Orplands summary of the realignment scheme

The Orplands realignment sites includes two retreat areas: tidal mudflats and an area of saltmarsh to seaward. Breaching took place in April 1995 and involved demolishing the seawall to allow normal tidal exchange to take place. Breaching took place over a period of 4 days during neap tides. A series of nine meandering vertically sided 'creeks' one metre deep were excavated within the site to facilitate tidal flow over the area.

Caption: Tidal mud (Areas 1 & 4) and control saltmarsh (Area 5) adjacent to the realignment sites (Areas 2 & 3)

The realignment site has been divided into two distinct parts, Site A and Site B, which are next to each other along the coast, but separated by a counterwall. The two sites had different pre-innundation characteristics:

• Site A (Area 2) was rough grassland before it was reopened to tidal flooding, it had not been ploughed and the line of the original major creeks can still be seen as shallow, linear depressions;
• Site B (Area 3) was used for cereal production. Clay pipe land drains had been installed approximately 1m below the land surface to lower the water table in the field.

The Orplands 38 ha coastal managed realignment site is an example of an experimental restoration of tidal flats and saltmarshes on tidal land (enclosed in 1880) and subsequently used for agriculture. The scheme has been monitored and though the two areas (A & B) responded differently, there has been deemed a success with colonisation by plants and invertebrates and use by bird populations.