Effects of vegetated buffers on salt marsh plant composition and groundwater nitrogen uptake

Vegetated shoreline buffers are a best management practice to reduce anthropogenic nitrogen influences on estuarine ecology. This study examined the effects of buffers on (1) groundwater chemistry; (2) the salt marsh border plant community (fertilized and control); and (3) Agropyron pungens response to fertilization. All buffer widths (5 to 15 meters) were somewhat effective at removing groundwater nutrients, with greater concentrations of TDN, NO3--N, NH4 +-N, and DOC found in groundwater wells upslope of the buffer. Although on-site manure storage resulted in 30-fold greater groundwater nitrate concentrations (mean 23 mg/L) at the widest buffer, no differences were found in nitrate uptake rates between buffer widths. The manure storage confounded any buffer width effect and indicated potential nitrogen saturation of the widest buffer. Fertilization increased A. pungens leaf N content (N%; p\u3c0.001); yet the response decreased with buffer width (r2 = 0.91). Buffered plots at two sites had greater species richness (+33%) and species diversity index values (+24%) than unbuffered plots. However, the inclusion of more sites in the study found no significant effect of buffer width, plant diversity, species richness or non-native species. Results suggest groundwater nitrogen interacts with buffers but appears to bypass marshes, pointing to greater importance of buffers in protecting estuaries

Crommet Creek Conservation Area Management Plan

The Crommet Creek Conservation Area comprises the largest block of natural lands in the immediate Great Bay watershed, and in New Hampshire’s North Atlantic Coast Ecoregion. It includes the entire watershed of two tidal creeks that flow directly into the Great Bay Estuary. The area has been identified by the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership as a protection priority due to the size of the natural area; the diversity of habitats and wildlife it supports; and it’s integral role in protecting the regional water quality and resources within the Great Bay Estuary. The Conservation Area includes headwater wetlands, and the entire spectrum of freshwater and estuarine wetland and aquatic communities along both Lubberland and Crommet creeks. The Great Bay is a shallow inland tidal estuary of national importance for migratory birds. The Great Bay supports 29 species of waterfowl, 27 species of shorebirds, 13 species of wading birds, osprey and bald eagle. The Estuary is unique in that it is recessed 9 miles from the ocean along the Piscataqua River. Although development is increasing in the watershed, it remains one of the more healthy and viable estuarine ecosystems on the North Atlantic coast