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Thin-Layer Sediment Placement: Evaluating an Adaptation Strategy to Enhance Coastal Marsh Resilience Across the NERRS

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Tidal marshes provide key ecosystem services, but they are threatened by sea level rise. For these ecosystems to survive, it will require active management to increase tidal marsh resilience. Thin-layer placement (TLP), an emergent adaptation strategy that mimics natural sediment deposition processes, is one of the only viable options to protect tidal marshes in their current footprint. To improve the success of thin-layer placement projects, a collaborative research team at the Narragansett Bay and Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserves led coordinated restoration experiments at eight Reserves on the US East and West coasts to test TLP across diverse marsh plant communities, and produced guidance and recommendations for TLP use.

About this resource

This project overview describes the project approach, results, benefits, and next steps.