Salt Marsh - Sediment Trapping, Accretion, and The Role of Tidal Creeks

Sediment Trapping, Accretion, and The Role of Tidal Creeks

The factors and processes that influence the rate and spatial distribution of sediment accretion within the salt marsh are numerous. Sediment deposition can occur when marsh species provide a surface for the sediment to adhere to, followed by deposition onto the marsh surface when the sediment flakes off at low tide. The amount of sediment adhering to salt marsh species is dependent on the type of marsh species, the proximity of the species to the sediment supply, the amount of plant biomass, and the elevation of the species. For example, in a study of the Eastern Chongming Island and Jiuduansha Island tidal marshes at the mouth of the Yangtze River, China, the amount of sediment adhering to the species Spartina alterniflora, Phragmites australis, and Scirpus mariqueter decreased with distance from the highest levels of suspended sediment concentrations (found at the marsh edge bordering tidal creeks or the mudflats); decreased with those species at the highest elevations, which experienced the lowest frequency and depth of tidal inundations; and increased with increasing plant biomass. Spartina alterniflora, which had the most sediment adhering to it, may contribute >10% of the total marsh surface sediment accretion by this process.

Salt marsh species also facilitate sediment accretion by decreasing current velocities and encouraging sediment to settle out of suspension. Current velocities can be reduced as the stems of tall marsh species induce hydraulic drag, with the effect of minimising re-suspension of sediment and encouraging deposition. Measured concentrations of suspended sediment in the water column have been shown to decrease from the open water or tidal creeks adjacent to the marsh edge, to the marsh interior, probably as a result of direct settling to the marsh surface by the influence of the marsh canopy.

Inundation and sediment deposition on the marsh surface is also assisted by tidal creeks which are a common feature of salt marshes. Their typically dendritic and meandering forms provide avenues for the tide to rise and flood the marsh surface, as well as to drain water, and they may facilitate higher amounts of sediment deposition than salt marsh bordering open ocean. Salt marshes do not however require tidal creeks to facilitate sediment flux over their surface although salt marshes with this morphology seem to be rarely studied.

The elevation of marsh species is important; those species at lower elevations experience longer and more frequent tidal floods and therefore have the opportunity for more sediment deposition to occur. Species at higher elevations can benefit from a greater chance of inundation at the highest tides when increased water depths and marsh surface flows can penetrate into the marsh interior.