Marsh Health in Jamaica Bay: Gateway National Recreation Area
Lynch J. 2019. Marsh Health in Jamaica Bay: Gateway National Recreation Area
Marsh communities in Jamaica Bay (part of Gateway National Recreation Area) are adapted to living within a range of elevations that are favorable for their survival. This is commonly referred to as their “growth range”. Sea levels in Jamaica Bay have been slowly rising for thousands of years and these marshes have kept up with the changing conditions by trapping sediments and accumulating roots and other below ground materials to help maintain a favorable elevation within their growth range. Marshes that cannot keep up with the rising sea levels end up lower in their growth range, are flooded more frequently, the plants become stressed and the marshes can ultimately convert to unvegetated mudflats.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Lynch, James
- Date of Issue
- 2019-04
- Units
- GATE , NCBN
- Keywords
- Big Egg, Black Bank, coastal, elevation, GATE, Gateway National Recreation Area, growth range, Jamaica Bay, JoCo, marsh restoration, mudflats, NCBN, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, salt marsh, Sea levels, sediment, SET, Surface Elevation Table, water level data