A rationale for coastal wetland restoration through spoil bank management in Louisiana,USA

The rationale and outline of an implementation plan for restoring coastal wetlands in Louisiana is presented. The rationale for the plan is based on reversing the consequences of documented cause-and-effect relationships between wetland loss and hydrologic change. The main feature is to modify the extensive interlocking network of dredged spoil deposits, or spoil banks, by reestablishing a more natural water flow at moderate flow velocity (<5 cm/sec). Guidelines for site selection from thousands of potential sites are proposed. Examples of suitable sites are given for intermediate marshes. These sites exhibit rapid deterioration following partial or complete hydrologic impoundment, implying a strong hydrologic, rather than sedimentological, cause of wetland deterioration. We used an exploratory hydrologic model to guide determination of the amount of spoil bank to be removed. The results from an economic model indicated a very effective cost-benefit ratio. Both models and practical experience with other types of restoration plans, in Louisiana and elsewhere, exhibit an economy of scale, wherein larger projects are more cost effective than smaller projects. However, in contrast to these other projects, spoil bank management may be 100 to 1000 times more cost effective and useful in wetland tracts <1000 ha in size. Modest spoil bank management at numerous small wetland sites appears to offer substantial positive attributes compared to alternative and more intensive management at a few larger wetland sites.     

In situ bioremediation of an underground diesel fuel spill: A case history

In the winter months of 1983, approximately 1000 gallons of diesel fuel had flowed along an asphalt parking lot of a commercial establishment towards a surface drain near an open creek. Investigations led to the discovery of an underground storage tank leaking diesel fuel. Exploratory borings showed that contamination was near the surface horizon and the capillary zone of the water table. Hydrocarbon quantities ranged up to 1500 mg/kg of soil. The plume continued to move in an eastward direction toward the surface water of the creek. A laboratory study indicated relatively high numbers of hydrocarbon-oxidizing organisms relative to glucose-utilizing microorganisms in the unsaturated vadose zone. Bioreclamation was initiated in April 1984 by injecting nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and hydrogen peroxide and terminated in October 1984 upon no detection (<1 mg/kg) of hydrocarbons. A verification boring within the vicinity of the contaminated plume confirmed that residual contamination had attained background levels. The monitoring program was terminated in January 1987.     

Backfilling canals to mitigate Wetland dredging in Louisiana coastal marshes

Returning canal spoil banks into canals, or backfilling, is used in Louisiana marshes to mitigate damage caused by dredging for oil and gas extraction. We evaluated 33 canals backfilled through July 1984 to assess the success of habitat restoration. We determined restoration success by examining canal depth, vegetation recolonization, and regraded spoil bank soils after backfilling. Restoration success depended on: marsh type, canal location, canal age, marsh soil characteristics, the presence or absence of a plug at the canal mouth, whether mitigation was on- or off-site, and dredge operator performance.Backfilling reduced median canal depth from 2.4 to 1.1 m, restored marsh vegetation on the backfilled spoil bank, but did not restore emergent marsh vegetation in the canal because of the lack of sufficient spoil material to fill the canal and time. Median percentage of cover of marsh vegetation on the canal spoil banks was 51.6%. Median percentage of cover in the canal was 0.7%. The organic matter and water content of spoil bank soils were restored to values intermediate between spoil bank levels and predredging marsh conditions.The average percentage of cover of marsh vegetation on backfilled spoil banks was highest in intermediate marshes (68.6%) and lowest in fresh (34.7%) and salt marshes (33.9%). Average canal depth was greatest in intermediate marshes (1.50 m) and least in fresh marshes (0.85 m). Canals backfilled in the Chenier Plain of western Louisiana were shallower (average depth = 0.61 m) than in the eastern Deltaic Plain (mean depth range = 1.08 to 1.30 m), probably because of differences in sediment type, lower subsidence rate, and lower tidal exchange in the Chenier Plain. Canals backfilled in marshes with more organic soils were deeper, probably as a result of greater loss of spoil volume caused by oxidation of soil organic matter. Canals ten or more years old at the time of backfilling had shallower depths after backfilling. Depths varied widely among canals backfilled within ten years of dredging. Canal size showed no relationship to canal depth or amount of vegetation reestablished. Plugged canals contained more marsh reestablished in the canal and much greater chance of colonization by submerged aquatic vegetation compared with unplugged canals. Dredge operator skill was important in leveling spoil banks to allow vegetation reestablishment. Wide variation in dredge performance led to differing success of vegetation restoration.Complete reestablishment of the vegetation was not a necessary condition for successful restoration. In addition to providing vegetation reestablishment, backfilling canals resulted in shallow water areas with higher habitat value for benthos, fish, and waterfowl than unfilled canals. Spoil bank removal also may help restore water flow patterns over the marsh surface. Increased backfilling for wetland mitigation and restoration is recommended.     

The Effect of Military Training Activity on Eastern Lupine and the Karner Blue Butterfly at Fort McCoy,Wisconsin, USA

The US Department of Defense (DOD) manages over 10.1 million ha of land, much of which is used for training military personnel. However, vast sections receive little or no use, and military lands have become refuges for many species. At Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, USA, populations of the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) are found in oak and pine barren communities where wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), a perennial forb required by Karner blue butterfly larvae, still occurs. Oak and pine barren communities are disturbance-dependent, and the barrens ecosystems in the Midwest have declined in extent by 98% because of fire suppression, succession, and habitat fragmentation. We studied the effects of disturbance by military manuever training on the density of lupine and Karner blue butterfly at Fort McCoy. We also wanted to determine whether military training activity could enhance Karner blue butterfly habitat. At locations where tracked vehicles had driven through lupine patches, the abundance of lupine and nectar-producing plants was greater in the median strip between vehicle ruts than in vehicle ruts or 5 m outside the vehicle ruts. The proportion of lupine stems with Karner blue butterfly larvae feeding sign (the ratio of stems fed upon to stems examined) was greater in areas where military vehicles had traveled than where they had not. The proportion of lupine stems with feeding sign and lupine stem density was also positively related to the occurrence of prior bivouacs and fires caused by military munitions. Shrub and forest canopy abundance were lower in areas traveled by tracked vehicles. At the scale of the lupine patch, lupine abundance and the proportion of lupine stems with feeding sign were positively correlated with military training activities, suggesting that maintenance of lupine habitat can be achieved in concert with military training.     

Mechanistic Virtual Modeling: Coupling a Plant Simulation Model with a Three-dimensional Plant Architecture Component

The aim of this research is to integrate plant architectural modeling or “visualization modeling” and “mechanistic” or physiologically based modeling to describe how a real plant functions using a virtual crop. Virtual crops are life-like computer representations of crops based on individual plants and including the representation of the substrate on which the plants grow. The integration of a three-dimensional expression and the mechanistic model of plant development and growth requires the knowledge of the position of the organs along the different plant axes (the topology), their sizes, their forms, and their spatial orientation. The plant simulation model simulates the topology and organ weight or length. The superposition of spatial position and the topology produces the architecture of the plant. The association between sizes and organs creates what we refer to as the plant morphological model. Both components, the architectural model and the morphology model, are detailed in this paper. Once the integration is complete, the system produces a movie-like animation that shows the plant growing. The integrated model may simulate one or several plants growing simultaneously (in parallel). Visual capabilities make the proposed system very unique as it allows users to judge the results of the simulation the same way a farmer judges the situation of the crops in real life, by visually observing the field.     

Sizing and Costing of fabric Filters Part II: Costing Considerations

This is the second of a two-part article that reviews baghouse filtration theory, presents size estimating methods, and gives costing procedures for a variety of baghouse types and sizes. Part I of the article discussed theory and sizing; this part presents costing. Information is given for estimating total capital investment including separate costs for the bare baghouse (five types), bags, and, where needed, cages and Venturis. Factors are given for installation and for indirect costs. Direct and indirect annual costs are discussed. An example problem is given. The material in this article is taken primarily from the EAB Control Cost Manual.     

Extending Fabric Filter Capabilities

It has been amply demonstrated that there are reasons for improving the collection of fine participates. Some areas of research and development which may prove fruitful in extending fabric filter capabilities have been suggested.     

A Sampler for Measuring Deposited Fine Sediments in Streams1

Turner, Andy W., Jeff J. Hillis, and Charles F. Rabeni, 2012. A Sampler for Measuring Deposited Fine Sediments in Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 366‐378. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00618.x Abstract: Improvements and standardization of methodologies to quickly and accurately quantify deposited sediment in streams will allow advances in our understanding of biological effects of sedimentation. Most methods used to evaluate streambed conditions as part of biological monitoring or assessment programs are selected for ease of use, but can be subjective, inappropriate, and often of unknown accuracy. We developed a portable, light‐weight device to quantify deposited unconsolidated sediment (particles <2 mm) in wadeable streams. This deposited sediment sampler is a hand‐held unit that circumscribes an area of the streambed and through suction creates a force that suspends unconsolidated materials into a collector. Laboratory evaluations determined the efficiency (percent of available deposited sediment recovered) of the sampler to collect different sizes and concentrations of deposited sediment under differing streambed conditions, which allowed appropriate correction factors to be applied to each of four categories of streambed particle size. Field trials comparing our sampler to other methods commonly used by many state and federal agencies showed high comparability. The sampler can be constructed in just a few hours from inexpensive, easily obtained materials.     

Leaching of Cu and Zn from discarded boat paint particles into tap water and rain water

We studied the leaching of copper and zinc from particles of discarded boat paint added to tap water (pH 7.3) and rain water (pH = 4.7), simulating conditions encountered during the hosing or runoff of antifouling waste. Leaching rates appeared to be diffusion-controlled and were greater in rain water than in tap water and were greater for Zn than for Cu. After a period of 120 h, between about 0.5% and 3% of total Cu and 5-30% of total Zn had been released to the aqueous phase. These observations suggest that Cu and Zn mobilised from fine antifouling particulates during washdown or rainfall events may be important contaminants of runoff and soils in the vicinity of boat repair facilities.