Methods of restoring sand and mud flats - summary

A number of methods may be followed when considering the restoration of sand and mud flats. These include the following approaches:

• Methods designed to create or re-create flats seaward of the existing coastline through the use of sediment fields as a precursor to the development of saltmarsh. This technique was applied at several sites as part of an effort to re-create tidal flats and saltmarshes on the Essex coast in the 1980s;
• Methods to restore the habitat in situ by raising the level of the tidal flats, such as using harbour dredgings;
• As part of a process involving allowing a landward migration of the coastline through 'managed realignment'.

The precise method employed will depend on the reasons for a restoration, in particular the features for which the restoration is being applied. The success of individual schemes has been assesses in relation to the ability to restore bird feeding habitat and/or as part of a process to re-create saltmarsh.

Comment: The use of dredged material to re-create saltmarshes and mud flats is a major activity in the USA where there is an abundance of information (Streever 2000; Turner & Streever 2002).

References

Streever, W.J. 2000. Spartina alterniflora marshes on dredged material: a critical review of the ongoing debate over success. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 8/5., 295-316.

Turner, R.E. & Streever, W.J. 2002. Approaches to Coastal Wetland Restoration: Northern Gulf of Mexico. SPB Academic Publishing bv, 147 pp.