Assessing Estuary Resilience to Sea-Level Rise

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Presentation Abstract

Estuaries and coastal wetlands comprise less than 3% of BC’s coastline, yet they support over 80% of BC’s coastal fish and wildlife, and provide critical rearing and staging habitat for Pacific salmon. Estuary ecosystems are particularly sensitive to the impacts of sea-level rise. Fine-scale changes in water depth can result in the drowning of tidal marsh habitats or significant changes to vegetation community composition. Not all estuaries are equally vulnerable however; the most resilient receive adequate sediment or build soils in pace with sea-level rise, while others may have been disconnected from the rivers that deliver their natural sediment supply. The U.S. National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) has developed the Marsh Resilience to Sea-Level Rise (MARS) tool - a monitoring approach designed to assess and rank the vulnerability of estuaries to sea-level rise. The NERRS undertook a large study in which 16 sites across the U.S. were assessed and ranked. In 2019, The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC), in partnership with the West Coast Conservation Land Management Program (WCCLMP) and Coastal First Nations, secured a contribution agreement under The BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BC SRIF) to implement their five year project, entitled Enhancing Estuary Resilience: An Innovative Approach to Sustaining Fish and Fish Habitat in a Changing Climate. The NTBC’s monitoring program is implementing the MARS tool at 15 estuaries along the coast of BC, extending the coverage of the NERRS study northwards along the west coast of North America, providing a Canadian context.

Session Title

Sea Level Rise in the Salish Sea

Conference Track

SSE8: Climate Change

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)

Document Type

Event

SSEC Identifier

SSE-traditionals-420

Start Date

26-4-2022 1:30 PM

End Date

26-4-2022 3:00 PM

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Estuaries--Management; Marine ecology--Management; Estuarine ecology; Climatic changes

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Apr 26th, 1:30 PM Apr 26th, 3:00 PM

Assessing Estuary Resilience to Sea-Level Rise

Estuaries and coastal wetlands comprise less than 3% of BC’s coastline, yet they support over 80% of BC’s coastal fish and wildlife, and provide critical rearing and staging habitat for Pacific salmon. Estuary ecosystems are particularly sensitive to the impacts of sea-level rise. Fine-scale changes in water depth can result in the drowning of tidal marsh habitats or significant changes to vegetation community composition. Not all estuaries are equally vulnerable however; the most resilient receive adequate sediment or build soils in pace with sea-level rise, while others may have been disconnected from the rivers that deliver their natural sediment supply. The U.S. National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) has developed the Marsh Resilience to Sea-Level Rise (MARS) tool - a monitoring approach designed to assess and rank the vulnerability of estuaries to sea-level rise. The NERRS undertook a large study in which 16 sites across the U.S. were assessed and ranked. In 2019, The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC), in partnership with the West Coast Conservation Land Management Program (WCCLMP) and Coastal First Nations, secured a contribution agreement under The BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BC SRIF) to implement their five year project, entitled Enhancing Estuary Resilience: An Innovative Approach to Sustaining Fish and Fish Habitat in a Changing Climate. The NTBC’s monitoring program is implementing the MARS tool at 15 estuaries along the coast of BC, extending the coverage of the NERRS study northwards along the west coast of North America, providing a Canadian context.