When aging infrastructure failed to protect coastal farmland in southwest England from sea level rise, conservationists chose to embrace the flooding and created a new wetland reserve. Mongabay’s Leo Plunkett and Sandy Watt report in a recent Mongabay video that the newly created marsh has brought a host of benefits to the region.
The Steart Marshes reserve, between the River Parrett and Bristol Channel, was created in 2014. At the time, critics called it an act of “environmental vandalism” and “a complete and utter waste of money.” Some local farmers said it was “Disney for ducks.”
Ducks did gain a sanctuary, along with many other species of rare wildlife. The U.K. has lost more than 80% of its salt marshes in the last century, making the Steart Marshes an important refuge for many birds and aquatic species, Plunkett and Watt report.
“I think people forget that this is what it would have looked like hundreds and hundreds of years ago,” Alys Laver, WWT Steart Marshes site manager, tells Mongabay. Salt marshes and coastal wetlands that are at least occasionally inundated in sea water are special habitats, she says.
Like any natural marsh, the Steart Marsh provides habitat and food for many species of fish, insects and breeding birds.
“Particularly in the winter when we’ve got huge numbers of birds using the reserve,” Sam Wall, WWT Steart Marshes warden, tells the Mongabay team. “We’ve got things like avocet, little ringed plover, oystercatcher, which all nest on the reserve.” He says they hope to entice more rare species to breed there in the coming decade.
Beyond habitat, salt marshes are also “incredibly effective at storing carbon,” Laver says. When wetland plants die, they settle at the bottom of a marsh and are buried by silt. The carbon they contain is buried along with them, instead of being released into the atmosphere as when they decompose on land.
“If we lost all the salt marsh that we have, that would have a huge impact of all of that carbon being … potentially released back into the atmosphere,” Laver says.
Also, marshes help reduce flooding and erosion. During storms and high tide, the dense plant growth slows down the force of rushing water.
“There’s a flood protection element [and] it cleans the water,” Laver says.
Annette Burden, wetland biogeochemist from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, tells Mongabay that it’s only recently that salt marshes are being valued for their role in the environment.
“We’re still losing [them] through erosion, continued sea level rise, through pollution, through mismanagement,” she says.
Laver hopes the Steart Marshes can continue serving as a model to encourage the creation or restoration of wetlands in other areas. She says having more long-term data on the benefits of the Steart Marshes will help make the case for more U.K. marsh restorations.
Watch the full video here.
Banner image of a salt marsh by ©Leo Plunkett.
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