Understanding the effects of managed realignment schemes on salt marsh recovery by assessing the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation colonization in the Bay of Fundy, Canada

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisor Van Proosdij, Danika, 1969-
dc.coverage.spatial Fundy, Bay of
dc.creator Nichols, Kailey D. M.
dc.date.accessioned 2023-05-04T15:40:40Z
dc.date.available 2023-05-04T15:40:40Z
dc.date.issued 2023-04-26
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/xmlui/handle/01/31734
dc.description 1 online resource (x, 93 pages) : colour illustrations, maps (some colour), colour charts, colour graphs
dc.description Includes abstract and appendices.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (pages 80-87).
dc.description.abstract As a coastal region, Atlantic Canada is highly susceptible to the impacts imposed by climate change. As hazards such as sea level rise, storm surge, and shoreline erosion are becoming more widely recognized, there is an increased need for communities to adapt to climate change to reduce their vulnerability. Nature-based solutions (NbS) have presented themselves as a more viable long-term solution to their hard engineering counterparts. Managed dyke realignment (MR), a form of NbS, is being used to restore critical salt marsh habitat which offers several ecological, economic, and social benefits through the provision of ecosystem services. This study aimed to determine the effects of MR schemes on estuarine morphodynamics and restoration trajectories by assessing the spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation colonization of a managed realignment site in the Bay of Fundy. The evolution of habitat community structure; the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation colonization; and the relationship between vegetation colonization and topographic features were analyzed using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Results demonstrate that the restoration trajectory is a highly successional process with initial dominance of vegetation colonization via seed and a shift toward clonal spread later in the trajectory. There was a stronger relationship between vegetation colonization and channel networks in Year 1 post-restoration than consecutive years and S. <i>alterniflora</i> and early colonizers coincided with higher accretion rates than other classes. These results provide insight regarding the trajectory of restored sites and key factors to facilitate successful MR design. en_CA
dc.description.provenance Submitted by Greg Hilliard (greg.hilliard@smu.ca) on 2023-05-04T15:40:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Nichols_Kailey_Honours_2023.pdf: 4975670 bytes, checksum: a9ac18450782b1c43accc9ed26dec897 (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2023-05-04T15:40:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nichols_Kailey_Honours_2023.pdf: 4975670 bytes, checksum: a9ac18450782b1c43accc9ed26dec897 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2023-04-26 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.title Understanding the effects of managed realignment schemes on salt marsh recovery by assessing the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation colonization in the Bay of Fundy, Canada en_CA
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Bachelor of Science (Honours Environmental Science)
thesis.degree.level Undergraduate
thesis.degree.discipline Environmental Science
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
 Find Full text

Files in this item

 
 

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record