The development and application of geomatics techniques to assist in salt marsh restoration planning at Beausejour Marsh, New Brunswick

The restoration of salt marshes in the Bay of Fundy has been gaining considerable interest due to increasing recognition of their ecosystem values and the extent of their conversion to agricultural lands, much of which are no longer in use. Salt marshes exhibit vegetation zonation related to their elevation. To determine the suitability of three potential restoration sites at Beausejour Marsh in NB, geomatics technologies and techniques (specifically LiDAR) were applied to the assessment of selected reference marsh conditions: elevation, vegetation zone limits and tidal characteristics. Two methods of increasing the elevation at proposed restoration sites were modeled: sediment deposition following restoration of unrestricted tidal flow (breaching) and through "tidings". Elevation at two of the three proposed restoration sites is currently too low to support salt marsh vegetation, and neither of the methods was effective in increasing the elevation of these sites to levels which would allow growth of salt marsh within a desirable time frame (a few years). Given that the interactions between tidal inundation, hydrodynamics, and other variables affecting these systems are complex and not fully understood, it is recommended that experimental work using a range of salt marsh restoration options be performed at the Beausejour Marsh.