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The Marsh

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How are tidal marsh processes and their connections to estuarine waters regulated by sea level, storms and water and material inputs from land and sea?

Five transects in the Rowley River Estuary marsh system were established in 1998. Vegetation, sediment, and sedimentation characteristics at several sites along each transect were measured. Marsh sediment porewater nutrient concentrations are also measured at various sites in the Plum Island marshes.

Three long-term plot-level ferlization sites, a large-scale marsh fertilization, and a large-scale detritus removal experiment were initiated in 1999 and 2000. These are addressed in the Long-Term Experiments section.

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USC graduate students Weihong Wang and Whitney Pate finish sprigging a 'marsh organ' with Spartina alterniflora during an April field trip. Their experiment is designed to measure the response of marsh vegetation to relative elevation.

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Marsh sites Site maps of the Rowley River Estuary marsh transects, plot level fertilizations, marsh haying, and marsh fertilization sites
	Sedimentation rates on the marsh surface for Spartina alterniflora (low marsh) and S. patens (high marsh) dominated sites.

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File	Description
MAR-RO-Transects	Vegetation density and biomass, and sediment bulk density, organic matter, and ammonium content data along five marsh transects.
MAR-RO-Sedimentation	Sedimentation patterns at five marsh transects along the Rowley River.
MAR-RO-Marker-Horizon	Feldspar marker horizon, raw data, along transects in the Rowley River study area.
MAR-RO-SET	Surface elevation table, raw data, for four transects in the Rowley River study area.
MAR-VA-Porewater	Marsh sediment porewater nutrient concentrations

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Water table heights at the railroad Spartina marsh on the Parker River May - Aug, 2001 MAR-PR-Wtable-RRA-2001 Sep - Dec, 2001 MAR-PR-Wtable-RRB-2001 May - Aug, 2002 MAR-PR-Wtable-RRA-2002 Sep - Dec, 2002 MAR-PR-Wtable-RRB-2002 Jun - Dec, 2003 MAR-PR-Wtable-RR-2003 Jul - Nov, 2004 MAR-PR-Wtable-RR-2004 Apr - Dec, 2006 MAR-PR-Wtable-RR-2006

Water table heights at the Typha marsh on the Parker River Jun - Aug, 2001 MAR-PR-Wtable-TA-2001 Sep - Oct, 2001 MAR-PR-Wtable-TB-2001 Apr - Aug, 2002 MAR-PR-Wtable-TA-2002 Sep - Dec, 2002 MAR-PR-Wtable-TB-2002 Jun - Dec, 2003 MAR-PR-Wtable-T-2003 Jun - Nov, 2004 MAR-PR-Wtable-T-2004 Apr - Dec, 2006 MAR-PR-Wtable-T-2006

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Marsh related data sets for examining trends in marsh biomass, productivity, porewater and elevation.

• Marsh Biomass
  Spartina alterniflora biomass, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina patens biomass, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina alterniflora biomass, Goat Island Control site, North Inlet, SC
  

• Marsh Productivity
  Spartina alterniflora productivity, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina patens productivity, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina alterniflora productivity, Goat Island Control site, North Inlet, SC
  

• Marsh Porewater
  Spartina alterniflora porewater nutrients, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina patens porewater nutrients, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Typha porewater nutrients, Typha Control site, off Orchard St, Parker River, MA
  Spartina alterniflora porewater nutrients, Goat Island Control site, North Inlet, SC
  

• Marsh Elevation
  Spartina alterniflora marsh elevation, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina patens marsh elevation, Law's Point Control site, Rowley River, MA
  Spartina alterniflora marsh elevation, Goat Island Control site, North Inlet, SC
  

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Also See:

• Student work titled: A preliminary evaluation of sedimentation rates and species distribution inthe Rowley River Estuary
  
  
• A summary of work in progress from our colleagues at the University of South Carolina

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Companion Studies:

The following datasets contain data pertaining to marsh restoration studies in the Plum Island ecosystem. These studies are not funded directly by the PIE-LTER project, but the data are presented here because of their interest to the Plum Island Sound ecosystem. Robert Buchsbaum is the Principal Investigator on these projects and is also a Principal Investigator on the PIE-LTER.

File	Description
LTE-EX-ARGILLA-RM-VEGSTN	A description of the vegetation transects set up at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site in Ipswich and a reference marsh (Rough Meadows) in Rowley.
LTE-EX-ARGILLA-RM-VEGQUADS	Plant species percent cover in quadrats along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area).
LTE-EX-ARGILLA-RM-VEGTRANS	Plant species present along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site in Ipswich and a reference marsh (Rough Meadows) in Rowley.
LTE-EX-ARGILLA-RM-PHRAGHEIGHTS	Measurements of the two tallest Phragmites australis stems per five meter interval along transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area). The culvert feeding Argilla Marsh was enlarged in late November 1998, thus data from 1999 onward is considered as representing a hydrologically restored marsh.