Comparison of ecosystem structure and function of created and natural seagrass habitats in Laguna Madre, Texas : final report

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dc.contributorUniversity of Texas at Austin. Marine Science Institute
dc.creatorMontagna, Paul A.
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-12T23:43:28Z
dc.date.available2016-12-12T23:43:28Z
dc.date.issued1993
dc.descriptionNovember 3, 1993en_US
dc.descriptionFrom University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute
dc.descriptionTo Dr. James H. Ratterree, project officer, Water Management Division (6W-QM), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 ... Dallas, Texas ...
dc.descriptionCooperative agreement no. X-00658801-0
dc.description.abstractThere is increasing demand to mitigate the loss of submerged wetland habitats. This project is designed to identify the criteria for a successful mitigation project, and the time for a created seagrass bed to become a functional habitat. Two approaches are taken. The first is a synoptic study of mitigated sites of different ages, the second is monitoring of a recent mitigation site for one year. Ecosystem structure and function is assessed by measuring select variables. Community metabolism and nutrient regeneration are key variables, which indicate the functioning of an ecosystem. Benthic community structure is a key variable that indicates the habitat utilization of an ecosystem. The mitigation sites are compared to three natural reference sites. Aboveground, the mitigation sites resembled natural sites in terms of biogeochemical function, but there were large differences below-ground. The mitigation sites lack sufficient organic material in the sediment for the environment to be fully functional. Benthic community structure at the mitigation sites resembled disturbed environments with high number, diversity, and low evenness. There was also a discernible trend among sites of different ages, that suggest it may take longer than 14-17 years to fully recover. Since this is such a long time, monitoring for one year did not reveal these differences. Future projects to transplant seagrasses for mitigation should consider adding organic matter to the soil to speed the time it takes for the habitat to become fully functional.en_US
dc.description.departmentMarine Scienceen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T27S7HW15
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/43956
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofMSI Technical Reportsen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesTechnical report (University of Texas at Austin. Marine Science Institute); no. TR/93-007
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subject.lcshSeagrass restoration--Texas--Laguna Madre
dc.subject.lcshSeagrasses--Habitat--Texas--Laguna Madre
dc.subject.lcshWetland mitigation sites--Texas--Laguna Madre
dc.subject.lcshWetland restoration--Texas--Laguna Madre
dc.subject.lcshWetland restoration--Monitoring--Texas--Laguna Madre
dc.titleComparison of ecosystem structure and function of created and natural seagrass habitats in Laguna Madre, Texas : final reporten_US
dc.title.alternativeFinal report : comparison of ecosystem structure and function of created and natural seagrass habitats in Laguna Madre, Texasen_US
dc.typeTechnical reporten_US

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