| Trends toward softer, ecologically holistic approaches to shore protection and the inclusion of habitat enhancement with many shoreline projects requires greater understanding of the use of plants in wave exposed environments. While it is generally recognized that wetlands attenuate wave heights and protect shorelines from erosion, there is little data or design information available to ensure successful implementation.; An emergent, freshwater, wave exposed wetland along the shoreline of Lake Ontario was studied and assessed. Over three years, wave transmission through the wetland and plant characteristics were monitored and recorded. This field study was complemented by a series of laboratory wave flume tests using bulrushes taken from the field site. The influence of water depth, plant density, plant bed length, incident wave height and wave period on wave attenuation through the wetland was investigated.; Emergent wetland plants were found to be effective at attenuating waves, with wave height reductions of up to 45% through 2.5–10 metres of bulrushes in the laboratory and up to 80% through 30–120 m of wetland plants in the field.; Empirically based equations were developed, from both the laboratory and field data, to estimate and predict wave transmission through typical, freshwater, emergent shoreline wetlands. Wave transmission was found to be primarily a function of plant density, plant bed length and water depth. |
