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Wetland Loss by Erosion in Odiel Marshes (SW Spain)

Castillo Segura, Jesús Manuel; Rubio Casal, Alfredo Emilio; Luque, Carlos J.; Jiménez Nieva, Francisco Javier; Figueroa Clemente, Manuel Enrique

Abstract

Wetland loss in many estuaries around the world, has been attributed mainly to undermining and collapse of channel banks. This study aims to quantify bank erosion and vertical erosion/accretion rates on intertidal sediments in the Odiel tidal marshes (SW Spain). Bi-monthly erosion/accretion measurements were taken on eight channels over a four year period, using markers (iron stakes) located on intertidal areas and on eroding banks. The intensity of erosion divides the Odiel marshes into two zones. The northern zone has low erosion rates (horizontal erosion c. -20 cm year-1 and vertical erosion / accretion between 0 and -1 cm year-1), and coincides with low levels of human activities. The southern zone has higher erosion rates (horizontal erosion c. -25 cm year-1 and vertical erosion / accretion between 0 and -5 cm year-1) and exhibits higher levels of anthropogenic pressure. The highest horizontal and vertical erosion rates (c. -80 cm year-1) were recorded on navigation channels. Horizontal and vertical erosion showed a positive linear relationship (r2 = 0.66; P< 0.01), indicating that sediments mobilized by bank erosion are not deposited on adjacent intertidal areas. Erosion led to mature marsh habitat loss of c. 17000 m2 year-1 and a sediment mobilization of c. 16500 m3 year-1.

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We land Loss by E osion in Odiel Ma shes (SW Spain) Au ho s: Cas illo, J.M., Rubio-Casal, A.E., Luque, C.J., Nie a, F.J., and Figue oa, M.E. Sou ce: Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, 36(sp1) : 134-138 Published By: Coas al Educa ion and Resea ch Founda ion URL: h ps://doi.o g/10.2112/1551-5036-36.sp1.134 BioOne Comple e (comple e.BioOne.o g) is a ull- ex da abase o 200 subsc ibed and open-access i les in he biological, ecological, and en i onmen al sciences published by nonp o i socie ies, associa ions, museums, ins i u ions, and p esses. You use o his PDF, he BioOne Comple e websi e, and all pos ed and associa ed con en indica es you accep ance o BioOne’s Te ms o Use, a ailable a www.bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use. Usage o BioOne Comple e con en is s ic ly limi ed o pe sonal, educa ional, and non - comme cial use. Comme cial inqui ies o igh s and pe missions eques s should be di ec ed o he indi idual publishe as copy igh holde . BioOne sees sus ainable schola ly publishing as an inhe en ly collabo a i e en e p ise connec ing au ho s, nonp o i publishe s, academic ins i u ions, esea ch lib a ies, and esea ch unde s in he common goal o maximizing access o c i ical esea ch. Downloaded F om: h ps://bioone.o g/jou nals/Jou nal-o -Coas al-Resea ch on 11 May 2020 Te ms o Use: h ps://bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002 INTRODUCTION We land losses ha e been de ec ed in many es ua ies a ound he wo ld (CHUNG, 1982; DELAUNE e al., 1983; BARROS, 1996; BRIVIO, 1996; PSUTNY a n d MOREIRA, 2000), a ibu ing hei main mechanism o e osion. Thus, e osi e p ocesses such as unde mining o he d ainage channel banks ha e been cha ac e ised (PHILLIPS, 1986; KEARNEY and STEVENSON, 1991; GABET, 1998), which esul in s eeped slopes be ween ege a ed ma shes and ba e in e idal sedimen s (NYMAN e al., 1994). In e idal sedimen dynamics a e a key p ocess in he e olu ion o e oded ma shes, since hey de e mine he heigh o e osi e banks and a ec hei coloniza ion by ege a ion. In addi ion, he iden i ica ion o he causes o e osion and i s quan i ica ion a e necessa y in de eloping managemen s a egies o e oded we lands. This s udy was ca ied ou in he Odiel idal ma shes (SW Spain), whe e high bank e osion a es ha e been quan i ied in a sho e m s udy (CASTILLO e al., 2000a). He e, we aim o quan i y bank e osion and wi h e ical e osion / acc e ion a es on in e idal a eas o e a ou yea pe iod. STUDYAREA This s udy was ca ied ou in he Odiel idal sal ma shes in he join es ua y o Odiel and Tin o i e s (37º15’ - 37º37’N, 6º57’ - 6º58’W; SW Spain) (Fig. 1). T h i s Holocene es ua y is loca ed in a coas al a ea wi h a meso idal semidiu nal cha ac e . Mean idal ange is 2.10 m and mean sp ing idal ange is 2.97 m. Wa e le els ange be ween 0.40 and 3.37 m abo e Spanish Hyd og aphic Ze o (SHZ) (CASTELLANOS e al., 1994). The es ua y occupies a 25 km long s e ch o an incised i e alley and is unde lain by Neogene sandy-sil y sedimen s. The oldes es ua ine sedimen s ha e been da ed a 6.715 ± 115 y BP. Sedimen acc e ion a es (app oxima ely 5 mm yea -1) indica e as in illing o he es ua y du ing he wo las millennia (LARIO, 1996). In as uc u es such as dykes, b eakwa e s, ha bou s and wa e ese oi s ha e modi ied he hyd odynamic and he sedimen supply in he es ua y o Odiel and Tin o i e s (OJEDA e al. 1995). On he o he hand, he main channel o he es ua y is d edged con inuously o allow essel a ic. The Odiel ma shes, wi h an a ea o 7158 hec a es, we e decla ed a Biosphe e Rese e by UNESCO in 1983, and hey a e loca ed in a Medi e anean clima e (NIEVA and LUQUE, 1995). We land Loss by E osion in Odiel Ma shes (SW Spain) J.M. Cas illo†, A.E. Rubio-Casal †, C.J. Luque‡, F.J. Nie a‡ and M.E. Figue oa† †Depa amen o de Biología Vege al y Ecología, Facul ad de Biología, Uni e sidad de Se illa. Apa ado 1095, 41080-Se illa, Spain, [email p o ec ed] ‡Depa amen o de Ciencias Ag o o es ales. Uni e sidad de Huel a. ABSTRACT We land loss in many es ua ies a ound he wo ld, has been a ibu ed mainly o unde mining and collapse o channel banks. This s udy aims o quan i y bank e osion and e ical e osion/acc e ion a es on in e idal sedimen s in he Odiel idal ma shes (SW Spain). Bi-mon hly e osion/acc e ion measu emen s we e aken on eigh channels o e a ou yea pe iod, using ma ke s (i on s akes) loca ed on in e idal a eas and on e oding banks. The in ensi y o e osion di ides he Odiel ma shes in o wo zones. The no he n zone has low e osion a es (ho izon al e osion c. -20 cm yea -1 and e ical e osion / acc e ion be ween 0 and –1 cm yea -1), and coincides wi h low le els o human ac i i ies. The sou he n zone has highe e osion a es (ho izon al e osion c. -25 cm yea -1 and e ical e osion / acc e ion be ween 0 and –5 cm yea -1) and exhibi s highe le els o an h opogenic p essu e. The highes ho izon al and e ical e osion a es (c. -80 cm yea -1) we e eco ded on na iga ion channels. Ho izon al and e ical e osion showed a posi i e linea ela ionship ( 2= 0.66; P< 0.01), indica ing ha sedimen s mobilized by bank e osion a e no deposi ed on adjacen in e idal a eas. E osion led o ma u e ma sh habi a loss o c. 17000 m2 yea -1 and a sedimen mobiliza ion o c. 16500 m3 yea -1. ADDITIONALINDEXWORDS: acc e ion, an h opogenic p essu e, bank e osion, in e idal plain, Spa ina ma i ima. Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch SI 36 134-138 (ICS 2002 P oceedings) No he n I eland ISSN 0749-0208 Downloaded F om: h ps://bioone.o g/jou nals/Jou nal-o -Coas al-Resea ch on 11 May 2020 Te ms o Use: h ps://bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use Ma sh E osion, Spain 135 Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002 METHODS Bank e osion by unde mining and e ical e osion / acc e ion a es on in e idal sedimen s we e measu ed on he eigh main channels o he Odiel Ma shes, bi-mon hly om May - Augus 1996 o July 2000 (Fig. 1). A ne wo k o 298 ma ke s was se up (Table 1). These consis ed o i on s akes app oxima ely 1.5 m all and 1 cm in diame e (Fig.2). Ma ke s we e inse ed o a dep h o 1 m, be ween +1.0 m and +2.5 m o e SHZ on in e idal plains and o e e osi e banks. The dis ance om he sedimen su ace o he op o he ma ke s was measu ed o quan i y e ical e osion / acc e ion dynamic; he dis ance om he edge o he bank o he ma ke base was measu ed o quan i y bank ho izon al e osion (Fig. 2). This me hod has been used by many au ho s (WOLMAN, 1959; RANWELL, 1964; HUBBARD and STEBBINGS, 1968; RANWELL, 1972; KING, 1975), since i allows epea ed measu emen s o e osion and acc e ion a he same loca ion. Nega i e alues indica e e osion and posi i e alues co espond o acc e ion. Mean bank heigh (n = 6) was measu ed a e e y channel o quan i y he olume o mobilized sedimen by ho izon al e osion. Analysis was ca ied ou using ‘S a is ica’ 5.1 (S a so Inc.). Pea son co ela ion coe icien s we e calcula ed be ween e osion / acc e ion a es. Ra es o e osion / acc e ion on di e en channels we e compa ed using one- way analysis o a iance. Leas signi ican di e ences (LSD) be ween means we e calcula ed only i he F- es was signi ican a he 0.05 le el o p obabili y. Da a we e es ed o homogenei y o a iance wi h he Le ene es (P> 0.05). Figu e 1. Loca ion o Odiel es ua y in The Ibe ian Peninsula and map o Odiel Ma shes. S udied channels a e numbe ed om 1 o 8. Table 1. Mean ± SEM bank ho izon al e osion and in e idal plain e ical e osion / acc e ion (cm yea -1) du ing ou yea s in he main channels o Odiel sal ma shes (SW Spain). 1 -8 ± 2 -0.5 ± 0.5 2 -15 ± 3 -1.1 ± 1.3 3 -47 ± 12 -1.6 ± 0.3 4 -37 ± 6 -1.3 ± 0.5 5 -34 ± 7 -1.6 ± 0.7 6 -76 ± 9 -4.7 ± 0.7 7 -40 ± 6 -0.3 ± 1.0 8 -64 ± 9 -2.4 ± 0.4 Bank ho izon al e osion Channels in e idal plain e ical e osion / acc e ion Figu e 2. Diag am showing he placemen o ma ke s o e a bank, o measu e ho izon al e osion, and on an in e idal plain, o measu e e osion / acc e ion dynamic. Downloaded F om: h ps://bioone.o g/jou nals/Jou nal-o -Coas al-Resea ch on 11 May 2020 Te ms o Use: h ps://bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use Cas illo, Rubio-Casal, Luque, Nie a and Figue oa 136 Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002 RESULTS The in ensi y o bank ho izon al e osion and in e idal plain e ical e osion / acc e ion a ied signi ican ly be ween channels (F = 14.66, P < 0.0001; F = 4.44, P < 0.0001, espec i ely) (Table 1). E osion / acc e ion a es di ided he Odiel ma shes in o wo zones. In he No he n zone (channels 1 and 2) mean ho izon al e osion was less han -20 cm yea -1 and he mean e ical e osion / acc e ion a e was be ween 0 and -1 cm yea -1. In he Sou he n zone (channels 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) mean ho izon al e osion was o e -25 cm yea -1, wi h a maximum close o -80 cm yea -1, and he e ical e osion / acc e ion a e was be ween 0 and –5 cm yea -1 (Fig. 1). The highes ho izon al and e ical e osion a es we e eco ded on na iga ion channels –(channels 6 and 8). Bo h channels we e loca ed close o he es ua y inle and channel 8 was he wides channel. Ho izon al and e ical e osion showed a posi i e and linea ela ionship ( 2= 0.66; P< 0.01) a all si es (Fig. 3). E osion in he Odiel idal ma shes has led o a loss o ma u e high ma sh o c. 17000 m2yea -1, p o oked by bank e osion, and a sedimen mobiliza ion by bank and in e idal e osion o c. 16500 m3yea -1 (Table 2). This e osion hinde s he de elopmen o ma shes by successional p ocesses and limi s he success o p ima y colonize s. Figu e 3 Co ela ion be ween ho izon al and e ical e osion in eigh channels in Odiel Ma shes (SW, Spain). ( 2 = 0.66; P< 0.01). Table 1. Table 2. Numbe o ma ke s, leng h (m), heigh o bank (cm), e oded a ea (m2yea -1) and mobilized sedimen s (m3yea -1) – conside ing a mean in e idal plain wid h o 10 m- in eigh channels o Odiel Sal Ma shes. 1 25 11167 37 893 892 2 19 16393 40 2459 2793 3 23 8374 51 3936 3359 4 25 5643 58 2088 1949 5 35 6351 64 2159 2403 6 53 1981 93 1506 2325 7 20 9140 59 3656 2407 8 98 600 52 384 382 ∑298 59649 - 17081 16510 Channel Nº o ma ke s Leng h (m) Heigh (cm) E oded a ea (m2 yea -1) Mobilized sedimen s (m3 yea -1) DISCUSSION E osion / acc e ion dynamic di ides he Odiel idal ma shes in o wo zones: a no he n zone wi h low e osion a es, coinciding wi h low le els o human ac i i ies; and a sou he n zone wi h highe e osion a es and highe le els o an h opogenic p essu es ( ec ea ional, po and indus ial ac i i ies, in as uc u e ins alla ion, e c.). The highes e osion a es we e eco ded on na igable channels, sugges ing ha essel a ic may con ibu e o inc eased e osion (PEZESHKI and DELAUNE, 1996). Howe e , human ac i i ies causing e osion a e di icul o iden i y and quan i y in his s udy, since mo e han one ac o could be ac ing a he same ime. Many in as uc u es ha e been cons uc ed closed o Odiel ma shes ha may educe sedimen supply o he es ua y a ou ing ma sh e osion, such as b eakwa e s, ha bou s and wa e ese oi s. OJEDAe al. (1995) iden i ied an h opogenic al e a ions o he hyd odynamic condi ions o he Odiel ma shes, which may a ec e osion / acc e ion p ocesses h ough he modi ica ion o cu en s and sedimen supply (CHMURA e al., 2001). The lowe a es o e osion in he uppe es ua y migh also e lec lowe wa e ene gy, a sugges ion ha is also consis en wi h he obse a ion o highe e osion a es adjacen o he la ge na iga ion channels. On he o he hand, accele a ed sea le el ise could accele a e he loss o coas al we lands by e osion (ROGERS and MCCARTY, 2000). Downloaded F om: h ps://bioone.o g/jou nals/Jou nal-o -Coas al-Resea ch on 11 May 2020 Te ms o Use: h ps://bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use Ma sh E osion, Spain 137 Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002 I is in e es ing o no e, he posi i e and linea ela ionship be ween ho izon al and e ical e osion which indica es ha sedimen s mobilized by bank e osion a e no deposi ed on adjacen in e idal a ea. E osion on he Odiel ma shes has led o sedimen mobiliza ion o c. 16500 m3yea -1. Ou esul s sugges ha some o hese sedimen s, which a e dispe sed by cu en s and ides, could con ibu e o he sil ing o he channels o he es ua y. Conside able economic expense is incu ed in d edging na igable channels o enable he en ance o la ge ships in o de Po o Huel a. Fu he mo e, e osion is leading o he loss o c. 17000 m2o ma sh pe yea . Al hough low ma shes a e p esen ly o ming in he sou he n pa o he es ua y, mos o he los ma shes we e ma u e ones ha had aken a long ime o o m and we e ac ing as expo e s o o ganic ma e (HAZELDEN and BOORMAN, 1999). The loss o hese middle and high ma shes educes he habi a o ce ain communi ies, con ibu ing o a dec ease in species and habi a di e si y, since hey a e eplaced by ba e in e idal a eas. Ou esul s may con ibu e o he managemen o e oded ma shes, in o de o assis hei es o a ion by adminis a i e and cons uc i e geo-ecological me hods (CASTILLO e al., 2000a). These include he in oduc ion o ma sh plan species adap ed o high looding pe iods, such as Spa ina ma i ima (CASTILLO e al., 2000b), which enhance a es o low ma sh de elopmen by apping sedimen s (MOELLER e al., 1996). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This s udy was ca ied ou h ough an in es iga ion ag eemen wi h he Po Au ho i y o Huel a and he Gene al Di ec o a e o En i onmen al P o ec ion o he Jun a de Andalusia. We also hank he Di ec o a e o he Odiel Ma shes Na u al Pa k o collabo a ion, and he Jun a o Andalusia o he awa d o an FPI schola ship. Downloaded F om: h ps://bioone.o g/jou nals/Jou nal-o -Coas al-Resea ch on 11 May 2020 Te ms o Use: h ps://bioone.o g/ e ms-o -use Cas illo, Rubio-Casal, Luque, Nie a and Figue oa 138 Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002 LITERATURE CITED BARROS, A . P., 1996. An e alua ion o model pa ame e isa ions o sedimen pa hways: a case s udy o he Tejo es ua y. Con inen al Shel Resea ch, 16(13), 1725-1749. BRIVIO, P.A. and ZILIOLO, E., 1996. Assessing we land changes in he Venice lagoon by means o sa elli e emo e sensing da a. Jou nal o Coas al Conse a ion, 2(1), 23-32. CASTELLANOS, E.M., FIGUEROA, M.E. and DAVY, A.J., 1994. Nuclea ion and acili a ion in sal ma sh succession: in e ac ions be ween Spa ina ma i ima and A h ocnemum pe enne. Jou nal o Ecology, 82(2), 239- 248. CASTILLO, J.M.; LUQUE, C.J.; CASTELLANOS, E.M. and FIGUEROA, M.E., 2000a. 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