Sturgeon Bank marsh recession: A preliminary investigation into the use of large woody debris as a tool for restoring a degraded foreshore marsh

MacDonald, John D. (author)
Ashley, Ken (thesis advisor)
Cohen-Fernandez, Anayansi
Ransome, Doug
British Columbia Institute of Technology School of Construction and the Environment (Degree granting institution)
Simon Fraser University Faculty of the Environment (Degree granting institution)

Dissertation/thesis

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© John D. MacDonald, 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without written permission of the author.

British Columbia Institute of Technology

2018-04-18

55

Large woody debris removal has been ongoing in the Fraser River Delta since the late 1800’s. I investigated how offshore winds and the absence of large wood may have contributed to the recession of the Sturgeon Bank Marsh. I suggest large wood increases marshland resilience and promotes new marsh establishment by attenuating wave energy, decreasing sediment mobilization, deterring herbivory, and promoting the establishment of vegetated islands from which the marsh can expand. I analyzed historical wind data for patterns in offshore wind duration and installed several pieces of large wood onto the tidal flats of the Sturgeon Bank. I developed a technique for anchoring wood in the intertidal and give my recommendations for further development. Finally, I conclude the recession of the Sturgeon Bank Marsh was the result of multiple interacting stressors and coin the term keystone structural element to describe the function of large wood within a foreshore marsh.

large woody debris
keystone structural element
marsh recession
ecological restoration
wave sheltering
coastal marsh

Restoration ecology
Large woody debris

electronic

Master of Science