South Bay Salt Pond Restoration-- The Chance of a Lifetime!
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Transcript of South Bay Salt Pond Restoration-- The Chance of a Lifetime!
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South Bay Salt Pond Restoration-- The Chance of a Lifetime!
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Topics Covered in this Talk• Charge of the Science Team
• What is Restoration?
• Past and Current Habitats
• Major Ecological Communities
• The Science Strategy
• Some Key Questions
• Developing Our Knowledge Base
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Charge of the Science Team
• Provide scientific direction for restoration planning, implementation and monitoring
• Bring science into all phases of the process and to all involved parties
• Develop a science strategy and conceptual models to guide the restoration of South Bay ecosystems
• Identify critical data needs
• Identify uncertainties
• Help guide consultant activities and review products
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Having a Science Team…
• Is unique and proactive.
• Will help to assure that science is included at every phase of the project.
• Is essential for a successful program.
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Interdisciplinary Practice of Environmental Restoration
Jackson, et al. (1995):
Ecological restoration is the process of repairing damage caused by humans to the diversity and dynamics of indigenous ecosystems.
• Science
• Technology
• Regulation/Policy
• Economics
• Public Interaction
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Restoration as Project and as Experiment
Planning = Hypothesis
Implementation = Run the experiment
Monitoring = Collect/analyze data
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Adaptive Management
• Using data collected during monitoring to improve restoration projects
• Apply to the current project to better achieve restoration goals
• Use to improve the design of future projects
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Restore to What? What is the Goal?
• Native, indigenous ecosystem as a goal
• Improving ecological functioning as a goal
• Historical view helps guide restoration goals
• Current conditions guide restoration goals
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San Francisco
BayHabitats ca. 1800
(SFEI EcoAtlas Project)
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Our Urbanized Estuary
• Oakland Harbor • Carquinez Straights
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Conversion to Salt Ponds
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South Bay: Then and Now
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90A
crea
ge (x
1000
)
Other 0 3
Bay Fill 0 13
Agriculture 0 1
Diked Wetland 0 7
Salt Pond 1 30
Tidal Marsh 57 7
Tidal Flat 21 14
Past Present
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What are Tidal Salt Marshes?
• Inundated by tides twice a day
• Have water-logged, anaerobic soils
• Dominated by wetland, halophilic plant species:– Cordgrass (Spartina foliosa)
– Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica)
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Cordgrass and Pickleweed
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Mature Plant Community Zonation
• Low marsh: cordgrass
• Mid-marsh: pickleweed
• High marsh: saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), alkali heath (Frankenia salina), Gumplant (Grindellia humilis)
• Upland transition: saltgrass, alkali heath, coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), Atriplex spp.
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Tidal Marsh Zonation
low marshSpartina foliosa
mid-marsh plainSalicornia virginica
high marsh - upland transitionSalicornia virginicaFrankenia salinaDistichlis spicata
regularly inundated
high accretion rates
rarely inundated
low accretion rates
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Ecological Succession: Ecosystem Development
• A salt marsh is formed when an area goes from a disturbed or former salt marsh site from to the mature community
• Natural restoration is called ecological succession—the process we want to mimic
• Salt marsh successional phases:– Open water
– Mudflat
– Vegetated mudflat
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Tidal Salt Marsh Restoration Begins with Open Water…
… and the tides bringing in sediment, organisms and seeds.
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Next, Mudflats form…
…stabilizing at an equilibrium point.
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Then, Vegetation Colonizes
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But, This is Not the End of the Process.As the marsh matures…
• Nutrients build up
• Species composition changes
• A mosaic of habitat types develops
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Marsh Restoration Takes Time
• Time to reach marsh plain ~5-20 yrs
• Time for dominant plants ~10-35 yrs
• Maximum nutrient loads and full ecosystem functioning ~50-100 yrs
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This Program will Take Time
• Projects will be implemented in phases– Collect data on progress– Apply to next phases– Collect funding for phases
• Natural processes take time
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Salt Ponds as a Major South Bay Wetland Habitat
• Historically, existed in low acreage
• Extensively developed from late 1800s to 1940s
• Are wetland habitats with their own ecology
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Those Crazy Salt Pond Colors
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What causes those colors?
It’s the microorganisms! • Low to mid-salinity: Green algae dominate • Salinities increase: The algae, Dunaliella,
lends a lighter green color• Mid- to High Salinity: Dunaliella produces
a red pigment• Very High Salinities: Brine shrimp (Artemia
franciscana) provide orange colors andStichococcus (a bacteria) adds red hues
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Many species use these ponds
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Avian Biodiversity and Abundance
• 34 shorebird species—1 million birds
• 35 waterfowl species—250,000 birds
• At least 36 species of “other birds” closely associated with San Francisco Bay habitats
• At least 9 state- and federally-listed threatened or endangered species
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Bird Species: Continental Population
Trends
• In General: Wetland-dependent bird populations are far below historic levels.
• Shorebirds: 16 of 47 U.S. species declined over the last 25 years
• Waterfowl: Steep declines in some species, such as pintail and canvasbacks
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Acre
s (x
1000
)
Other 0 3 3
Bay Fill 0 13 13
Agriculture 0 1 0
Diked Wetland 0 7 4
Salt Pond 1 30 10
Tidal Marsh 57 7 31
Tidal Flat 21 14 14
Past Present Future
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A Mix of Habitats…
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…for a Diversity of Species
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One thing is clear…we cannot go back to the 1800s
• Must consider importance of habitat changes– Salt ponds provide habitat– Urban conversion is difficult to reverse
• Must consider existing adjacent land uses– Impacts on the restoration (pollutant runoff)– Restoration impacts on the adjacent land (flood
prevention)
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What is a Science Strategy?
• Provides a scientific framework– Conceptual Models—landscape and pond-
level– Key Questions and Data Needs– Modeling Needs
• Provides scientific input at all stages of the planning process
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Why is this project so complex?
• Adjacent land uses
• Flood protection
• Agency requirements
• Pond subsidence
• Water quality
• Species diversity protection
• Sedimentation rates and patterns
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Some Key Questions
• To what extent is the suspended sediment supply adequate for restoration?
• Can we prevent non-native, invasive species from dominating restored marshes?
• To what extent might restoration activities release contaminants? What are the ecological effects of released contaminants?
• What effects will South Bay restoration have on large-scale ecological features and processes?
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More Key Questions
• How will the conversion of salt ponds to salt ponds and other
habitats affect shorebird and waterfowl numbers?
• Can remaining ponds be managed to increase their shorebird and waterfowl carrying capacity?
• What are the predictions for sea-level rise and how will that affect restored South Bay marshes?
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Developing a Common Base of Understanding
• Science Team and other experts meet with Work Groups to share ideas
• Opportunities for public involvement in research, monitoring and data collection
• Stakeholders give input to the Science Team
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How might this project effect you?
• Flood protection is a central goal
• Public access is also a project issue
• Changes in species communities
• Healthier South Bay ecosystem
• Improved water quality
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Next Science Team Presentation:
• Restoration Constraints
• Scientific Uncertainties
• Complicating Factors