three years between 1993 and 1997. Unplanted Severely Impacted (USI) reference sites and Existing Vegetation (EV) in the severe impact zone were also monitored. Ninety-five percent of the surface area denuded of vegetation by oil at USI reference sites remained unvegetated seven years after the spill. Sediment Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) content was measured before and after plantings and these results indicated a high level of persistent contamination. Residual oil was not the determining factor in the survival or loss of Spartina alterniflora seedlings and transplants at planting sites. Instead, plant spacing, shoreline morphology, wave energy generated by passing vessels, and predation by Branta canadensis (Canada Goose) were the most critical factors. Three years after planting, the aboveground biomass at two of the three restoration sites was comparable to the biomass at existing and restored eastern North American salt marshes. Seedlings spaced 30 cm apart provided rapid cover at two of three sites and