Seeing into the Future of Restoration
Thin Layering -- A Restoration technique to build up salt marshes, and make them more resilient in the face of Sea level Rise
Students will read this article and consider the pros and cons of the restoration practice, based on these areas of consideration:
We learned that our mosquito control practices of the 1920s-1960’s had negative environmental consequences. Our understanding of ecosystem services provided by salt marshes and other coastal wetlands improved our ability to weigh what was important, and our values changed. What are the values identified in the article and the video?
It is 2080, and we are looking back on this practice of thin layering -- imagine either positive impacts, and describe how the practice benefited ecosystem services in the face of Sea Level Rise, and added value to coastal communities (please take into consideration the cultural as well as the economic and social values), OR negative impacts, and how, in the face of a terrible threat (SLR) to our 2014 values, we rushed into a technology that had negative ecological or economic impacts. For either view -- support your position based on what you know.
Extra Credit -- In addition to building vertically, marshes can also respond to sea-level rise by migrating landward. But human activities have hindered this response as well. Conventional ways of protecting coastal property, such dykes and seawalls, keep wetlands from moving inland and create a "shoreline squeeze.” Because rates of marsh-edge erosion increase with rates of sea-level rise, the impacts of coastal barriers will accelerate with climate change. We love to live near coasts. We are tied to coasts culturally -- offer a potential solution to balance coastal development and land preservation (for the purposes of allowing marshes to migrate landward as sea levels rise). Identify any values within the recommendations…