Wake length of an artificial seagrass meadow: a study of shelter and its feasibility for restoration

authored by

Raul Villanueva, Moritz Thom, Jan Visscher, Maike Paul, Torsten Schlurmann

Abstract

Seagrasses are essential marine ecosystems for which restoration has proven challenging due to increased hydrodynamic stress. This study aims to analyze the flow alteration induced by an artificial seagrass (ASG) meadow by characterizing its wake effect through a shelter distance and thus yield guidance for seagrass restoration projects. Here, we define shelter distance as the longitudinal extent behind a meadow, with respect to the flow direction, where seagrass is protected and can hence grow successfully. Flume experiments were conducted for submerged meadows with three different lengths at constant canopy height, shoot density and water depth, and three different cross-section-averaged longitudinal flow velocities measured with state-of-the-art Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). For the tested meadow morphology and hydrodynamic conditions, meadow length played a less important role regarding shelter distance, while incident flow velocity and effective canopy height governed the wake effect. Incident velocities <30 cm s

⁻¹ prompted shelter distances >2 m behind the meadow, whereas higher velocities led to a reduced shelter distance ranging from 20-40 cm. ASG additionally produced an upwelling effect on the vertical distribution of the velocity profile observed along the wake, regardless of meadow length and incident velocity. Our results suggest that restoration projects should aim for areas of low flow, where currents induced by tidal or wind waves are less pronounced in order to activate larger shelter distances.

Organisation(s)

Coastal Research Centre
Ludwig-Franzius-Institute of Hydraulics, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering

Type

Article

Journal

Journal of Ecohydraulics

Volume

Pages

77-91

No. of pages

ISSN

2470-5357

Publication date

2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Civil and Structural Engineering, Water Science and Technology

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 14 - Life Below Water

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.15488/12999 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2021.1938256 (Access: Closed)