Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Excerpt from thesis: "Coastal wetlands hold great ecological and economic value: for example, during Hurricane Sandy, these wetlands were responsible for reducing flooding, reducing storm damage by an estimated $625 million (Andrews, 2020). Wetlands also filter water, as well as providing habitats for many diverse organisms (Andrews, 2020). As coastal erosion removes area from the wetlands on the seaward side, the marshes must migrate into the forest to maintain their area (Flester and Blum, 2020). This process is known as marsh migration (Kirwan and Gedan, 2019). Conversely, methods that prevent coastal erosion, such as shoreline armoring, can mitigate the extent to which marshes migrate into nearby uplands (Gardner and Johnston, 2021). Even with marsh migration adding area to coastal wetlands, these wetlands have lost an estimated 40% of their total area since pre-colonial times (Andrews, 2020)..."
Date Awarded
Spring 2023
Department
Geology
Advisor 1
Matthew L. Kirwan
Recommended Citation
Small, John, "Effect of Marsh Migration on Coastal Forest Litter Decomposition" (2023). Geology Senior Theses. William & Mary. Paper 52.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/geologyseniors/52
