Restoration of estuarine wetlands using thin cover placement: A pilot application in Brunswick, Georgia

Shore & Beach ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 62-72
Author(s):  
Ram Mohan ◽  
Mark Reemts ◽  
Prashant Gupta ◽  
Richard Galloway ◽  
Tim Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Optimal Placement ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Marsh Area ◽  
Access Road

This paper presents the design concepts and basis for using a thin layer cover (TLC) of sand to restore historically impacted wetlands in Georgia’s Brunswick estuary. The project site is a mix of tidal creeks, marshes, brackish estuary, and an adjacent upland area that has been affected by historical industrial operations. A pilot project to test cover placement methodology and performance in advance of future full-scale TLC implementation was completed in 2018. It involved placing 6-9 inches of material in a 2/3-acre marsh area. Two material types — sand and higher organic content fines — were tested. The contractor, Sevenson Environmental Services, identified the appropriate equipment, means, and methods to hydraulically convey and place the TLC material within the pilot area in accordance with stated performance objectives. A mat-based access road was installed to enable equipment to move the pipeline and spray nozzle for fine placement control within the pilot marsh area. The thin cover placed in the field ranged from 6-12 inches thick (versus the design thickness of 6-9 inches) to meet the minimum required thickness and account for over placement. A 30- to 45-degree spray yielded the best distribution of materials for the equipment used. Placement of sandy material was faster and more uniform than fines due to the material’s enhanced settling characteristics and ease of distribution. A modified topsoil-fines mix with a baffle plate eventually permitted optimal placement of fines within the study area while maintaining the target organic content. Turbidity in the water discharged from the pilot area was minimized by environmental controls (e.g. perimeter hay bales) installed by the contractor. The mat-based access road initially experienced some settlement due to loading on the soft sediments and marsh root mat; the road required restoration following project completion. Physical and vegetative monitoring conducted in six-month increments over a two-year period indicated strong natural recolonization of vegetation and the re-establishment of benthic species including fiddler crab. This paper presents lessons learned, design implications, and best management practices for future thin cover placement projects in estuarine settings.

scholarly journals Global Warming Potential, Variable Costs, and Water Use of a Model Greenhouse Production System for 11.4-cm Annual Plants Using Life Cycle Assessment

HortScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Joshua Knight
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Production System ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Environmental Controls

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to analyze the global warming potential (GWP) and variable costs of production system components for an 11.4-cm container of wax begonia (Begonia ×semperflorens-cultorum Hort) modeled in a gutter-connected, Dutch-style greenhouse with natural ventilation in the northeastern United States. A life cycle inventory of the model system was developed based on grower interviews and published best management practices. In this model, the GWP of input products, equipment use, and environmental controls for an individual plant would be 0.140 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2e) and the variable costs would total $0.666. Fifty-seven percent of the GWP and 43% of the variable costs would be due to the container and the portion of a 12-plant shuttle tray assigned to a plant. Electricity for irrigation and general overhead would be only 13% of GWP and 2% of variable costs. Natural gas use for heating would be 0.01% of GWP and less of the variable costs, even at a northeastern U.S. location. This was because of the rapid crop turnover and only heated for 3 months of a 50-week production year. Life cycle GWP contributions through carbon sequestration of flowering annuals after being transplanted in the landscape would be minor compared with woody plants; however, others have documented numerous benefits that enhance the human environment.

Geospatial Distribution of Metal Elements in Transportation Land Use Surficial Soils

2002 ◽  
Vol 1797 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Zheng Teng ◽  
Joseph A. Smithson ◽  
Ping Zhou ◽  
John J. Sansalone
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Surface Drainage ◽  
Drainage Patterns ◽  
Soil Organic Content

Highway traffic generates heavy metals and particulate matter through various vehicular and tire-pavement abrasion mechanisms. These abraded materials are deposited, they accumulate, and they are transported by storm water. Soils subject to years of such loading can serve as a sink and a potential source for heavy metals. The results of geotechnical analyses, heavy metal distributions, drainage influences, and correlations to geotechnical indices for surficial (0 to 15 cm) glacial till samples recovered from two transects along a heavily traveled urban interstate highway were compared with a control site subjected to only urban atmospheric deposition. This investigation indicated, for this site, that heavy metal accretion in the surficial soils is a function of depth, surface drainage patterns, distance from the pavement edge, and soil indices. Particulate-bound heavy metal deposition and accretion or export were a function of surface flow conditions such as velocity, flow depth, and surface cover. Results indicated that heavy metal accretion rapidly decreases as a function of distance from the traveled roadway. Along the longitudinal transect, correlations between heavy metals and soil organic content were statistically significant, particularly for copper. Along the transverse transect, correlations between soil plasticity, organic content, and heavy metals were statistically significant. Although there is little control of traffic levels and past accretion, indices such as soil organic content and plasticity index, as well as pavement runoff surface drainage patterns, can provide information about whether highway soils might act as a sink or source of heavy metals and, consequently, if best management practices may be justified.

Lessons Learned from Developing Best Management Practices for Urban Tree Care and Wildlife

2022 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Corinne Bassett ◽  
Ryan Gilpin ◽  
Kara Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Urban Wildlife ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Tree Care

Urban forests create indispensable habitat for declining wildlife populations. The tree care industry is essential to the viability of urban forests and thus the survival of urban wildlife. At the same time, tree care operations such as tree removal and branch pruning present clear threats to urban wildlife and their habitats. Here we describe the development of a grassroots coalition of arborists and wildlife advocates in the Western United States and the process of charting a path to best management practices and professional training to mitigate the impacts of tree care practices to wildlife. In particular, we describe the unique challenges and opportunities that arose through this multi-disciplinary process and build a case for the benefits of uniting diverse communities of practice around complex urban ecological problems. We finish by laying out recommendations to the international arboriculture and urban forestry practitioner and research communities.

scholarly journals Water Quality Regulations in the Chesapeake Bay: Working to More Precisely Estimate Nutrient Loading Rates and Incentivize Best Management Practices in the Nursery and Greenhouse Industry

HortScience ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1097-1102 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Majsztrik ◽  
John D. Lea-Cox
Keyword(s):  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Nutrient Loading ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Sediment Runoff ◽  
Nutrient Runoff ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Nutrient Trading

Restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay recently intensified with the 2010 introduction of federal total maximum daily load (TMDL) limits for all 92 bay watershed segments. These regulations have specific, binding consequences if any of the six states or the District of Columbia fail to meet interim goals, including loss of federal dollars for various programs and increasing regulation of point sources, if non-point source (agricultural and urban) nutrient reduction goals are not met in the watershed. As part of the effort to better understand and account for non-point sources of pollution in the watershed, a team of agricultural experts from across the bay region was recently assembled, including the nursery industry. The goal of this panel was to inform stakeholders and policymakers about the inputs and management practices used across all Bay states. To increase both the precision and accuracy of loading rate estimates, more precise information should guide future iterations of the Chesapeake Bay model. A more accurate accounting of land area by operation type (e.g., greenhouse, container, and field) is a primary issue for the nursery and greenhouse industry, because the current Chesapeake Bay model relies on USDA agricultural census data, which does not separate container and field production, which have very different nutrient and irrigation practices. Field operations also typically account for a higher percentage of production area in each state, which may skew model results. This is very important because the type of operation (field, container-nursery, or greenhouse operation) has a significant impact on plant density, types of fertilizer used, and application rates, which combine with irrigation and water management practices to affect potential nutrient runoff. It is also important to represent a variety of implemented best management practices (BMPs) in the Chesapeake Bay model such as vegetated buffer strips, sediment ponds, controlled-release fertilizer, and accurately assess how these mitigate both nutrient and sediment runoff from individual operations. There may also be opportunities for growers who have implemented BMPs such as low-phosphorus slow-release fertilizers (SRF), precision irrigation, etc., to gain additional revenue through nutrient trading. Although there are currently some questions about how nutrient trading will work, this could provide additional incentives for further implementation of BMPs by both ornamental and other agricultural growers. It is possible that the TMDL process currently being implemented throughout the Chesapeake Bay will be used as a remediation process for other impaired estuarine water bodies, which have similar water-use regulations and issues. The lessons learned about the Chesapeake Bay model in general, and for the nursery and greenhouse industry in particular, will likely provide guidance for how we can be proactive in reducing environmental impacts and protect the economic viability of ornamental growers in the future.

scholarly journals Evaluating Florida Homeowner Response to Smart Irrigation Controllers

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria C. Morera ◽  
Paul F. Monaghan ◽  
Michael D. Dukes ◽  
Ondine Wells ◽  
Stacia L. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Successful Operation ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Moisture Sensor

Smart irrigation controllers are capable of substantially decreasing landscape water applications under residential high water-use conditions in Florida. Their implementation has been incentivized by governmental agencies and water utilities in an effort to reduce public-supply water demand and conserve water resources. However, the bulk of the research on smart controllers for urban landscapes has focused on performance dimensions. To successfully promote them, feedback from end-users is critical. This paper provides an evaluation of homeowner response to evapotranspiration (ET)-based and soil moisture sensor (SMS)-based smart controllers installed as part of a pilot project conducted in Orange County, FL. The objectives of the study were to collect demographic information, assess conservation attitudes and irrigation system knowledge, and gather feedback on the use of smart controllers from the pilot project’s residential cooperators. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed using relative frequency distributions, text analysis, independent means t tests, and logistic regression. Results indicated that a majority of survey participants were satisfied with their controllers and planned to continue using them. Both ET and SMS controllers were consistently praised for saving money and irrigating efficiently. However, the likelihood that participants would continue using their controllers after the completion of the project was only significantly predicted by their levels of technical knowledge regarding the workings of the devices and whether they had experienced any challenges operating them. Efforts to promote both initial and long-term adoption may be most effective by emphasizing the economic benefits of investing in smart irrigation controllers and by disseminating best management practices that facilitate their understanding and successful operation.

Lessons Learned Developing the Universal Best Management Practices Index for the Deepwater Horizon Endangered Species Act Biological Assessment

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1004-1010
Author(s):  
Jessica Odell ◽  
Travis Coley
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Endangered Species Act ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Biological Assessment ◽  
Response Factors ◽  
Best Management

ABSTRACT In an oil spill emergency situation, how do you simultaneously protect listed species, track important events, and plan for a post-emergency Endangered Species Act Biological Assessment? This was the daunting question faced by hundreds of environmental regulators, field biologists, and technology developers during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Incident Response. With the help of mobile technology, legacy expertise, and a dedicated field presence, they answered with a system of Best Management Practices (BMPs). During the response, factors such as urgency, expansive geography, response duration, and technical experience disparity threatened to compromise the integrity of the BMP datasets. Because of these factors, over one hundred separate BMP lists were issued, and highly accurate field data collection was often sacrificed for after-hours web entry or paper records. For the purposes of the Endangered Species Act Biological Assessment, the Universal BMP (UBMP) Index was created to retroactively track the implementation of these various lists and properly credit responders with conservation efforts. The development of this index yielded lessons from practical BMP implementation and documentation in a response environment to constructing sophisticated database architecture needed for consumption. Here we present the evolution of UBMPs, their role in the Effects Analysis of the Deepwater Horizon Biological Assessment, and a plan for a better way.

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