Abstract
Although achieving functional equivalency of restored and natural ecosystems is a desirable restoration goal, direct assessments of function are rare, as are data supporting the use of indicators of function. The issue is how structural attributes can be used to assess ecosystem functioning. A functional equivalency index mixed both structural and functional measures, and an often-cited model of ecosystem degradation and restoration depicted a straight-line relationship between the two variables. Several points need clarification, not only for tidal wetlands but for restoration ecology generally. It is unrealistic to expect linear relationships among structure, function, and time; it is also inappropriate to assume, for natural and restored ecosystems, that equivalent structure means equivalent function. For example, using plant biomass to compare primary productivity rates assumes equal biomass: productivity relationships among sites; restored and natural wetlands are less likely to be similar in grazing, decomposition, and export rates than are two natural sites. Likewise, using soil organic matter (OM) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) to indicate nutrient availability may be less appropriate for restored and natural marsh comparisons than for two natural sites. We recommend that comparisons of structural attributes be labeled structural equivalency measures, thereby avoiding misconceptions. Useful structural measures for assessing tidal wetland restoration are: soil texture; soil OM, soil nutrients, vegetation structure (height distributions); invertebrate and fish populations (especially fish size distributions), and topographic complexity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Literature Cited
Boyer, K. E. and J. B. Zedler. 1996. Damage to cordgrass by scale insects in a constructed salt marsh: effects of nitrogen additions. Estuaries 19:1–12.
-1998. Effects of nitrogen additions on the vertical structure of a constructed cordgrass marsh. Ecological Applications 8:692–705.
Bradshaw, A. D. 1984. Ecological principles and land reclamation practice. Landscape Planning 11:35–48.
-1987. The reclamation of derelict land and the ecology of ecosystems. Pages 53–74 in W. R. Jordan, M.R. Gilpin and J. D. Aber, editors. Restoration ecology: a synthetic approach to ecological research. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
-1995. Alternative end points for reclamation. Pages 165–186 in J. Cairns, editor. Rehabilitating damaged ecosystems. Second edition. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Chamberlain, R. H. and R. A. Barnhart. 1993. Early use by fish of a mitigation salt marsh, Humboldt Bay, California. Estuaries 16:769–783.
Chapin, F. S., O. E. Sala, I. C. Burke, J. P. Grime, D. U. Hooper, W. K. Lauenroth, A. Lombard, H. A. Mooney, A. R. Mosier, S. Naeem, S. W. Pacala, J. Roy, W. L. Steffen and D. Tilman. 1998. Ecosystem consequences of changing biodiversity: experimental evidence and research agenda for the future. Bio Science 48:45–52.
Craft, C. B., E. D. Seneca and S. W. Broome. 1991. Porewater chemistry of natural and created marsh soils. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 152:187–200.
Craft, C. B., S. W. Broome and E. D. Seneca. 1988. Nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon pools in natural and transplanted marsh soils. Estuaries 11:272–280.
Deegan, L. A., J. T. Finn and J. Bounaccorsi. 1997. Development and validation of an estuarine biotic integrity index. Estuaries 20:601–617.
Desmond, J., J. B. Zedler and G. D. Williams. 1999. Fish use of tidal creek habitats in two southern California salt marshes. Ecological Engineering 14:233–252.
Dobson, A. P., A. D. Bradshaw and A. J. M. Baker. 1997. Hopes for the future: restoration ecology and conservation biology. Science 227:515–522.
Fell, P. E., K. A. Murphy, M. A. Peck and M. L. Recchia. 1991. Re-establishment of Melampus bidentatus (Say) and other macroinvertebrates on a restored impounded tidal marsh: comparison of populations above and below the impoundment dike. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 152:33–48.
Frenkel, R. E. and J. C. Morlan. 1991. Can we restore our salt marshes? Lessons from the Salmon River, Oregon. The Northwest Environmental Journal 7:119–135.
Gibson, K. D., J. B. Zedler and R. Langis. 1994. Limited response of Spartina foliosa to soil amendments in constructed salt marshes. Ecological Applications 4:757–767.
Haltiner, J., J. B. Zedler, K. E. Boyer, G. D. Williams and J. C. Callaway. 1997. Influence of physical processes on the design, functioning and evolution of restored tidal wetlands in California (USA). Wetlands Ecology and Management 4:73–91.
Havens, K. J., L. M. Varnell and J. G. Bradshaw. 1995. An assessment of ecological conditions in a constructed tidal marsh and two natural reference tidal marshes in coastal Virginia. Ecological Engineering 4:117–141.
Hoiland, W. K., F. W. Rabe and R. C. Biggam. 1994. Recovery of macroinvertebrate communities from metal pollution in the South Fork and mainstream of the Coeur ďAlene River, Idaho. Water Environment Research 66:84–88.
Hugueny, B., S. Camara, B. Samoura and M. Magassouba. 1996. Applying an index of biotic integrity based on fish assemblages in a West African river. Hydrobiologia 331:71–78.
Johnson, J. M. 1999. Fish use of a southern California salt marsh. Thesis, San Diego State University. San Diego, California, USA.
Karr, J. R. and D. R. Dudley. 1981. Ecological perspective on water quality goals. Environmental Management 5:55–68.
Kerans, B. L. and J. R. Karr. 1994. A benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for rivers of the Tennessee Valley. Ecological Applications 4:768–785.
Knott, D. M., E. L. Wenner and P. H. Wendt. 1997. Effects of pipeline construction on the vegetation and macrofauna of two South Carolina, USA, salt marshes. Wetlands 17:65–81.
Kwak, T. J. and J. B. Zedler. 1997. Food web analysis of southern California coastal wetlands using multiple stable isotopes. Oecologia 110:262–277.
Langis, R., M. Zalejko and J. B. Zedler. 1991. Nitrogen assessments in a constructed and a natural salt marsh of San Diego Bay, California. Ecological Applications 1:40–51.
LaSalle, M. W., M. C. Landin and G. S. Jerre. 1991. Evaluation of the flora and fauna of a Spartina alterniflora marsh established on dredged material in Winyah Bay, South Carolina. Wetlands 11:191–208.
Lindau, C. W. and L. R. Hosner. 1981. Substrate characterization of an experimental marsh and three natural marshes. Soil Science Society of America Journal 45:1171–1176.
Magnuson, J. J., H. A. Reiger, W. J. Christie and W. C. Sonzogni. 1980. To rehabilitate and restore Great Lakes ecosystems. Pages 95–112 in J. Cairns, editor. The recovery process in damaged ecosystems. Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Meffe, G. K., C. R. Carroll and Contributors 1997. Principles of conservation biology, second edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA.
Miller, J. A. and C. A. Simenstad. 1997. A comparative assessment of natural and created estuarine slough as rearing habitat for juvenile chinook and coho salmon. Estuaries 20:792–806.
Minello, T. J. and R. J. Zimmerman. 1992. Utilization of natural and transplanted Texas salt marshes by fish and decapod crustaceans. Marine Ecology Progress Series 90:273–285.
Minns, C. K., V. W. Cairns, R. G. Randall and J. E. Moore. 1994. An index of biotic integrity (IBI) for fish assemblages in the littoral zone of Great Lakes’ areas of concern. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Systems 51:1804–1822.
Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 1993. Wetlands, second edition. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York, USA.
Moy, L. D. and L. A. Levin. 1991. Are Spartina marshes a replaceable resource? A functional approach to the evaluation of marsh creation efforts. Estuaries 14:1–16.
Naeem, S., L. J. Thompson, S. P. Lawler, J. H. Lawton and R. M. Woodfin. 1994. Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems. Nature 368:734–737.
National Research Council. 1992. Restoration of aquatic ecosystems. National Academy Press, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory (PERL). 1990. A manual for assessing restored and natural coastal wetlands with examples from southern California. California Sea Grant Report No. T-CSGCP-021. La Jolla, California, USA.
-1997. The status of constructed wetlands at Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Annual report to the California Department of Transportation, District 11, San Diego, California, USA.
Peck, M. A., P. E. Fell, E. A. Allen, J. A. Gieg, C. R. Guthke and M. D. Newkirk. 1994. Evaluation of a tidal marsh restoration: comparison of selected macroinvertebrate populations on a restored impounded valley marsh and an unimpounded valley marsh within the same salt marsh system in Connecticut, USA. Environmental Management 18:283–293.
Roth, N. E., J. D. Allen and D. L. Erickson. 1996. Landscape influences on stream biotic integrity assessed at multiple spatial scales. Landscape Ecology 11:141–156.
Rulifson, R. A. 1991. Finfish utilization of man-initiated and adjacent natural creeks of South Creek Estuary, North Carolina, using multiple gear types. Estuaries 14:447–464.
Sacco, J. N., E. D. Seneca and T. R. Wentworth. 1994. Infaunal community development of artificially established salt marshes in North Carolina. Estuaries 17:489–500.
Scatolini, S. R. and J. B. Zedler. 1996. Epibenthic invertebrates of natural and constructed marshes of San Diego Bay. Wetlands 16:24–37.
Seneca, E. D., S. W. Broome, W. W. Woodhouse, Jr., L. M. Cammen and J. T. Lyon, III. 1976. Establishing Spartina alterniflora marsh in North Carolina. Environmental Conservation 3:185–188.
Shields, F. D., S. S. Knight and C. M. Cooper. 1995. Use of the index of biotic integrity to assess physical habitat degradation in warm water streams. Hydrobiologia 312:191–208.
Shreffler, D. K., C. A. Simenstad and R. M. Thom. 1990. Temporary residence by juvenile salmon in a restored estuarine wetland. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47:2079–2984.
Simenstad, C. A. and R. M. Thorn. 1996. Functional equivalency trajectories of the restored Gog-Le-Hi-Te estuarine wetland. Ecological Applications 6:38–56.
Tilman, D. and J. A. Downing. 1994. Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature 367:363–365.
Tilman, D., D. Wedin and J. Knops. 1996. Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity in grassland ecosystems. Nature 379:718–720.
Webb, J. W. and C. J. Newling. 1985. Comparison of natural and man-made salt marshes in Galveston Bay complex, Texas. Wetlands 4:75–86.
Whittaker, R. H. 1975. Communities and ecosystems, second edition. Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, New York, USA.
Williams, G.D. and J.B. Zedler. 1999. Fish assemblage composition in constructed and natural tidal marshes of San Diego Bay: Relative influence of channel morphology and restoration history. Estuaries 22:702–716.
Zalejko, M. K. 1989. Nitrogen fixation in a natural and a constructed southern California salt marsh. Thesis, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.
Zedler, J. B. 1993. Canopy architecture of natural and planted cordgrass marshes: selecting habitat evaluation criteria. Ecological Applications 3:123–138.
Zedler, J.B. and J.C. Callaway. In press. Evalutating the progress of engineered tidal wetlands. Ecological Engineering.
Zedler, J. B., J. C. Callaway, J. Desmond, G. Vivian-Smith, G. Williams, G. Sullivan, A. Brewster and B. Bradshaw. 1999. Californian salt marsh vegetation: an improved model of spatial pattern. Ecosystems 2:19–35.
Zedler, J. B. and R. Langis. 1991. Comparisons of constructed and natural salt marshes of San Diego Bay. Restoration & Management Notes 9:21–25.
Zedler, J. B. and C. S. Nordby. 1986. The ecology of Tijuana Estuary: an estuarine profile. U.S. Fish Wild. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85 (7.5).
Zedler, J. B. and A. Powell. 1993. Problems in managing coastal wetlands: complexities, compromises and concerns. Oceanus 36:19–28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zedler, J.B., Lindig-Cisneros, R. (2002). Functional Equivalency of Restored and Natural Salt Marshes. In: Weinstein, M.P., Kreeger, D.A. (eds) Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47534-0_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47534-0_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-6019-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-47534-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive