Estuarine And Wetland Processes

Estuaries and Wetlands are important coastal resources which are subject to a great deal of environmental stress. Dredging, construction, creation of intertidal wetlands, regulation of fresh water flow, and pollution are just a few of the activities which affect these coastal systems. The need to predict the effects of these perturbations upon ecosystem dynamics, particularly estuarine fisheries, as well as on physical effects, such as sedimentation and salt intrusion, is of paramount importance. Prediction requires the use of models, but no model is likely to be satisfactory unless fundamental physical, chemical, sedimentological, and biological processes are quantitatively understood, and the appropriate time and space scales known. With these considerations in mind, the Environmental Laboratory, U. S. Army Engineer Haterways Experiment Station,* Vicksburg, Mississippi, sponsored a workshop on "Estuarine and Wetland Processes and Water Quality Modeling" held in New Orleans, June 1979. The contents of this volume have been selected from the workshop papers. The resulting book, perhaps more than any other symposium proceed ings on estuaries and wetlands, attempts to review important pro cesses and place them in a modeling context. There is also a distinct applied tinge to a number of the contributions since some of the research studies were motivated by environmental assessments. The difference in title between this volume and the workshop re flects more accurately the contents of the published papers.

Estuaries and Wetlands are important coastal resources which are subject to a great deal of environmental stress. Dredging, construction, creation of intertidal wetlands, regulation of fresh water flow, and pollution are just a few of the activities which affect these coastal systems. The need to predict the effects of these perturbations upon ecosystem dynamics, particularly estuarine fisheries, as well as on physical effects, such as sedimentation and salt intrusion, is of paramount importance. Prediction requires the use of models, but no model is likely to be satisfactory unless fundamental physical, chemical, sedimentological, and biological processes are quantitatively understood, and the appropriate time and space scales known. With these considerations in mind, the Environmental Laboratory, U. S. Army Engineer Haterways Experiment Station,* Vicksburg, Mississippi, sponsored a workshop on "Estuarine and Wetland Processes and Water Quality Modeling" held in New Orleans, June 1979. The contents of this volume have been selected from the workshop papers. The resulting book, perhaps more than any other symposium proceed ings on estuaries and wetlands, attempts to review important pro cesses and place them in a modeling context. There is also a distinct applied tinge to a number of the contributions since some of the research studies were motivated by environmental assessments. The difference in title between this volume and the workshop re flects more accurately the contents of the published papers.

This second edition of this important and authoritative survey provides students and researchers with up-to-date and accessible information about the ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Prominent scholars help students understand both general concepts of different wetland types as well as complex topics related to these dynamic physical environments. Careful syntheses review wetland soils, hydrology, and geomorphology; abiotic constraints for wetland plants and animals; microbial ecology and biogeochemistry; development of wetland plant communities; wetland animal ecology; and carbon dynamics and ecosystem processes. In addition, contributors document wetland regulation, policy, and assessment in the US and provide a clear roadmap for adaptive management and restoration of wetlands. New material also includes an expanded review of the consequences for wetlands in a changing global environment. Ideally suited for wetlands ecology courses, Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands, Second Edition, includes updated content, enhanced images (many in color), and innovative pedagogical elements that guide students and interested readers through the current state of our wetlands.

This second edition of this important and authoritative survey provides students and researchers with up-to-date and accessible information about the ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Prominent scholars help students understand both general concepts of different wetland types as well as complex topics related to these dynamic physical environments. Careful syntheses review wetland soils, hydrology, and geomorphology; abiotic constraints for wetland plants and animals; microbial ecology and biogeochemistry; development of wetland plant communities; wetland animal ecology; and carbon dynamics and ecosystem processes. In addition, contributors document wetland regulation, policy, and assessment in the US and provide a clear roadmap for adaptive management and restoration of wetlands. New material also includes an expanded review of the consequences for wetlands in a changing global environment. Ideally suited for wetlands ecology courses, Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands, Second Edition, includes updated content, enhanced images (many in color), and innovative pedagogical elements that guide students and interested readers through the current state of our wetlands.

Coastal Wetlands, Second Edition: An Integrated and Ecosystem Approach provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide. As coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea levels and the intervention of human populations, both along the estuary and in the river catchment, this book covers important issues, such as the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures, impacts from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. Covers climate change and its influence on coastal wetland form and function Provides a fully updated and expanded resource, including new chapters on modeling, management and the impact of climate change Contains full-color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world

Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world. * Includes a CD containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

Estuarine Ecohydrology, Second Edition, provides an ecohydrology viewpoint of an estuary as an ecosystem by focusing on its principal components, the river, the estuarine waters, the sediment, the nutrients, the wetlands, the oceanic influence, and the aquatic food web, as well as models of the health of an estuary ecosystem. Estuaries, the intersection of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, exhibit complex physical and biological processes which must be understood in order to sustain and restore them when necessary. This book demonstrates how, based on an understanding of the processes controlling estuarine ecosystem health, one can quantify its ability to cope with human stresses. The theories, models, and real-world solutions presented serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of estuaries.