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Guidance that Incorporates Ecosystem Goods and Services in Corps Planning and Environmental Benefits Evaluation

Fiscal Year Start: 2013 Fiscal Year Ending: 2019

POC: Elizabeth Murray

SON: Strategic Research HQ Initiative

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Factsheet

Ecosystem Goods and Services (EGS) Framework, Tool Development and Methods Refinement

Research Need

Many federal agencies are beginning to formally recognize and consider in their decision-making processes services yielded by ecosystems that benefit humans. USACE currently lacks a structured approach to adequately consider appropriate ecosystem services in a manner scalable to its disclosure and decision-making contexts. The general purpose of this project is to improve our understanding and ability to incorporate consideration of ecological goods and services (EGS) in Corps planning, including the development of new tools that would make the implementation of EGS assessment in Corps planning easier and more consistent.

Project Objectives & Plan

We used the expertise of Corps Planners and academics working in the EGS field to test, develop example applications, and refined the Proposed Framework developed in Phase I. We also provided Districts with tools to more consistently address elements of non-use services that address societal preferences - without attempting to monetize the benefits of those services - using the best available science in a systematic and repeatable way. Efforts included:

  • Multiple case studies testing the Proposed Framework in different types of projects and different parts of the country, and a write up of each as a chapter in a technical report.
  • Two integrated EGS tools (Connectivity and Scarcity/Restorability) in a technical note on each.

Payoff

This project will advance the Corps’ capabilities to capture the full range of relevant benefits and losses resulting from Corps projects via EGS assessment. The tests of the Proposed Framework will provide planners with examples of EGS assessment in several settings and project types, in the event that future planning policy enables the use of EGS assessment in Corps planning. The tools being developed will also promote eventual EGS assessment but may also be used under existing planning procedures in budget justification.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Wainger, L.A., Murray, E.O., Theiling, C.H., McMurray, A.M., Cushing, J.A., Komlos, S.B. and Cofrancesco, A.F. (2023). Broadening benefits and anticipating tradeoffs with a proposed ecosystem service analysis framework for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Environmental Management 71, 901–920. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-022-01777-7
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Cushing, J.A., Komlos, S.B., Barnes, T.K., Theiling, C.H. and Murray, E.O. (2025). Incorporating ecosystem goods and services into USACE project planning: a retrospective analysis (ERDC/EL SR-25-1), Special Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/49519
  • Hychka, K., Wainger, L.A., Murray, E.O. and Price, E.W. (In review). Using connectivity to improve non-monetary benefit relevant indicators of non-use ecosystem service values from restoration, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Murray, E.O., Theiling, C.H. and Wainger, L.A. (2025). Developing an ecosystem goods and services assessment framework: Products and Resources ERDC/TN EMRRP-EBA-28), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/49786
  • Reed, D., Martin, L. and Murray, E.O. (In review). Using scarcity and reliability data to value ecosystem services: assessment of currently available resources and metric aggregation methods, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Tazik, D.J., Cushing, J.A, Murray, E.O. and Wainger, L.A. (2013). Incorporating ecosystem goods and services in environmental planning: a literature review of definitions, classification and operational approaches (ERDC/EL TR-13-17), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/7189
  • Wainger, L.A., Filoso, S., Gazenski, K., Theiling, C.H. and Murray, E.O. (2025). Applying the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) framework: Meramec case study (ERDC/EL TR-25-1), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/49520
  • Wainger, L.A., Filoso, S., Murray, E.O., Weber, M.A., Price, E.W., Flemming, T.H. and Hychka, K. (In editing) Assessing relative wetland flood risk management benefits using COPE: An exploration of Capacity, Opportunity, Payoff and Equity (ERDC/ EL TR-25-XXX), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Wainger, L.A., McMurray, A., Griscom, H.R., Murray, E.O., Cushing, J.A., Theiling, C.H. and Komlos, S.B. (2020). A proposed ecosystem services analysis framework for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ERDC/EL SR-20-2), Special Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/37741
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Murray, E.O., Cushing, J.A., Wainger, L.A. and Tazki, D.J. (2013). Incorporating ecosystem goods and services in environmental planning: definitions, classification and operational approaches (ERDC TN-EMRRP-ER-18), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/7189
Other Publications
  • Reed, D., Martin L. and Cushing J.A. (2013). Using information on ecosystem goods and services in Corps planning: an examination on authorities, policies, guidance, and practices (2013-R-07), Institute for Water Resources Report. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources, Alexandria, Virginia.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Gazenski, K., Wainger, L.A. and Murray, E.O. (2016). Using scarcity data to value ecosystem services: assessment of currently available resources, Poster. A Community for Ecosystem Services (ACES), Jacksonville, Florida.
  • Murray, E.O. (2016). Framing climate change science and adaptation in the context of ecosystem services: moving the ball forward, Panelist. A Community for Ecosystem Services (ACES), Jacksonville, Florida.
  • Murray, E.O. (2016). What’s next for ecosystem services in decision making? Priorities and pathways, Panelist. A Community for Ecosystem Services (ACES), Jacksonville, Florida.
Project Activities
  • Coordinate with HQ on integration of multiple planning initiatives, including EGS, into Corps planning.
  • Attend HQ Meetings on developing policy guidance on EGS application.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Ecosystem Goods and Services Tools Development and Methods Refinement (Incorporating EGS into Corps Planning, Phase II)

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Enhanced technologies that link H&H tools and ecosystem assessments

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2018.

POC: John Hickey

SON: Strategic Discretionary Effort: Ecosystem Modeling – HEC Ecosystem Functions Model

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Factsheet

EFM and GeoEFM (Ecological Function Models) Development1

Research Need

Most ecosystem models are developed for specific projects and locations. There are few tools that are applicable to a wide range of ecosystems and even fewer that utilize the existing capabilities of hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling packages to help simulate ecosystem responses to typical project actions (e.g., reservoir reoperations, levee alterations, nonstructural flood risk management measures) in Corps’ mission areas. This limits synergies between restoration projects (lessons learned, staff and technology exchanges) and different professional communities in the Corps (e.g., environmental planners, engineers, and regulators).

Improving a software tool that connects H&H to ecosystem dynamics will enable Corps Districts (and other users) to have greater capabilities in the ecosystem planning and management arena specifically in regards to its restoration and water resource missions.

Project Objectives & Plan

Hydrologic Engineering Center-Ecological Function Model (HEC-EFM) is designed to help study teams determine ecosystem responses to changes in the flow regime of a river or connected wetland. EFM is a generic software tool, applicable to a wide range of ecosystems and works with existing hydrologic databases and hydraulic modeling packages to make predictions of ecosystem responses. Since July 2008, EFM has been available via the web at no cost, and downloaded thousands of times (www.hec.usace.army.mil). This research continues development of EFM and its spatial accessory GeoEFM, which is also web available.

Feature enhancements 2015:

  • Completion of habitat suitability features
  • Integration of suitability and connectivity features
  • Allow users to customize output styles
  • Allow flexibility in types of output written
  • Enable batch compute

Feature enhancements for 2016:

  • HDF data import
  • Location-based eco-values
  • GeoEFM journal paper
  • Map upgrades
  • User guidance updates

Feature enhancements for 2017:

  • Relative velocity
  • Post-processing of patches for index of functionality
  • EFM and GeoEFM journal paper about watershed-scale use of statistics
  • Enable EFM to track age and origin of simulated communities
  • Assess habitat connectivity

Payoff

By advancing new generic software tools, this work unit improves the capabilities of planners and engineers around the Corps who are working in the ecosystem planning and management arena. Products of this work unit will provide immediate utility to a growing EFM user base, as evidenced by recent applications of the software by NWK, NWO, NWP, MVP, and others.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Hickey, J.T., Shafroth, P.B. and Fields, W.L. (2020). Flow-ecology modelling to inform reservoir releases for riparian restoration and management. Hydrological Processes 34, 4576-4591. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13901
  • Hickey, J.T., Huff, R. and Dunn, C.N. (2015). Using habitat to quantify ecological effects of restoration and water management alternatives. Environmental Modelling & Software. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.03.012
  • Julian, D.P., Hickey, J.T., Fields, W.L., Ostadrahimi, L., Maher, K.M., Barker, T.G., Hatfield, C.L., Lutz, K., Marks, C.O., Sandoval-Solis, S. and Lund, J.R. (2015). Decision support for water and environmental resources in the CT River Basin. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000538
Technical Reports (TRs)
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Multiple web-based trainings and project support activities.
Models and Applications
  • HEC-GeoEFM is an ArcMap extension developed to support spatial analyses commonly used during applications of the Ecosystem Functions Model (HEC-EFM). Use of HEC-GeoEFM requires a user license for ArcMap. Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions for ArcMap must also be installed and activated. https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-geoefm/
  • HEC-GeoEFM provides three primary capabilities for users planning ecosystem restoration projects or water management scenarios: 1) management of spatial data sets, 2) computation and comparisons of habitat areas, and 3) assessment of habitat connectivity.
  • HEC-GeoEFM has been certified for use in USACE Planning Studies by USACE Headquarters as recommended by the National Ecosystem Planning Center of Expertise as being sound in contemporary theory, computationally correct, and compliant with USACE policy.
Project Activities

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: HEC-EFM (Ecosystem Functions Model) ERDCWiki Title: EMRRP: Ecosystem Functions Model

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Protocols and guidelines for prioritization of sites for stream stabilization based on greatest anticipated downstream sediment reduction benefits to navigation, flood risk management and ecosystem restoration

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Chris Haring

SON: 2015-ER-3

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Tools to Assess Offsite and Cumulative Benefits in Watershed Assessments1

Research Need

The Illinois River Basin has experienced the loss of ecological integrity due to sedimentation of backwaters and side channels, degradation of tributary streams, increased water level fluctuations, reduction of floodplain and tributary connectivity, and other adverse impacts caused by human activities (Rock Island District). Illinois Basin Restoration (IL519) was designed, in part, to retain sediments in upland streams and thereby protect bottomland floodplain habitat from sediment impacts.

Sediment transport in watershed studies is typically estimated using statistical models and not field measurements. Statistical model estimates may be acceptable for general planning and regional assessments, but not for Corps project benefit analysis; the Corps 3x3x3 planning processes require a rapid, field-based benefit metric that evaluates sediment reduction anticipated from specific stream stabilization projects.

Project Objectives & Plan

This study will develop tools to prioritize sites offering the greatest downstream sediment reduction benefits to navigation (reduced dredging), flood risk management (floodway maintenance), and ecosystem restoration (floodplain habitat) objectives. An HQ certified sub-watershed sediment transport evaluation procedure that estimates existing sediment transport and the incremental reduction resulting from individual ecosystem restoration projects will be developed.

This project will take a scaled watershed approach that:

  • Identifies stream conditions over large spatial areas (i.e., watersheds) using existing watershed and valley characterization tools
  • Develops stream channel classification tools to estimate stream mechanics using high resolution elevation data
  • Assesses watershed and stream channel restoration potential in a selected watershed (Senachwine Creek), and
  • Defines aquatic habitat

Under this project, researchers will also:

  • Devise a new methodology for developing Regional Hydraulic Geometry Curves based on existing LiDAR data.
  • Incorporate new Regional Curves to delineate stream channel metrics using remote sensing (LiDAR) terrain data for the entire watershed.
  • Develop GIS toolbox to make the process efficient over entire watershed areas.
  • Develop tools that will be transferable wherever appropriate terrain data exists.

Payoff

Watershed restoration program managers will have tools to estimate the relative sediment reduction benefits of each increment of restoration in a long-term restoration program. The existing condition and cumulative benefits of incremental restoration can be monitored as part of an adaptive management program that can identify when sediment transport reduction targets are met.

Products

Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Haring, C.H, Theiling, C.H. and Dougherty, M.P. (2018). Rapid watershed assessment planning tools based on high-resolution terrain analysis. ERDC/CHL CHETN-VII-22. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1101348.pdf
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Haring, C. River Mechanics and Regional Sediment Management Workshop. (2016). Instructor. Grenada, MS.
  • Haring, C. Systems Approach to Erosion Control and River Rehabilitation Workshop. (2017). Instructor. Vicksburg, MS.
Project Activities
  • Development of geomorphic channel assessment tools; these are html based expert systems tools to facilitate watershed assessment based on channel and watershed characteristics.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Tools to Assess Offsite and Cumulative Benefits in Watershed Assessment

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Model framework and web visualization tool that allows USACE Districts to best manage for ecosystem restoration projects with ongoing changes as a result of changing conditions

Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Jacob Jung

SON: 2015-ER-14

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Data Assessment of Species and Habitat Migration due to Changing Conditions1

Research Need

USACE is tasked with the monitoring and conservation of numerous threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S) over more than 12 million acres. Managing a number of TER-S spread across a large geographic area makes conservation efforts difficult particularly when complicated by habitat shifts driven by changing conditions.

Changing conditions, such as temperature and precipitation changes, can impact vegetation phenology and may disrupt ecosystems in ways that change the habitat of TER-S; such changes may also influence the dispersal of invasive species.

With the wide breadth of potential impacts from changing conditions, earlier efforts have focused on developing tools for specific circumstances and/or impacts. However, as influencing factors change independently, a more comprehensive methodology is needed to predict the impacts of changing conditions across a variety of situations and locations. What is needed is a tool that enables managers to prioritize conservation actions to get the most return on investment. Given that a large number of species/geographic areas are impacted by changing conditions, a framework is needed to enable site comparisons and allow for prioritization of restoration efforts.

Project Objectives & Plan

This effort will develop a working model that can serve as a tool to predict range shifts of threatened, endangered, at-risk species (TER-S), and invasive species as environmental conditions are altered. This tool will assist the USACE with restoration project planning and preparation that incorporates management for TER-S and invasive species. A case study of the tool will be in the North Atlantic Division (NAD). The tool also will serve as an early detection warning for invasive species that are likely to invade sites and thus allow for proactive management to reduce impacts to the environment and to TER-S.

Products developed from the proposed work will directly support the USACE Environmental Changes Adaptation Plan and the Infrastructure and Installation Resilience Community of Practice. While the initial development will utilize NAD as an example of its utility, this approach will be easily transported to other locations throughout USACE.

The primary products will be a series of Tech Notes that demonstrate and detail the capabilities of the predictive model for TER-S and invasive species migration associated with changing conditions. A web-based GIS visualization tool will also be developed to display regions of vulnerability for given species. Additional major deliverables will include the conceptual and actual predictive model for TER-S migration in the NAD. Results will also be disseminated to the USACE via a webinar demonstration.

Payoff

The predictive model for TER-S in NAD will assist USACE in both Planning and Operations business lines (restoration efforts and mission requirements for project operations) by predicting range shifts of TER-S and invasive species that occur within the NAD. This model can be extended to incorporate other Areas of Responsibility (e.g., USACE Divisions, training areas) to assist in a proactive approach and early awareness to changes in habitat, shifts in plant communities associated with both TER-S and invasive species, and species composition. In addition, the model could aid the USACE in establishing better interagency cooperation to support environmental change adaptation including involvement with groups such as the Infrastructure and Installation Resilience CoP and the Climate Data and Tools Working Group.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Jung, J.F., Guilfoyle, M.P., Saltus, C.L., Britzke, E.R., Fischer, R.A. and Davis, A.V. (2021). Threatened, endangered, and at-risk species for consideration into climate change models in the Northeast (ERDC/EL SR-21-7), Special Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/42143
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Davis, A.V., Fuentes, A.A., Jung, J.F., Theel, H.J., Britzke, E.R. and Fischer, R.A. (2019). Tools for predicting wildlife species distribution response to ecological shifts (ERDC/TN EMRRP-EI-05), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1077124.pdf

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Data Assessment of Species and Habitat Migration due to Changing Conditions

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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Bobby McComas

SON: 2016-ER-5

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Assessing and Improving the Resilience of Bay and Coastal Marshes and Islands1

Research Need

Coastal marsh and island features provide many critical functions including storm surge protection, water filtration, CO2 sequestration, and support to the fish and wildlife that utilize these systems. Many coastal systems are experiencing accelerated degradation and acreage loss due to factors such as sea level change, salt water intrusion, and introduction of invasive species among others. Criteria to assess the vulnerability of marsh and island systems to specific drivers are needed to assist the planning community in assessing the restoration potential of sites across the Corps of Engineers, and to prioritize restoration actions. Linkage of restoration techniques to the site-specific processes driving degradation will enhance the likelihood of success of restoration projects, while increasing system sustainability and the provision of goods and services at regional (multi-project) levels.

Project Objectives & Plan

This research will address the following objectives:

  • Identify and characterize the processes and conditions contributing to loss of coastal wetland and island features
  • Establish criteria for assessing the vulnerability of coastal features and coastal systems to degrading processes and conditions
  • Develop, test, and document a methodology to prioritize sites/features based on vulnerability, restoration potential, and return on investment
  • Link restoration methods/strategies to the vulnerability classification.

Anticipated products of this research include:

  • Criteria to assess the vulnerability of coastal wetland and island features
  • Guidance for the restoration/preservation of vulnerable sites

Payoff

Products of this work effort will assist Corps planners in identifying, screening, and prioritizing candidate restoration projects in coastal environments and will assist operations personnel in designing, operating, and maintaining coastal flood and storm damage reduction and navigation projects. Consequently, Corps projects are expected to provide greater benefits and the coastal systems in which they are implemented are expected to demonstrate greater resilience. The products will be aimed at streamlining the planning process for related projects providing more timely and cost-effective product delivery.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Van Zomeren, C. and Acevedo-Mackey, D. (2019). A review of coastal vulnerability assessments: definitions, components, and variables (ERDC/EL SR-19-05), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/33289
Presentations
  • (2017). Dredging Operations and Environmental Research Program (DOER) IPR, Presentation.
  • (2018). Poster Presentation highlighting work unit (SuperRARG).
Project Activities
  • An extensive literature search was conducted to compile existing data and models pertinent to marsh and island vulnerability assessments and associated management; ongoing outreach to USACE Districts to identify specific management challenges, to locate case studies and compile data.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Assessing and Improving the Resilience of Bay and Coastal Marshes and Islands

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Fiscal Year Start: 2013; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: David Smith

SON: 2015-ER-12

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Managing Movement of Threatened, Endangered, and Invasive Species Using Corps Water Resources Infrastructure1

Research Need

Corps’ river infrastructure projects have the potential to disrupt river connectivity and impede movement of desirable migratory aquatic species, many of which are threatened or endangered (T&E species). Simultaneously, river infrastructure can block the spread of aquatic nuisance species (ANS). For example, the Brandon Road Lock and Dam (L&D) is thought to block the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes through the Illinois River Waterway and the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock & Dams (L&Ds) are thought to block the spread of ANS into the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Traditional fish passage strategies to restore connectivity for T&E species now compete with strategies to block or impede movement of nuisance invasive species. Corps’ river infrastructure projects could contribute to river system restoration if they could be designed or operated to serve as selective distributional controls (i.e., passage for some species and barrier to others) for highly mobile aquatic biota at either single-project or system-wide scales. Unfortunately, there are no operational guidelines or designs for selectively passing desirable migratory species or impeding nuisance species.

Project Objectives & Plan

The goal of the proposed work is to develop planning and engineering tools for application at L&Ds that allow Corps’ scientists and engineers to develop project alternatives that selectively pass desirable aquatic species and block or impede ANS. This research is intended to be conducted in parallel with a Pittsburgh District USACE ongoing navigation modernization feasibility study for three locks on the upper Ohio River and the USFWS Biological Opinion on Ohio River Navigation System operation and maintenance. Anticipated products include:

  • Tech Note: Novel approach for using computation fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to support feasibility studies.
  • Software: Generalized CFD models of L&Ds for feasibility studies of proposed fish passage strategies.
  • Movement rules that can be used to forecast the migratory path made by different target fish species.
  • Adaptive Management Plan for application of fish passage strategies at Corps L&Ds.

Payoff

L&Ds are a major component of the Nation’s navigation infrastructure and have the potential for dual use as a major contributor to the Corps ecosystem and restoration business line. The extension to dual use is possible with relatively little additional investment and either no impact or very little impact on navigation efficiency. This work, with its initial formulation at Pittsburgh District (LRP), will establish a sound foundation for the design and evaluation of selective fish passage strategies at replacement lock chambers on the Upper Ohio River to support a Great Lakes and Ohio River Division (LRD) environmental commitment. This work also supports initiatives identified in the agreement executed between The Nature Conservancy and LRD for cooperative projects involving dam management for native fish passage, floodplain protection, invasive species, and fish and mussel reproduction needs. It further supports initiatives of the Council on Environmental Quality and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to restrict the spread of Asian carp. Methods developed in this research will be broadly applicable to USACE navigation infrastructure nation-wide.

Products

White Papers
  • Smith, D.L. White paper: building a generalized fish passage assessment tool for application at Corps lock and dams, Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Project Activities
  • Laboratory and computational fish movement studies/simulations to assess attraction flow effectiveness; Non-physical barrier simulation at a Lock and Dam (Deterrence technology will be an important consideration for fish movement management – tools are needed to anticipate impacts and plan implementation)

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Managing Movement of Threatened, Endangered, and Invasive Species Using Corps Water Resources Infrastructure

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Ecological model development applicable to future ecosystem restoration and planning projects for mussel communities.

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2018.

POC: Todd Swannack

SON: Multiple freshwater mussel SONs submitted in FY15

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Developing community-based models for freshwater mussels1

Research Need

Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled taxa in the US. Endangered mussels occur across the nation and every USACE district must plan for the potential of their endemic mussels to be placed on the endangered species list. Endangered species models are generally developed for a single-species, but given that there are over 300 mussel species in the US, new methods must be developed that focus on community-based approaches. A standardized general methodology is needed for endangered freshwater mussel community modeling that meets the guidelines set in EC 1105-2-412 (or subsequent policies) and allows models to bedeveloped in a faster, more efficient manner, whilemaintaining scientific integrity and transparency throughoutmodel development process.

Project Objectives & Plan

This work will focus on conceptual modeling for multiple species - involving stakeholders – and will include quantitative model development, spatially explicit index-based modeling approaches, model application, model certification, and technology transfer. The primary products of this effort will include a series of Technical Notes and webinars illustrating the steps involved in community-based modeling. Additional major deliverables will include a conceptual and actual ecological model(s) that have been applied and can be used for future ecosystem restoration and planning projects for mussel communities.

Payoff

The payoff for this effort will be a standardized methodology for modeling mussel communities that can be used by the USACE planning community of practice. Standardizing the approach for endangered freshwater mussel modeling will provide an advancement over current ad-hoc approaches and will enable Corps managers and planners to more effectively and efficiently support the Corps ecosystem restoration project life-cycle from planning to construction and into operations and maintenance.

Products

Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Herman, B., Slack, T., and T. Swannack. (2021). Developing conceptual models for assessing benefits and impacts of USACE activities on freshwater mussel communities, (RDC/TN EMRRP-EBA-25) Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1149084.pdf
Model Certification
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2017). The critical species mussel modeling team was invited to give a workshop to the mussel team of the Upper Miss River Commission. Red Wing, MN. The team presented a workshop on innovative community based modeling approaches developed at ERDC.
  • (2024). Overview of the General Freshwater Mussel Habitat Model. This presentation will describe the development and application of a general freshwater mussel habitat model. The objectives of the model are to be applicable throughout the range of the North American freshwater mussel species, be sensitive to differences in proposed restoration actions or sites and contain parameters that reflect system-level functions that provide suitable habitat for freshwater mussels. https://emrrp.el.erdc.dren.mil/webinars.html

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Developing models for endangered mussel communities: formalizing and quantifying approaches for ubiquitous threatened taxa

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Develop a proof of concept approach for assessing the cumulative value of multiple projects in a single watershed. The capability developed will be used for demonstrating the value of completing multiple local projects over time at a watershed scale.

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2017.

POC: Burton Suedel

SON: 2014-ER-24

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Watershed Level Effects of Multiple Ecosystem Restoration Projects1

Research Need

Since the Water Resources and Development Act of 1986 (WRDA) re-established and refined the federal interest in water resources development, and added an ecosystem restoration mission, USACE – independently and in cooperation with other agencies – has completed numerous ecosystem restoration projects throughout the United States. The benefits of these projects, where designed and executed in isolation from the larger landscape, has come into question however. There is a perceived benefit to designing discrete ecological restoration projects in a manner that considers multiple objectives and the physical and environmental linkages that exist on a watershed scale.

Watershed level planning, however, presents a number of challenges, including the constraints of agency mission areas and the need for broader, more comprehensive – and costly – supporting planning studies. Such studies may be difficult to support in the current 3x3x3 planning process climate as well. As a result, project sponsors are often focused on planning for a specific site.

Despite the lack of connection in the planning and execution phases, many of these discrete projects may have nonetheless resulted in greater, though undocumented, realized benefits at larger ecosystem and watershed scales. An assessment of the cumulative and interrelated effects of multiple ecosystem restoration projects could quantify and demonstrate the added function and value provided by completed and future projects – i.e., a post-project cumulative assessment at the watershed scale.

Project Objectives & Plan

This project will examine multiple completed projects and projects currently planned in the Narragansett Bay watershed in an attempt to display and quantify the interrelationship among the projects as well as between the projects and the surrounding ecosystems. The assessment will demonstrate the cumulative benefits of the restoration investments over the past two to three decades providing the basis for the development of a general methodology for assessing benefits of multiple discrete projects by documenting changes in ecosystem quality and function at a watershed scale taking advantage of synergies and inter-connectedness among projects.

The primary deliverable will be a proof of concept demonstration of the cumulative effects assessment approach applied at the watershed scale. The capability developed will be used for demonstrating the aggregate value to the watershed of multiple local projects completed over time. Once developed, the approach will be available for widespread use to encourage application in other watersheds throughout the USACE. The primary written deliverables will include a Technical Report and manuscript for peer-reviewed publication illustrating the demonstration of the approach in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Deliverables will be co-developed with District collaborators to ensure that the products are useful and understandable to a broad audience.

Payoff

This work develops an approach that is a transparent, defensible assessment of the cumulative effects of USACE project activities at the watershed scale. The approach will be used to identify and, to the extent possible, quantify the ecosystem benefits resulting from NAE and other agency work in the Narragansett Bay watershed during the past 20 years. The approach will assist the Civil Works Transformation process by adding efficiency in identifying aquatic ecosystem restoration benefits. The approach will be developed for use on future projects but generalized for multiple USACE needs.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Foran, C.M., Fox-Lent, C., Chaderton, C., Gendron, W., Oliver, L., Monroy, E., Turek, J., Edward, P. and Suedel, B. (2018). Watershed level effects of multiple ecosystem restoration projects (ERDC/EL TR-18-10), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/29528

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Watershed Level Effects of Multiple Ecosystem Restoration Projects

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2D nutrient transport and vegetation interaction module for HEC-RAS

Fiscal Year Start: 2013; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Billy Johnson

SON: 2015-ER-1: Multidimensional Modeling of Interactions between Nutrients and Riparian Vegetation for Improved Riverine Ecosystem Management

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Factsheet

Multi-dimensional Modeling of Interactions between Nutrients and Riparian Vegetation for Improved Riverine Ecosystem Management1

Research Need

Current capabilities allow one to model fully mixed riverine systems with riparian vegetation growth and mortality being a function of flow and sediment. Improvements to the system will allow two-dimensional (vertically averaged) simulations, thus improving model results in large river and estuary systems, enabling modeling of interactions between flow, nutrient fate and transport, and riparian vegetation life cycles in the floodplain.

Project Objectives & Plan

The general purpose of the project is to improve the current nutrient simulation and riparian vegetation module formulations and integrate them into the latest HEC-RAS-2D program.

Riparian vegetation formulations will be improved to incorporate the effects of nutrient uptake on plant growth and mortality, thus allowing one to evaluate the effects of wetlands and backwater areas on recycling nutrients and reducing nutrient loads in downstream water bodies. These improvements in modeling capability will improve the science, economics, and decision support for ecosystem management and restoration.

The primary product of this research will be an improved HEC-RAS-2D model with more advanced nutrient and riparian vegetation dynamics. The advanced nutrient capabilities will be accomplished with updates to the Nutrient Simulation Module (NSM), and improved riparian vegetation dynamics will be accomplished through improvements to the Riparian Vegetation Simulation Module (RVSM). Technical reports, testing, validation studies, and updated versions of the HEC-RAS User’s Manual and Applications Guide will be available from the HEC website.

Payoff

The updated HEC-RAS-2D model will support the Corps’ most pressing need for a cost-effective science-based impact assessment for ecosystem restoration and management. Because of its widespread use in flood analysis and other hydraulic studies, most large river systems as well as many smaller rivers and streams in the U.S. have already been modeled with HEC-RAS. The overall cost to stakeholders interested in modeling water quality and interactions of flow, nutrients and vegetation for improved riverine and estuarine ecosystem management and restoration is dramatically reduced due to leveraging these analyses against existing modeling efforts.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2016). Testing and validation studies of the NSMII-benthic sediment diagenesis module (ERDC/EL TR-16-11), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1012495.pdf
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2016). Aquatic nutrient simulation modules (NSM) developed for hydrologic and hydraulic models (ERDC/EL TR-16-1), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1002483.pdf
Technical Notes (TNs)
Journal Articles (JAs)
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Zhang, Z., Johnson, B.E. and Greimann, B.P. (2017). Application and evaluation of HEC-RAS – RVSM to the Sacramento River, Presentation. CWEMF Conference, Folsom, California.
  • Zhang, Z. and Jensen, M. (2022). HEC-RAS One-Dimensional Riverine Water Quality Modeling. Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Conference. June, 2022.
  • Steissberg, T.E., Johnson, B.E., Zhang, Z., Jensen, M.A., and Sanchez, A. (2022). ClearWater-Riverine: An Integrated Water Quality Modeling Framework for Riparian and Floodplain Ecosystems. iEMSs 2022 Conference. International Environmental Modelling and Software Society. Brussels, Belgium. June 2022.
  • Zhang, Z., Steissberg, T.E., and Johnson, B.E. (2022). Linked Riverine and Reservoir Hydraulic and Water Quality Modeling for Ecological Impact Assessment. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Frontiers in Hydrology Conference. Session: Working with Nature-Based Features in Inland and Coastal Tropical Environments. American Geophysical Union. San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 2022.
  • Steissberg, T.E., Johnson, B.E., Zhang, Z., Jensen, M.A., and Sanchez, A. (2022). ClearWater-Riverine: A New Two-Dimensional River and Floodplain Water Quality Model. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Frontiers in Hydrology Conference. Session: Working with Nature-Based Features in Inland and Coastal Tropical Environments. American Geophysical Union. San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 2022.
Models and Applications
  • Columbia River System Operations (CRSO) Project, USACE Northwest Division (2020)
Figure 1. HEC-RAS-2D hydraulics model, Muncie, Indiana.

Figure 2. ClearWater-Riverine modeling schematic.

Figure 3. Advection and diffusion of a tracer in the Ohio River using the ClearWater-Riverine water quality model linked with a HEC-RAS-2D hydraulics model. Water quality was modeled using a constant kinetics rate to simulate its decay due to assimilation as it is transported and spread through the Ohio River system. Note that the concentrations vary across the channel as well as in the direction of flow. This figure also demonstrates the new visualization capabilities of ClearWater-Riverine.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Multi-dimensional Modeling of Interactions between Nutrients and Riparian Vegetation for Improved Riverine Ecosystem Management ERDCwiki Title: Multi-Dimensional Modeling of Nutrients and Riparian Vegetation for Improved Riverine Ecosystem Management

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Provide a suite of techniques and methods for conceptualizing, quantifying, and managing variable ecosystems using restoration alternatives that design for or manage variability.

Fiscal Year Start: 2013; Fiscal Year Ending: 2017.

POC: Kyle McKay

SON: Strategic initiative

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Factsheet

Ecosystem Restoration in Variable Environments1

Research Need

Adequately accounting for environmental variability is a critical concern in quantifying long-term success of ecosystem restoration projects. Ecosystems and ecological processes experience numerous sources or expressions of periodic stochastic and catastrophic environmental variation (e.g., seasonal temperature dynamics, rainfall fluctuations, and large floods), respectively2. These dynamic environmental conditions lead to variable and uncertain ecological benefit provided by these systems. For instance, an arid stream may be a significant source of aquatic habitat during wet years, and a nearly dry riverbed during drought. Moreover, many restoration projects have operational elements that respond to, and are often designed to change, ambient conditions (diversion structures, flood control features, etc.). Additionally, disturbance and land use change may alter future levels of environmental variability and potentially increase uncertainty as ecological responses change and adjust.

In order to better design, efficiently operate, and adaptively manage project features to optimize environmental benefits, project planners and operational specialists require tools for responding to variability and disturbance (e.g., drought).

Project Objectives & Plan

This project seeks to provide a suite of techniques for quantifying and incorporating environmental variability into project planning. Three primary and several secondary deliverables are proposed for this project:

  • Review the state-of-the-science and synthesize techniquesfor quantifying environmental variability.
  • Review the role of variability in setting and crossingecological thresholds, maintaining ecosystem resilience, anddesigning restoration projects accordingly.
  • Develop a case study to demonstrate accounting forvariability of environmental benefits of restoration projects.
  • Present findings to users in webinars, conferencepresentations, and on-site demonstrations with collaboratingfield personnel.

Payoff

Understanding and quantifying variability is particularly important in non-stationary environments, which are the new norm in aquatic ecosystems2. Developing techniques for evaluating variability will help practitioners to plan and design for fluctuating environments, increase the resilience of restoration projects, and avoid negative thresholds in restoration outcomes.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • McKay, S., Freeman, M. and Covich, A. (2016). Application of Effective Discharge Analysis to Environmental Flow Decision-Making. Environmental Management. 57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-016-0684-4.
  • Shrestha S., Dwivedi P., McKay S.K., and Radcliffe D. (2019). Assessing the potential impact of rising production of industrial wood pellets on streamflow in the presence of projected changes in land use and climate: A case study from the Oconee River Basin in Georgia, United States. Water, 11(1), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010142.
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • McKay, S.K., Pruitt, B.A., Zettle, B.A., Hallberg, N., Hughes, C., Annaert, A., Ladart, M. and McDonald, J. (2018). Proctor Creek ecological model (PCEM): phase 1 site screening (ERDC/EL TR-18-11), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/29514
  • McKay, S.K., Pruitt, B.A., Zettle, B.A., Hallberg, N., Moody, V., Annaert, A., Ladart, M., Hayden, M. and McDonald, J. (2018). Proctor Creek ecological model (PCEM): phase 2 benefits analysis (ERDC/EL TR-18-11), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/29515
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Bhattacharjee, N.V., Willis, J.R., Tollner, E.W. and McKay, S.K. (2019). Habitat provision associated with environmental flows (ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-85), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/32406
  • McKay, S.K. (2022). Is mean discharge meaningless for environmental flow management? (ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-91), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/45381
Other
  • Bhattacharjee, N.V. (2017). Assessing Water Body Ecological Indicators using Time Series Analysis and Physics-based Modeling Approaches. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/19635?v=pdf
  • Bumpers, P., Skaggs, J., and Wenger S. (2017). Response of shoal-dwelling fish to the cessation of hydropeaking on the Etowah River. Project Report, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Pruitt, B. A. and McKay, S. K. (2013). Integration of stream flow duration with hydraulic geometry in the southern Piedmont. Proceedings of the 2013 Georgia Water Resources Conference.
  • McKay, S.K. (2015). Quantifying hydrologic variability, Presentation. Ecological Society of America, Baltimore, Maryland.
  • McKay, S.K. and Conn, C. (2017). Using ecosystem functions to inform water management decisions, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • McKay, S.K. (2017). Ecosystem restoration webinar series – SMART planning and ecological model development – a case study in Proctor Creek, Atlanta, GA, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • McKay/Conn (2017). Making sense of noisy environmental systems: characterizing and quantifying variability, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • (2017). The messy business of urban stream restoration – a case study in the southeastern United States. IGB Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
  • (2017). Capturing the socio-economic payoff from managing rivers for environmental objectives. PIANC Smart Rivers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • (2017). Trading-off socio-economic and ecological outcomes associated with municipal water supply. Society for Freshwater Science, Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • (2017). The messy business of urban stream restoration in Proctor Creek, Atlanta. Symposium on Urban Stream Ecology, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Ecosystem restoration in variable environments

2Milly P.C.D., Betancourt J., Falkenmark M., Hirsch R.M., Kundzewicz Z.W., Lettenmaier D.P., and Stouffer R.J. 2008. Stationarity is dead: Whither water management? Science, 319, 573-574.

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An enhanced HEC-ResSim software package with an integrated water quality modeling system capable of one-dimensional and two-dimensional water quality simulations.

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Todd Steissberg

SON: 2015-ER-5

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Factsheet

Integrating Environmental Considerations with Water Resource Simulations1

Research Need

As watersheds are subjected to escalating pressures of land development, environmental degradation, and weather-related impacts, managing reservoir and riverine systems to address environmental considerations is an increasingly complex but important task. Historically, reservoir operations have focused on balancing multiple authorized project purposes (i.e., flood control, water supply, fish and wildlife conservation, power production, navigation, and recreation). More recently, meeting environmental objectives has become an increasingly important consideration in reservoir operations, and demand for watershed scale water quality modeling is significantly increasing. However, the water resources community lacks simulation software with the capability to fully integrate environmental and ecosystem provisions into reservoir release decision-making. Due to data, time, and resource limitations, water quality models have typically been constructed to represent only a single reservoir or tributary system even though in many watersheds there are multiple reservoirs that influence system-wide water quality. To enable the most effective water management alternatives for meeting multiple objectives, new modeling tools are needed.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to construct a next-generation reservoir water quality modeling system by embedding water quality capabilities within the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Reservoir System Simulation program (HEC-ResSim). HEC-ResSim is a reservoir operations simulation program that is extensively used by the Corps for water management and water resource planning. An enhanced HEC-ResSim software package with water quality modeling and analysis capabilities will fully integrate water quality into the reservoir release-decision-making process enabling improved environmental and ecosystem management. The software will be capable of performing 1D (one-dimensional) and 2D (two-dimensional) simulations. Reservoirs will be represented by 1D vertically stratified or 2D vertically stratified and longitudinally varying water bodies, while rivers will be represented by 1D longitudinally varying water bodies. The water quality capabilities will be provided by a hydrodynamic and water quality engine, water quality libraries, and an expanded user interface developed in close collaboration between HEC and ERDC Environmental Lab (EL). The user will be able to define water quality operation rules that specify water quality objectives (either at-site or downstream) to be considered by HECResSim in making reservoir release decisions. The HEC-ResSim user interface will support water quality model setup (including all relevant water quality and meteorological parameters), data visualization, analysis, and reporting. The updated HEC-ResSim program and documentation, technical reports, and validation studies will be available from the HEC’s and EL’s web sites.

Payoff

Integrating water quality modeling capabilities into HEC-ResSim directly supports the Corps’ high priority needs for including water quality and related environmental objectives with other project purposes into reservoir operations modeling, assessment, and management. Furthermore, it facilitates cost-effective, science-based environmental impact assessment and management. Through the Corps Water Management System (CWMS) implementation project, over 200 watersheds will have HEC-ResSim models constructed and ready for deployment over the next several years. The ability to add water quality modeling and operating objectives to these watershed models and use them in CWMS for real-time decision support and in planning studies will provide an effective, efficient, and economical approach to addressing environmental requirements.

Products

Software
  • Software: HEC-ResSim Version 4.0 with Water Quality Modeling Capability
  • Documentation:
    • Design Specification: HEC-ResSim Water Quality Modeling Capability Development
    • HEC (2020). HEC-ResSim Water Quality Modeling User’s Manual. USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, California.
Publications:
  • Steissberg, T. and L. Ostadrahimi. (2020). Water Quality Modeling Capability Development for Integrated Environmental Watershed Support. Annual Newsletter of the USACE Committee on Water Quality.
  • Steissberg, T., L. Ostadrahimi, J. DeGeorge, S. Andrews, J. Klipsch, Z. Zhang, B. Johnson. (In preparation). Integrating Water Quality Objectives into Reservoir Operations Simulations. Environmental Modelling and Software.
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2014). Application and evaluation of the HEC-RAS – nutrient simulation module (NSM I), EMRRP Technical Notes Collection. ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-47. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p266001coll1/id/3855/
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2016a). Aquatic nutrient simulation modules (NSMs) developed for hydrologic and hydraulic models, ERDC/EL TR-16-1. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/10112
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2016b). Aquatic contaminant and mercury simulation modules developed for hydrologic and hydraulic models, ERDC/EL TR-16-8. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/20249
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2016c). Testing and validation studies of the NSMII - benthic sediment diagenesis module, ERDC/EL TR-16-11. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1012495.pdf
  • Zhang, Z. and Johnson, B.E. (2017). Hydrologic engineer center-river analysis system (HEC-RAS) water temperature models developed for the Missouri River recovery management plan and environmental impact statement, ERDC/EL TR-17-18. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/23707
Project Activities
  • Development of HEC-ResSim unit test program with 1D WQ capabilities (temperature, conservative constituents, and eutrophication)
  • EL water quality libraries developed and ready to link with HEC-ResSim
  • HEC-ResSim v4.0 with Water Quality Modeling Capability
  • HEC-ResSim v4.0 Water Quality Modeling User’s Manual
  • HEC water quality modeling tools web site: https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/waterquality/hec-ressim.aspx

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Integrating Environmental Considerations with Water Resource Simulations

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Ambient and anthropogenic aquatic sound database, equipment, guidance and software enabling field ambient sound capture capability.

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Alan Katzenmeyer

SON: 2014-ER-6

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Factsheet

Ambient Noise Level Measurement in the Aquatic Environment1

Research Need

Broad ranges of environmental circumstances such as water quality, surface conditions, underwater objects, and diversity and abundance of sound-sources, both natural and anthropogenic, influence the level and variability of ambient noise in the aquatic environment. Models demonstrating noise permeation through the aquatic environment are available but they lack the resolution needed for impact assessment (Schreiner 1990).

There is a need for a database of consistent, high-quality sound measurements reflecting ambient conditions in aquatic environments for comparison to sound levels produced by aquatic activities such as pile driving, dredging, dredged material placement, navigation and other anthropogenic sound sources. The USACE must be able to identify and differentiate ambient and construction related noise levels in order to assess environmental impacts, identify areas and organisms potentially affected, and determine where management or mitigation is necessary.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this work unit is to collect, process, and analyze ambient sounds and anthropogenic noise in aquatic environments. The principal goals are to sample and characterize acute and chronic noise associated with USACE activities (e.g., dredging, pile driving, bank armoring, and dredged material placement) and to establish ambient sound levels in harbors and shipping canals for comparison.

An available database of underwater sound files will support more quantitative assessment of impacts associated with aquatic construction activities, and inform management or mitigation needs.

Primary products of this research will include:

  • An archived library of underwater sounds produced by natural processes (e.g., water movements, animal behaviors) and by anthropogenic activities (e.g., construction, navigation)
  • A consistent and systematic methodology for sampling, processing and analyzing underwater sounds to ensure high quality data supporting assessment of impacts associated with dredging and construction activities;
  • A self-contained sampling system that can be readily deployed and used by field crews to accurately measure noise levels.

Payoff

The proposed sound database will provide baseline data for comparison of anthropogenic to ambient noise levels. This project has wide application to Corps underwater construction and maintenance activities in both freshwater and marine environments, and will have particular utility in assessment of potential for impact of such activities on sensitive, or threatened and endangered species. The ability to deploy commercially available hydrophones with user-friendly interfaces will also enable USACE Districts to collect their own sound data, in a consistent and technically sound manner, to support defensible noise impact evaluations.

Products

Software
  • Software has been developed to assess the impact of underwater anthropogenic sound on marine mammals by application of marine mammal auditory weighting functions for permanent threshold shift onset acoustic thresholds. Contact EMRRP program manager for Python file and user guide.
Presentations
  • (2019). Conference Presentation Yangtze/Mississippi River meeting. Demonstration of software capabilities and how masking and behavior levels are determined.
  • (2019). Poster Presentation - UAS community of practice.
Project Activities
  • Established Inter-agency collaboration – National Marine Fishery Service, current regulatory agency – established collaboration, possible future training course. USACE lead: Katzenmeyer.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Ambient Noise Level Measurements in Aquatic Environments ERDCpedia Title: Ambient and Anthropogenic Sound in the Aquatic Environment

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A repeatable, streamlined approach for classifying bottom types in shallow, aquatic and marine habitats, using existing/new geospatial technologies (e.g. lidar, sonar, high resolution imagery).

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Molly Reif

SON: 2015-ER-8

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Factsheet

Classifying Benthic Habitats in the Great Lakes and Coastal Environments1

Research Need

Understanding bottom type variation is critical to coastal management and to understanding how to create mutually supporting economic and environmentally sustainable solutions to coastal planning challenges, consistent with the Corps’ Environmental Operating Principles.

Mapping bottom type variation at a high resolution and demonstrating how the resulting maps can be used to understand and forecast spatial variation in species guilds and key population processes of native and invasive species (e.g., spawning locations), will provide critical information to support environmentally sustainable coastal management.

Project Objectives & Plan

A streamlined approach for classifying bottom types, and their association with key biological parameters in shallow (nearshore) aquatic and marine habitats, will be developed using the Great Lakes as a case study. The proposed effort aims to utilize existing and new geospatial technologies to improve the resolution and accuracy of our understanding of bottom type variation, and associated critical habitat parameters that influences native and non-native biota important to ecosystems and their derived services (e.g., fisheries production). The work will be coordinated with other Great Lakes initiatives, including the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework (GLAHF), the Habitat and Species Annex (Annex 7) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), and the joint National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA)/National Park Service (NPS) Benthic Mapping for Coastal Restoration projects.

Available geospatial data resources and technologies suitable for benthic habitat characterization in coastal environments will be synthesized, including high resolution imagery, lidar and sonar data. A bottom type classification scheme that characterizes geomorphic structure, substrate, and biological potential of bottom types will be developed to rate different macrohabitats according to their functional value to support sensitive, recreational, and commercial species in coastal aquatic habitats. A pilot study will be conducted in one of the Great Lakes to apply the classification methodology for select native and invasive species, and summarize results in a technical report for wider application in other coastal environments.

Payoff

The product will provide a repeatable approach for mapping bottom types that could be applied in other shallow coastal environments, allowing state and federal agencies to:

  • Use a consistent framework to identify characteristics in underwater features using remote sensing data (lidar, sonar, imagery, etc.),
  • Support the goals of Annex 7, GLAHF, and the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, and
  • Support planning for economic and environmentally sustainable solutions to coastal management challenges. The product will provide a methodological template that can be transferred to other USACE projects with interest in the quality and aerial extent of substrates and benthic habitats.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Reif, M.K., Krumwiede, B.S., Brown, S.E., Theuerkauf, E.J., and Harwood, J.H. (2021). Nearshore Benthic Mapping in the Great Lakes: A Multi-Agency Data Integration Approach in Southwest Lake Michigan. Remote Sensing 13, 3026. target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13153026
White Papers
  • (2017). Conference summary: NOAA integrated ocean and coastal mapping, Great Lakes Coastal Mapping Summit Summary. Office of Coastal Survey, Chicago, IL.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2017). Classifying Coastal Benthic Habitats: A Great Lakes Example, Meeting Author/Presenter. Great Lakes Coastal Mapping Summit, Chicago, Illinois.
  • Menza, C. (presenter), Sautter, W., Kendall, K., Costa, B. and Reif, M.K. (2017). Using LIDAR surveys to map habitats and archaeological sites in western Lake Michigan, Presentation. International Association of Great Lakes Research Conference 2017, Detroit, Michigan.
Project Activities
  • Field data acquisition - Recent changes in Lake Michigan's water clarity have exposed large expanses of shallow lakebed areas to aerial imagery and other remote sensing technologies. The Joint Airborne LIDAR Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise collected airborne laser scanning LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) along Lake Michigan's coasts in 2008 and in 2012 to identify and characterize nearshore lakebed habitats and submerged archaeological sites in the proposed Wisconsin-Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary. Our developed coastal benthic habitat maps will offer new substrate, hazard and archaeological information to coastal managers tasked with maintaining lake-derived ecosystem services and protecting the exceptional historic and recreational value of the area.
  • Coordination with the Illinois State Geological Survey and NOAA regarding airborne and boat-based survey activities (June 2018), to include collection of high resolution hyperspectral imagery and bathymetric LiDAR along the nearshore of Western Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park, leveraging other multi-agency studies in the area with the USACE-Chicago District, NOAA, USGS, and others. Goals include developing sustainable nearshore management solutions to prevent critical habitat loss, field and modelling investigation to solve sand management challenges, USACE and USGS Effectiveness of Nearshore Placement of Dredged Material Study and USACE Waukegan Harbor Section 107 Feasibility Study.
  • Joined Steering Committee for the Great Lakes Bottom Mapping Workgroup inter-agency/academic partnership regarding nearshore mapping with the goal of harmonizing, collecting, processing, and sharing continuous high resolution maps of bathymetry, sonar reflectance, bottom type, and derived products.
  • Multi-agency (NOAA, USACE, NPS, and state agencies) coordination pertaining to future file/data sharing, and modifications to the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) as needed to adapt to the nearshore freshwater environments in the Great Lakes.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Classifying Benthic Habitats in the Great Lakes and Other Coastal Environments ERDCpedia Title: EMRRP: Classifying Coastal Benthic Habitats - A Great Lakes Example

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Embedded watershed runoff water-quality modeling capabilities within HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modeling System), for multiple parameters (temperature, DO, nutriets, salts, sediment, etc.)

Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2021.

POC: Todd Steissberg POC: Billy Johnson

SON: 2016-ER-20 (2015-ER-12)

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Factsheet

Hydrologic Water Quality Modeling in Support of Watershed Based Planning Decision Support1

Research Need

The Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is extensively used by the Corps for watershed flow and sediment modeling in support of water management and water resource planning. The Corps needs a generalized next-generation watershed water quality modeling system, capable of simulating non-point source water quality (nutrients, dissolved oxygen, phytoplankton, and bacteria) and characterizing watershed-scale water quality impacts to improve water management for environmental and ecosystem benefits.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to build new capabilities within the HEC-HMS, in collaboration with ERDC Environmental Laboratory (ERDC-EL). This project will produce a new version of HEC-HMS with water quality modeling and analysis capabilities, simulating water temperature and general constituent transport for overland flow, streams, and reservoirs:

  • The new software will integrate water quality into thehydrologic modeling process to improve watermanagement for environmental and ecosystem benefits.
  • Overland flow water quality capabilities will provide vitalnon-point source inputs for dedicated river and reservoirwater quality models.
  • Stream and reservoir capabilities will allow users tocharacterize watershed-scale water quality impacts.

These capabilities will be provided by a water quality engine and an expanded user interface, developed in close collaboration between HEC and ERDC-EL. The HEC-HMS user interface will support water quality model setup (including all necessary model parameters), water quality and meteorological data input, data visualization, analysis, and reporting requirements.

The updated HEC-HMS program, documentation, technical reports, and validation studies will be available from the HEC’s and ERDC’s web sites.

Payoff

Integrating watershed water quality modeling capabilities into HEC-HMS directly supports the Corps’ high priority needs to assess project impacts and improve management of the watershed to meet environmental objectives, which range from endangered species protection to invasive species control, as well as to improve reservoir operations decision-making to meet downstream environmental requirements. The new HEC-HMS software will provide the Corps with integrated hydrologic and water quality capabilities, providing accurate non-point inputs for streams and reservoirs and extensive data visualization and reporting capabilities for analysis and decision support. The software will be intuitive, powerful, and easy to use, facilitating cost-effective, science-based environmental impact assessment and management. Furthermore, it will form the foundation for more extensive generalized watershed water quality modeling capabilities (e.g., nutrients, dissolved oxygen, bacteria, and phytoplankton) in the next major stage of development. The Corps is rapidly building real-time watershed-scale forecasting models across the nation, incorporating HEC-HMS and other models in the Corps Water Management System (CWMS). Through the CWMS implementation project, more than 200 watersheds will have HEC-HMS models constructed and ready for deployment over the next several years. The ability to add water quality to these watershed models and use them in CWMS for real-time decision support as well as planning studies provides an effective, efficient, and economical approach to addressing environmental requirements.

Products

Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Steissberg, T. (2017). Water temperature modeling workshop, Workshop. Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, California.
Project Activities
  • Literature review pertaining to temperature modeling as conservative, surrogate WQ model parameter; begin developing outline for software design document.
Models and Applications
  • HDF5 interface libraries were built that can be used with FORTRAN, .Net (Visual Basic and C#), and Java. These libraries provide a user-friendly interface for exchanging data with HDF5 files. These are general-purpose libraries that can be used by HEC-ResSim, HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, and other programs to store and retrieve hydrologic and environmental data. Downloadable model versions and documentation: https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-hms/downloads.aspx

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Hydrologic Water Quality Modeling in Support of Watershed Based Planning Decision Support

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Toolkit facilitating: 1) Stakeholder collaboration - serious games and other communication and visualization tools, including - time series satellite data historical and predictive graphics 2) Systems-based understanding and multipurpose prioritization/planning and 3) Vulnerability and uncertainty assessments.

Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Billy Johnson POC: John Kucharski

SON: 2016-ER-23

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Factsheet

Watershed Planning and Evaluation Tools1

Research Need

Watershed planning goes beyond project planning (for specific USACE projects) towards more comprehensive and strategic evaluations and analyses that include diverse political, geographic, physical, institutional, technical, and stakeholder considerations. Watershed planning addresses identified water resources needs from any source, regardless of agency responsibilities, and provides a joint vision of a desired end state that may include recommendations for potential involvement by USACE, other federal agencies, or non-federal interests.

In conducting watershed planning, USACE uses its planning capability in a broader sense, to meet the changing water resources needs of the nation. Ultimately, watershed assessments should inform multiple audiences and decision makers at all levels of government, and provide a strategic roadmap to inform future investment decisions by multiple agencies. A system-wide watershed planning tool that integrates water quantity, water quality, ecological data, and uncertainty with stakeholder values and regulatory requirements is needed to effectively evaluate and integrate watershed management alternatives to achieve multiple objectives.

Project Objectives & Plan

The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (ERDC-EL), ERDC Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC-CHL), US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources Hydrologic Engineering Center (IWR-HEC) and others will develop software and tools for Watershed Assessment Teams, informing modeling of watersheds, rivers, and reservoirs and enabling more effective alternatives comparison and stakeholder communication. These tools will include:

  • Serious Games to support Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Satellite Data Tools to support Systems Analysis
  • Weather Generator to support Systems Analysis
  • Vulnerability Assessment Tools for Future Risks

Pilot studies will be conducted in: South Pacific Division, Chesapeake Bay & CA Central Valley and Sacramento Watershed. A tabletop version of the Serious Games concept has been developed and demonstrated within USACE; the game concept is being refined as a Stakeholder communication tool enabling stakeholders with widely varying technical backgrounds to understand the tradeoffs of various project alternatives; a later interactive module is planned as a follow-on effort. The Satellite Data Time Series Animation Proof of Concept has been developed and will be applied to a concept case study; this tool will enable not only systems analysis but also effective stakeholder communication, by visually illustrating the spatial impacts of various watershed project alternatives.

An atmospheric module and a weather generator are under development that will exploit the connection between climate and weather, capturing the causal mechanism – the weather regime – and addressing certain deficiencies in current modeling capabilities, including:

  • Disparity of resolution between catchment being modeled and general circulation models
  • Lack of understanding of how drought influences flood, and vice versa
  • Inability to model low flow events or reproduce long term drought events

Payoff

To date, limited effort has been put into developing multi-criteria decision frameworks to evaluate potential actions across a watershed. Thus, there is a need to develop a complement of system-wide watershed planning tools encompassed by this effort. This R&D will provide capabilities currently not available to the USACE planning community, increasing their ability to successfully assess projects on a watershed scale for multiple objectives, scenarios, and criteria, resulting in a more efficient planning process and greater optimization of management and restoration alternatives over a watershed scale.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Kucharski, J., Steinschneider, S., Herman, J., Olszewski, J., Arnold, W., Rahat, S., Maendly, R., Ray, P. (2024). Bridging the gap between top-down and bottom-up climate vulnerability assessments: process informed exploratory scenarios identify system-based water resource vulnerabilities. Water Resources Research, 60, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036649
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Cole, R.A. (2016). Case study application of the biodiversity security index to ranking feasibility studies for ecosystem restoration projects of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (ERDC/EL CR-16-1), Technical Report. US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/20262
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Crawford, B.A., Katz, R.A. and McKay, S.K. (2017). Engaging stakeholders in natural resource decision-making (ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-83), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/23956
Other Reports
  • Mendoza, G., Jeuken, A., Matthews, J.H., Stakhiv, E., Kucharski, J. and Gilroy, K. (2018). Climate risk informed decision analysis (CRIDA): Collaborative water resources planning for uncertain future. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management. UNESCO and ICIWaRM Press. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265895
White Papers
  • Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, (2016). National large wood manual: assessment, planning, design, and maintenance of large wood in fluvial ecosystems: restoring process, function, and structure, White Paper. https://cw-environment.erdc.dren.mil/restore/pdfs/2016%20National%20Large%20Wood%20Manual.pdf
  • Kucharski et al. Vulnerability based risk mitigation and robust plan selection at the Iolanda Water Treatment Plant, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2017). Watershed planning and evaluation tools scoping workshop, Workshop. Davis, California.
  • (2017). Collaborative risk informed decision analysis training workshop, Workshop. USAID
  • (2018). Workshop on natural and nature-based flood risk management, Workshop. Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand.
Project Activities
  • Multi-agency coordination to identify needs of planners dealing with complicated watershed alternatives analysis and optimization, and stakeholder communication. Development of a cross section of tools pertaining to climate and water supply/flooding projections, use of time series satellite images for alternatives impacts visualization, and planning-oriented serious games stakeholder communication tools.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Watershed Planning and Evaluation Tools

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Development of a soil amendment to increase plant soil-holding capability in saline environments for improved wetland restoration and other applications

Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2017.

POC: Steve Larson

SON: Strategic R&D

Printable
Factsheet

Growth Enhancing Bio-Polymer Use in Ecosystem Restoration1

Research Need

Sea level change due to future weather-related conditions is predicted to impact nearly all coastal wetlands, with continued losses causing negative impacts to tourism, the fishing industry, wildlife habitats, protective barrier islands, and residential areas. For example, data from past hurricanes indicates that the loss of every one-mile strip of wetlands along the coast corresponds to an estimated $5.8M average annual increase in property damage (Restore or Retreat.org).

Grasses and grass-like plants of tidal salt marshes on the coasts of the United States, as well as mangrove and tupelo gum swamps, are important to sustainability of wetland and marsh areas and critical to restoration efforts in these low lying areas. However, it is often difficult to re-establish this native vegetation because soil loss can be more rapid than root development. This effect is particularly acute in tidal wetlands and salt marshes, where establishment of salt-tolerant species is slow compared to grasses. A method of soil amendment, particularly for use in increasingly saline environments, is needed to improve success of wetland restoration, reduce sediment losses, increase slope stability, improve soil germination rates, increase drought resistance and improve revegetation rates on disturbed lands.

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are produced by numerous rhizobium species, symbiotic bacteria that nodulate plant roots using plant sugars to produce a biopolymer (BP) film. The functions of this film include surface adhesion, water retention and nutrient accumulation. In field demonstrations, a single application of concentrated EPS to soil at the beginning of the growing season has resulted in plants with larger root masses. In regions with saline soils, EPS can also increase the salt tolerance of some plants which improves plant growth and reproduction. These biopolymers have potential to fill a unique niche in ecological restoration by facilitating more rapid and successful vegetation establishment.

Project Objectives & Plan

Rhizobia will be isolated from saline tolerant legumes, cultured, and grown in batch – and subsequently pilot scale – reactors, and effects on plant growth in saline environment tested in lab and field scale.

The production of soil amendments using monocultures in bioreactors, developed using Rhizobium tropici, has been patented to the US Army and licensed to industrial partners (Newman et al. 2010). The same industrial process will be used to produce a novel rhysobially based material, to geoengineer soil systems such that plants are better protected from salt stress. In the laboratory, the rhizobia will be isolated from the soil around this saline tolerant legume, cultured, and grown in batch reactors, where the microbes are stimulated to produce large quantities of this biopolymer.

Laboratory, mesoscale (lysimeter), and field-scale soil tests will be conducted employing grasses used for wetlands restoration, to assess benefit to plant growth in a saline environment. Metrics, compared to plants grown in non-amended (control) soil, will include:

  • Root mass and shoot length
  • Root architecture
  • Total suspended solids (TSS) in leachate and runoff water
  • Nutrient concentration (TKN, nitrate, phosphate) in leachate and runoff water
  • Changes in total organic carbon (TOC) in soil over time

Payoff

This research constitutes an important leveraging opportunity to adapt biopolymer technology developed for military applications to ecological restoration, and levee and coastal management needs. By combining modern bioengineering with an understanding of the natural symbiotic relationship between plants and soil microbial communities, soils can be rapidly adapted for enhanced re-vegetation during wetland and restoration efforts. The biopolymer can be used as a soil amendment to induce rapid root and shoot development. This root development can facilitate soil stabilization to encourage both stability of current wetlands and development of new or restored wetlands, as well as dunes, levees or other areas. Imparting salt tolerance in brackish wetlands is key to rapid establishment of vegetation in brackish and saline environments.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Larson, S.L., Martin, W.A., Wade, R., Hudson, R. and Nestler, C. (2016). Technology transfer of biopolymer soil amendment for rapid re-vegetation and erosion control at Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia (ERDC/EL TN-16-2), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p266001coll1/id/3776
  • Larson, S. L., Nijak, G., Corcoran, M., Lord, E. and Nestler, C. (2016). Evaluation of rhizobium tropic-derived biopolymer for erosion control of protective berms. Field Study: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (ERDC TR-16-5), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p266001coll1/id/3898
  • Larson, S. L., Busby, R., Martin, W. A., Medina, V. F., Seman, P., Hiemstra, C. A., Mishra, U. and Larson, T. (2017). Sustainable carbon dioxide sequestration as soil carbon to achieve carbon neutral status for DoD lands (ERDC TR-17-13), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p266001coll1/id/5914
  • Larson, S.L., Corcoran, M.K., Gent, D.B., Butler, A.D. and Nestler, C.C. (2019). Improved levee resilience through soil application of a natural organic polymer – field study Kaufman Levee No. 1. (ERDC TR-19-6), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/33068
White Papers
  • Larson, S. L. (2017). Levee resilience or “getting the grass to grow”. Flood Risk Management (FRM) Newsletter, 10(3).
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2016). Biopolymer levee field test and revegetation under saline conditions, Webinar.
  • (2016). Soil as a sink for atmospheric carbon sequestration, Webinar. Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Innovations (CASI), Seven Webinar Series.
  • (2017). Evaluation of biopolymer for erosion control of protective berms”, Webinar. SERDP-ESTCP Webinar Series.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Improved Plant Survival and Wetland Stability ERDCwiki Title: Revegetation of Coastal Wetlands using Biopolymer and Salt Tolerant Plants

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Comprehensive guidance for restoration and maintenance of salt marshes affected by sea level change.

Fiscal Year Start: 2015; Fiscal Year Ending: 2018.

POC: Elizabeth Murray POC: Damarys Acevedo-Mackey

SON: 2015-ER-20

Printable
Factsheet

Techniques and Methods for Salt Marsh Restoration to Account for Sea Level Change1

Research Need

Loss of coastal marsh areas critical for their ecological and storm protection functions has become a national concern, with decline attributed to sediment starvation and exacerbated by the impacts of sea level change and subsidence. Little guidance exists pertaining to sustainable restoration and management of impacted marsh areas. Studies are needed to address information gaps such that suitable approaches can be developed and disseminated to agencies responsible for stewardship of these areas.

Project Objectives & Plan

Technical guidelines for restoring and sustaining ecological function of coastal marshes impacted by sea level change will be developed through the efforts of a multi-disciplinary team focused on the environmental and ecological aspects of planning, designing, implementing and monitoring such projects. Objectives of the effort include:

  • Consolidate a knowledge base incorporating relevant literature, case studies, lessons learned and best management practices for restoring and sustaining ecological function in salt water marshes impacted by sea level change
  • Quantify environmental “impacts” (positive and negative) of material placement (dredged material or other fill material) to nourish inter-tidal wetlands for the purpose of offsetting sea level change
  • Quantify environmental “impacts” (positive and negative) of other management practices intended to mitigate effects of sea level change on inter-tidal wetlands
  • Identify and address regulatory authority, stakeholder concerns, restrictions, and limitations related to all aspects and stages of a restoration project
  • Develop recommended requirements for characterizing a restoration site, control site, and source materials for placement in ecologically sensitive areas
  • Develop appropriate performance criteria to assess environmental and ecological response to management activities intended to offset adverse impacts of sea level change
  • Integrate historic and ongoing efforts with other projects focused on engineering aspects of material placement and site stabilization, such as placement methods, hydrodynamics and sediment transport
  • Collaborate using multiple technology transfer platforms to achieve widest dissemination of information produced, to build multi-agency partnerships to leverage future efforts, and to establish a robust resource that will be continually updated as the body of available information grows

Products will include a technical summary of relevant literature and case studies, based upon available data and reports obtainable from participating agencies. Projects summaries will include technical, environmental and impacts considerations, with site selection and field monitoring to address data gaps. A factsheet will be developed and updated annually for each selected project. All documents will be housed on publicly available ERDC-hosted websites specific to beneficial use of dredged material, thin layer placement and engineering with nature, as appropriate.

A technical framework will be developed to delineate environmental considerations relevant to restoration of salt marshes for the purpose of offsetting effects of sea level change, based on field monitoring for selected projects where appropriate management activities are planned. The work will be closely coordinated with related efforts examining the engineering aspects of material placement, stability, and material fate for different placement methods and hydrodynamic conditions. Work products will include project factsheets, a technical summary document, and a literature and case study review. Additional topic-specific papers and journal articles will include monitoring recommendations to evaluate effectiveness of management measures.

At least three web meetings are planned to engage interested representatives from USACE, regulatory agencies and resource agencies, to identify, develop and discuss relevant technical topics of mutual concern, common issues and management approaches, and a foundation for further collaborative work in these areas in the future.

Payoff

While there is significant interest in active management of coastal marsh areas to mitigate for sea level change, technical uncertainties present a significant obstacle to implementation. Engagement with key stakeholders in the development of technical guidance will facilitate identification and resolution of key issues in order to move the state of the science forward. By making use of web-based tech transfer tools, more continuous and effective information sharing will be possible over a broader user base. We envision that this will motivate additional studies by other agencies and create new collaborative opportunities for data sharing, to strengthen the technical basis for development of mitigation measures and guidance. By developing a more structured approach to evaluating management alternatives to offset sea level change, resources can be invested in execution rather than consensus building, with greater assurance of successful ecological and financial outcomes.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Berkowitz, J.F., VanZomeren, C.M., Piercy, C.D. and White, J.R. (2018). Evaluation of coastal wetland soil properties in a degrading marsh. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 212(15), pp. 311-317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2018.07.021
  • Berkowitz, J.F., VanZomeren, C.M. and Piercy, C. (2017). Marsh restoration using thin layer sediment addition: initial soil evaluation. Wetland Science and Practice, 34(1). pp. 13-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1672/UCRT083-265
  • VanZomeren, C.M., Berkowitz, J.F., Piercy, C.D. and White, J.R. (2018). Restoring a degraded marsh using thin layer sediment placement: short term effects on soil physical and biogeochemical properties. Ecological engineering, 120, pp.61-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.05.012
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Thorne, K.M. and Freeman, C.M. (2017). Thin-layer sediment application pilot project at Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge: elevation change analysis, Unpublished Data Summary Report. U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Vallejo, California.
  • VanZomeren, C.M., Acevedo-Mackey, D., Murray, E.O. and Estes, T.J. (2019). Maintaining salt marshes in the face of sea level rise - review of literature and techniques (ERDC/EL SR-19-4), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD1075958.pdf
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • VanZomeren, C.M., Murray, E.O. and Acevedo-Mackey, D. (2017). Marsh assessment and restoration implementation at three salt marshes in response to relative sea level rise: a report from webinars and supplemental findings (ERDC/TN EMRRP-EBA-23), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1069314.pdf
White Papers and Factsheets
  • Acevedo-Mackey, D., Murray, E.O. and VanZomeren, C. (2017). Salt marsh function and sea level rise field activities factsheet, Factsheet. Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, Seal Beach, California.
  • Acevedo-Mackey, D., Murray, E.O. and VanZomeren, C. (2017). Salt marsh function and sea level rise field activities factsheet, Factsheet. Narrow River Estuary.
  • Acevedo-Mackey, D., Murray, E.O. and VanZomeren, C. (2017). Salt marsh function and sea level rise field activities factsheet, Factsheet. Avalon.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • Acevedo-Mackey, D. (2017), Long-term coastal zone dynamics: interactions and feedbacks between natural and human processes along the U.S. Gulf Coast, Presenter/Representative. LA National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Acevedo-Mackey, D. (2016). Poster. Restore America’s Estuaries and The Coastal Society 2016 Summit, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Murray, E.O. (2017). Addressing sea level rise research and projects in southern California and the east coast, Workshop. The Southwest Climate Science Center Briefing and Research Priorities Workshop, Los Angeles, California.
  • Murray, E.O. (2017). Sediment augmentation in a California salt marsh, Presentation. Headwaters to Oceans (H2O), University of California, Irvine, California.
  • Murray, E.O. (2016). First National Nearshore Collaboration Workshop, Presenter/Moderator. American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
  • Oliver, L., Gilligan, K., White, J., Yepsen, M. (2016). Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 1. EMRRP webinar.
  • VanZomeren, C.M. (2017). Short term response of coastal marsh functions to restoration using thin layer placement of dredged material, Presentation. Society of Wetland Scientists, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • White, J., Jahn, J., Gilligan, K. (2016). Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 2. EMRRP webinar.
  • White, J., Jahn, J., Gilligan, K. (2016). Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 3. EMRRP webinar.
  • (2018). Thin layer placement of dredged material to maintain elevation in salt marshes facing sea level rise, Conference Session – 3 project-associated papers. National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER), New Orleans, Louisiana.
Project Activities
  • Ongoing multi-agency collaboration at Seal Beach, CA and Avalon, NJ marsh restoration sites through field demonstrations of thin layer placement and other measures to counteract the effects of sea level change. Access to extensive datasets will help USACE address uncertainties in management of salt marshes and inform development of a best practices framework to identify threatened areas, determine causes of deterioration, and determine appropriate measures to sustain viability and preserve ecological, aesthetic and storm protection functions.
  • Ongoing multi-agency collaboration at Narrow River, RI. FWS personnel requested ERDCs assistance in determining causes of observed changes in soil morphology and vegetation mortality a year following placement of dredged material in two pilot plots. Sediment was collected and a simple laboratory pH incubation study followed. Findings will improve sediment testing and inform expected changes in sediment chemistry and test parameters for marsh restoration projects incorporating thin layer placement.
  • Mentored an ERDC University participant during the spring of 2017 addressing sulfide issues in saltmarsh areas due to TLP at the Narrow River site.
  • Advisory roles: Acevedo-Mackey advised on a National Estuary Research Reserve System (NERRS) effort to create a data portal focused on TLP site selection. Murray is serving as technical advisor on a NERRS project conducting TLP experiments in box frames across multiple marshes throughout the country.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Restoring and Sustaining Ecological Function in Coastal Marshes Affected by Sea Level Change – Current Practice, Management Alternatives and Guidance Development

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Spatially-explicit screening-level tool to assess ecosystem vulnerability with minimal pre-existing data and/or existing storm data to a suite of storm events of specific magnitude.

Fiscal Year Start: 2013; Fiscal Year Ending: 2017.

POC: Candice Piercy

SON: Strategic Research Initiative, FY13 RFP

Printable
Factsheet

Assessing Barrier Island Ecosystem Vulnerability to Future Conditions and Sea Level Change1

Research Need

Planning, managing, and engineering natural or nature-based systems such as barrier islands requires integrated solutions that consider the complex interactions between physical and ecological processes controlling island development, evolution, and stability. Modeling is often required to study and evaluate such systems. Simulating the dynamic feedbacks between collision, overwash, inundation, and vegetation necessitates the integration of multiple data sources, tools, and physically based models.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to develop an assessment framework that can model the response of barrier island systems to disturbances, including storms and changing environmental conditions such as sea level change and weather-related hazards. The modeling framework developed is tiered to best suit USACE District and Division needs. In its simplest form (Tier 1), it can be used as a screening tool for SMART Planning. Higher levels of complexity (Tier 2) can be implemented for quantitative scenario comparison. To support the modeling framework, specific products include technical notes describing the overall framework and each Tier, a Tier 1 executable including a user’s guide, a technical report describing the application of the framework to a field site, and webinar and web content describing the modeling framework were developed.

Payoff

The multi-tiered approach is an advancement over current approaches as it integrates existing tools and data in such a way that considers the complex ecogeomorphic feedbacks controlling barrier island morphological and ecological function. Results provide a quantifiable way to target and prioritize areas that will require and benefit from restoration interventions, in addition to providing multiple benefits beyond those conveyed by the initial ecosystem restoration efforts. This approach will lead to better allocation of project resources by enabling focus on areas with the greatest uncertainty and risk, and is compatible with USACE SMART Planning.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Charbonneau, B., Duarte, A., Swannack, T., Johnson, B., and Piercy , C. 2022. DOONIES: A process-based ecogeomorphological functional community model for coastal dune vegetation and landscape dynamics. Geomorphology, 398, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.108037.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2018). ASBPA beaches and dunes workshop presentation, Workshop. USGS collaboration workshop, NOAA-USACE Natural and Nature Based Features (NNBF) workshop (Assessing Barrier Island Ecosystem Vulnerability to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Work Unit)
  • (2018). CSHORE-veg: Development of an Integrated Morphology and Vegetation Growth and Distribution Model for Coastal Dunes, Presentation. Eighth International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, Notre Dame, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  • Johnson et al. (2016). CSHORE use in modeling long term dynamics of barrier islands - Deltares/Rijkswaterstaadt - USACE modeling meeting, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Models and Applications
  • CSHORE-veg: Objectives to enable prediction of dune restoration impact on storm response and ecosystem recovery, and subsequent changes over multi-decadal timescales – informing and prioritizing remedial measures to maintain and increase coastal resilience. Now integrated with DOONIE (above).
  • Dune resilience tool (final name not determined) – Excel-ArcGIS tool to rank sites based on potential for long term resilience

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Assessing Barrier Island Ecosystem Vulnerability to Future Conditions and Sea Level Change

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Framework for assessment of sediment impacts associated with dam removal projects.

Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Susan Bailey

SON: 2008 ER-37

Printable
Factsheet

Ecological Effects of Sediment Erosion and Transport Associated With Dam Removal1

Research Need

A relatively large inventory of aging dams exists on rivers and streams throughout the United States; increasing numbers of these structures are slated for removal due to safety concerns and associated environmental issues. Environmental benefits derived from dam removal include improved environmental connectivity and restored sediment transport within the natural stream system. However, there is also potential for adverse environmental impacts associated with release of sediments accumulated behind these dams. Guidance is needed to inform planning efforts, including pre-demolition characterization of behind-dam sediments and assessment of anticipated impacts due to contaminant release and re-deposition of sediments downstream.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this effort is to develop a framework for screening potential sediment-related issues associated with dam removal, and to tailor SMART Planning compatible modeling tools for assessing anticipated downstream sediment impacts and benefits. The primary deliverables will include publications and webinars outlining the steps involved in assessing sediment issues associated with dam decommissioning. A state of the science review and a decision matrix/flowchart for screening and assessing risks and impacts associated with sediment transport are planned. Additional deliverables will include numerical models development enabling rapid screening of potential dam removal sites for sediment issues and assessing geomorphic response, sediment fate and ecological consequences of dam removal at a single site.

Payoff

The products of this effort will provide a more complete understanding of effects associated with dam removal and support prediction and management of adverse impacts. A streamlined assessment framework and guidance for quantifying and modeling sediment transport and impacts – including burial and contaminant release – will enable USACE planners to appropriately assess dam removal alternatives and manage anticipated impacts. These products will enable planners to undertake feasibility-level analyses within the time constraints imposed by SMART Planning while also informing preliminary engineering and design.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Echevarria-Doyle, W., McKay, S.K., and Bailey, S.E. (2023). Sensitivity of sediment transport analyses in dam removal applications (ERDC TR-23-15), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/html/trecms/AD1210482/index.html
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Bailey, S., McKay, K. and Hayter, E. (In prep). A research roadmap for the impacts of sedimentation associated with dam removal, Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshop
  • (2017) Impacts of sedimentation associated with dam removal – a multi-agency workshop to assess the state of the science with respect to multiple aspects of dam removal and technical guidance development, Workshop. New York, New York.
  • McKay S.K., Lackey, T., Bailey S.E., Echevarria-Doyle, W. and Hayter E. (2019). Tools for evaluating sediment impacts from Dam Removal – qualitative guidance. Joint Federal Interagency Conference on Sedimentation and Hydrologic Modeling, Reno, NV.
  • McKay, S.K., and Bailey, S. (2018). Sediment impacts associated with dam removal: State of the Science. EMRRP Webinar. https://emrrp.el.erdc.dren.mil/webinars.html.
Short Courses Posted on EMRRP: https://emrrp.el.erdc.dren.mil/webinars.html
  • McKay, S.K., and Bailey, S. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 1A: An overview, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Duda, J. and Bountry, J. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 1B: Synthesis of the science and case studies, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • McKay, S.K. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 2A: Sediment management, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Bailey, S., (2020). Dam removal short course - Part 2B: Sediment management, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Lackey, T. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 3A: Assessment methods, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • McKay, S.K. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 3B: Assessment methods, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Echevarria-Doyle, W. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 4A: Modeling Techniques – 1-dimensional numerical model applications: Simkins Dam case study, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Hayter, E. (2020). Dam removal short course – Part 4B: Modeling Techniques – Milltown Dam case study, Webinar. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Ecological effects of sediment erosion and transport associated with dam removal

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Standardized platform for index-based model execution, guidelines and training for ecological model development and application, and searchable model, modeling capability inventory.

Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Todd Swannack POC: S. Kyle McKay

SON: 2016-ER-22

Printable
Factsheet

Improving Ecological Modeling Practices for the USACE Planning Community of Practice1

Research Need

USACE decisions affect the environment across all business lines. Ecological models provide a means of quantifying decision outcomes. SMART Planning timelines require teams to rapidly develop and apply models in short horizons (often 18-24 months!). There is an urgent need to improve ecological modeling practice within the USACE Planning, Regulatory, and Operational Communities.

Project Objectives & Plan

This research project seeks to improve ecological modeling practice and decision-making within these USACE communities. To accomplish this objective, we will provide a set of analytical tools for practitioners to apply, with guidance on best practices for ecological modeling. We will develop an ecological modeling platform that standardizes the application of index-based models (e.g., habitat models) for the USACE planning community of practice, that meets the guidelines set in EC 1105-2-412 (or subsequent policies). This model platform will be explicitly designed to meet the needs of the SMART planning paradigm by facilitating the development and application of models in a faster, more efficient manner, while maintaining scientific integrity and transparency throughout model development process. Additionally, this project will develop guidelines and training for ecological modeling for practitioners of ecosystem restoration, regulatory, and operations communities of practice.

Two sets of deliverables are the emphasis of this work unit. First, an ecological modeling toolkit will be provided to facilitate the development and application of index-based models, which will contain several quantitative tools to:

  • Generate equations for index-based models,
  • Integrate equations into overall suitability indices in an error-checked, consistent platform,
  • Perform basic analyses for model evaluation, and
  • Produce integrated documentation of model equations and relevant, user-defined comments and assumptions.

The second set of deliverables will provide a thorough set of ecological modeling best practices covering each step of the model development process (i.e., conceptualization, quantification, evaluation, and application) in a complement of technical notes, journal papers, webinars, training courses, and web resources, as requested by field practitioners.

Payoff

This effort will result in a standardized methodology for developing and applying index-based models USACE-wide for applications in the ecosystem restoration, operations and, potentially, regulatory communities of practice. Standardizing the approach for index-based ecological modeling will be an advancement over current, ad-hoc approaches and will enable Corps managers and planners to more effectively and efficiently support USACE decision-making. The emphasis on modeling best practices will enhance agency capacity by providing repeatable processes and associated training in the development of ecological tools for a variety of purposes and applications.

Products

Book Chapters
  • McKay, S.K. (2018). Visualization as a tool for ecological analysis, In: Fath, B.D. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Ecology, Second Edition. Elsevier, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Herman, B., McKay, K., Altman, S., Richards, N., Reif, M., Piercy, C., and Swannack, T. (2019). Unpacking the black box: demystifying ecological models through interactive workshops and hands-on learning. Frontiers in Communication: Science and Environmental Communication 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00122
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • McKay, S.K., Richards, N., Swannack, T.S. (2019). Aligning ecological model development with restoration project planning (ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-89), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/33863
  • Carrillo, C.C., McKay, S.K., Altman, S., and Swannack, T.M. (2022). Ecological model development: toolkit for interactive modeling (TAM) (ERDC/TN EMRRP-SR-90), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/45101
  • McKay, S.K., Richards, N., and Swannack, T.M. (2022). Ecological model development: evaluation of system quality (ERDC/TN EMRRP-EBA-26), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/45380
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2017). Mod Squad Workshop, ERDC Vicksburg. Organized by Dr. Pat Deliman, TD and Dr. Trudy Estes, PM for EMRRP. ERDC/IWR/HEC researchers met, along with Division, District and EcoPCX representatives, to discuss modeling related issues, including pros and cons of proprietary platforms, how best to categorize and organize available models and their capabilities in a user friendly fashion, and identifying capability gaps and redundancies.
  • (2018). Empowering USACE Districts through collaborative ecological modeling, Presentation, USACE HQ, Washington, D.C.
  • (2018). Ecological modeling workshop with Fort Worth District - Cypress Valley watershed, development and certification of Toolkit for Interactive Modeling (TAM) prototype Excel model calculator, completed Blue Book model database.
Models and Applications
  • Index-based model construction tool.
  • Model – Index-based model construction tool prototype development
  • Habitat Suitability GIS Tools – Spatial Toolkit
  • National Certification – Toolkit for Interactive Modeling (TAM). The ECO-PCX review team found the tool to have sufficient technical and system quality and to be compliant with USACE policies. The ECO-PCX Director has certified the toolkit for use by study teams nationwide. Any models developed in the future using the toolkit are subject to review and certification under EC 1105-2-412. The ECO-PCX and ERDC will announce the availability of the model development tool in an upcoming planning community newsletter and other publications across the Corps community.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: Improving Ecological Modeling Practices for the USACE Planning Community of Practice

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Standard monitoring and reporting protocols for ecosystem restoration projects aimed at restoring native herbaceous vegetation.

Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Brook Herman

SON: 2015-ER-13

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Factsheet

Standard Monitoring Protocols for Herbaceous Vegetation1

Research Need

Although the Corps has been addressing critical environmental problems through their authority to restore ecosystem integrity (ER 1105-2-100) at a national scale, the Corps has been unable to provide evidence of their success beyond number of acres or linear feet/miles restored. Questions about restoration success remain unanswered, such as: “How well did the chosen restoration techniques meet project goals and objectives?” and “What is the benefit of ecosystem restoration to the nation?”

Corps districts must develop a monitoring plan for each ecosystem restoration project. It is important that the monitoring plan include a set of standard data collection protocols that allows the District to report a standard set of metrics. Standardized reporting of how a project is progressing will ensure that the Corps has the ability to answer questions about ecosystem restoration success and benefit in a consistent and defensible manner, and interpret results across different sites.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this work is to develop standardized monitoring protocols for restored native herbaceous vegetation that meet the guidelines set forth in Section 2039 of WRDA 2007 Monitoring Ecosystem Restoration and Corps Planning Memorandum – Monitoring Ecosystem Restoration (2009). The primary deliverables will be a series of Technical Notes, training webinars and workshops, illustrating the steps involved in standard data collection and reporting for herbaceous vegetation monitoring. Technical Notes will include concepts such as:

  • Detecting trends of change in plant communities
  • Determining why certain metrics are/are not good indicators of vegetation condition
  • Proof of concept through field testing of standard protocols in different regions.

Webinars and workshops will be focused on transferring knowledge and training district personnel to implement standard data collection protocols. An additional major deliverable will be a guidance manual that details the steps a District can take to implement standard monitoring protocols and reporting for native vegetation restoration projects.

Payoff

This effort will enable the Corps to monitor the condition of restored vegetation, quantitatively report on the success of restoration efforts, and enable a broader narrative to effectively communicate the large-scale benefits that result from Corps restoration projects. Standardized monitoring and reporting will allow the Corps to accumulate the data necessary to begin to answer the question: “What is the return on investment with ecosystem restoration?” Additionally, the results of this effort will allow a better understanding of restoration techniques and perhaps result in reduced construction costs as more efficient techniques are discovered.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Herman, B.D. (2019). Draft standard monitoring protocols for herbaceous vegetation (ERDC/EL TR-19-4), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/33123
  • Herman, B.D. (2022). Evaluation of methods for monitoring herbaceous vegetation (ERDC/EL SR-22-3), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/45100
Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Stern, J.L., Herman, B.D., and Matthews, J.W. (2021). Coefficients of conservatism for the flora of the Middle Rio Grande floodplain. Southwestern Naturalist 65, 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-65.2.141
  • Stern, J.L., Herman, B.D., and Matthews, J.W. (2021). Determining vegetation metric robustness to environmental and methodological variables. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 193, 647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09445-9
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2017). Standard monitoring protocols for herbaceous vegetation, Workshop. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • (2018). Mississippi Native Plant Society, Starkville, MS
  • (2019). Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY
  • (2019). EMRRP webinar series.
  • (2019). Monitoring Methods and Monitoring and Adaptive Management Workshop, SWG, Galveston, TX
Project Activities
  • Field surveys conducted to identify and select potential test sites for protocol demonstration. Draft protocols were tested in the field in 3 locations, Chicago Region, Albuquerque Rio Grande River and Rhode Island Coastal Marshes. Within each location, 3 restoration sites were sampled by 2 different observers. Data will be used to refine or revise protocols for next field season.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation & ERDCWiki Title: Setting standards for the detection, monitoring, and eradication of invasive species to improve adaptive management outcomes and ecosystem restoration success

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Fiscal Year Start: 2016; Fiscal Year Ending: 2016.

POC: Dmitri Mavrodi (USM)

SON: N/A

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Factsheet

Salt Marsh Protection by Soil Bacteria

Research Need

Salt marshes are the most productive ecosystems in the biosphere and provide multiple public benefits such as: absorbing excess nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage and fertilizer run-off into rivers which prevents algal blooms and hypoxia in coastal waters; detoxification of run-off from industrial areas; providing habitat and shelter for many hundreds of species of shellfish, finfish, migratory and sedentary birds, and other marine animals.

There have been an increasing number of reports of salt marsh dieback (SMD) in the United States over the past decade. The Mississippi River deltaic plain experienced a sudden dieback event that affected over 100,000 ha of Spartina alterniflora dominated salt marsh in 2000. Affected areas showed a progression from yellow to brown leaves to bare mud as S. alterniflora died. Both abiotic and biotic mechanisms have been implicated as causes of dieback events.

Project Objectives & Plan

Project objectives include 1) isolation and characterization of beneficial root zone bacterial isolates with antagonistic activity towards Fusarium species associated with SMD, and 2) characterization of the impact of SMD on the composition of rhizosphere microbial communities in S. alterniflora. We anticipate releasing a technical note and manuscript to provide a basic framework for establishing procedures for revegetating areas already impacted by dieback.

Payoff

The results from this Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research (EMRRP) study will be beneficial in protecting salt marsh ecosystems from dieback by establishing procedures for revegetating areas already impacted by dieback.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Mavrodi, O.V., Jung, C.M., Eberly, J.O., Hendry, S.V., Namjilsuren, S., Biber, P.D., Indest, K.J., and Mavrodi, D.V. (2018). Rhizosphere Microbial Communities of Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus From Restored and Natural Tidal Marshes on Deer Island, Mississippi. Frontiers in Microbiology 9: 3049. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.03049
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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2021.

POC: Elizabeth Murray & Safra Altman (ERDC)

SON: 2017-ER-11 Evaluating ecosystem function and restoration success in restored marshes

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Ecosystem Function and Restoration Success in Restored Marshes – Evaluating Trajectories through Retrospective and Current Case Studies

Research Need

This project focuses on how to determine restoration success in salt marshes created or restored using Beneficial Use (BU) of dredged material across the nation and identify potential early indicator metrics.

Existing tidal marshes are vulnerable to degradation due to sea level change, sediment reduction and other factors. In order to maintain marshes in areas where they are disappearing, beneficially used dredged material has been used to restore or create tidal marshes. Enough of these projects now exist to offer project-specific assessments of success, but there has been little synthesis of data across projects or phases of projects to synthesize trajectories of ecological outcomes within regions, much less across regions where climate and species vary.

Project Purpose & Objectives

The purpose of this project is to develop regional trajectories for multiple coasts and correlate early-indicator metrics with long-term metrics and marsh function, offering implications for adaptive management. This project focused on the following objectives:

  • Review of the methods, statistical approaches and metrics used to establish restoration trajectories in salt marshes.
  • Use of regional case studies to develop restoration trajectories. Two approaches were used to develop restoration trajectories in regional case studies:
    • Retrospective Single Site Trajectories
    • Composite Time Series Trajectories
  • Testing novel metrics in Composite Time Series sites to identify metrics that might provide early indication of restoration success.
  • Assessing linkages between trajectories of different ecological components (e.g., soils, plants, birds) to help give a clearer picture of the holistic restoration evolution.
Aerial map view of Poplar Island in Chesapeake Bay sectioned and labeled as Cells.

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

This work provides science-based expectations for restorations of tidal salt marsh beneficially using dredged material in different parts of the country. By documenting and characterizing the rate of ecological function recovery at various trophic levels (e.g., soils, vegetation, birds) and showing interconnections, the success of individual restoration projects can be more effectively communicated.

Synthesis of regional trajectories across multiple projects or project phases provide science-based expectations for future tidal marsh restorations utilizing dredged material in different parts of the country. Finally, testing novel metrics may offer early indication of marsh restoration trajectories in order to allow early course-correction and adaptive management.

Documentation of these trajectories and early-indicator metrics will facilitate understanding by stakeholders, agencies, and regulators of realistic, science-based benefits of tidal marsh restoration utilizing BU dredged material.

Aerial map view labeled cycles and units in southwestern Louisiana in color and in greyscale.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Murphy, N., Biber, P. and Altman S.A. (In Review). Comparison of vegetative community diversity, biomass, and sediment properties among constructed and reference salt marshes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts.
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Runyon, K., Altman, S., and Murray, E.O. (2022). Analytic methods for establishing restoration trajectories (ERDC/EL SR-22-9), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/45562
  • Staver, L., Altman, S. et al. (In management review). Trajectories of Vegetative Parameters at Poplar Island Tidal Marsh Restoration Cells, FY2026-EL-F30-SR-##, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.
  • Altman, S., Jafari, N., et al (In Preparation). Sabine NWR restoration trajectories, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Harris, B., Harris, K., Jafari, N., Bekkaye, J., Murray, E., and Altman, S., (2023). Selection of a time series of beneficial use wetland creation sites in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge for use in restoration trajectory development. ERDC/TN EMRRP-ER-25, Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/47579.
  • Cornwell, J., Staver, J., Murray, E., and Altman, S. (In editing). The Trajectory of Iron Sulfide Oxidation and Production in Marshes Created from Dredged Sediments at Poplar Island: Implications for Wetland Plant Establishment. ERDC TN-EMRRP-##, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.
  • Cornwell, J., Staver, L. et al. (In Editing) Iron Sulfide Oxidation and Production in Marshes Created From Dredged Materials at Poplar Island: Implications for Wetland Plant Establishment, Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2024). National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER). Staver, L., Cornwall, J., Murray, E., Altman, S., Eilar, A., and Blanche, T. Restoration trajectories in created tidal marsh habitat – A case study from Poplar Island, MD, USA.
  • Eilar, A. et al. (2022). Restoration trajectories at wetland creation sites utilizing dredged material: Case studies as Poplar Island, MD and Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Presentation. American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, Long Beach, California.
  • (2021). Society of Ecological Restoration. Biber, P. Vegetative community and health assessment of a constructed Juncus-dominated salt marsh in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Other
  • Murphy, N.& Biber, P. (2021). Vegetative community diversity assessment of a beneficial use salt marsh restoration. Research Square Preprint. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-507079/v1
  • Murphy, N. (2020). Vegetative community and health Assessment of a constructed Juncus-dominated salt marsh in the northern Gulf Of Mexico. Master's Thesis. The University of Southern Mississippi, Graduate School. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/748/
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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2020.

POC: Sean Griffin, Kristofer Lasko & Michael Campbell

SON: 2017-ER-17 Evaluation and Optimization of Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Sense, Identify, and Map in Aquatic Systems

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Using Unmanned Aircraft System Imagery to Map Aquatic and Terrestrial Vegetation

Research Need

Mapping the precise spatial distributions of complex vegetation communities is a critical element in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of both small and large ecosystem management and restoration projects.

Project Purpose & Objectives

The objectives of this study are to develop and test multistage ecosystem monitoring methods that incorporate:

  • Remotely sensed optical imagery, from both spaceborne and airborne sensors, with varying spatial and temporal resolutions
  • Limited ground reference data collection
  • Development of new ArcMap and ENVI image processing toolkits.

This will be achieved by identifying study sites within ongoing ecosystem restoration projects. Supporting imagery will include high-resolution multispectral data from commercial satellites and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), verified with limited ground reference data. An image processing and geospatial analysis workflow will be developed and packaged into a user-friendly ArcMap toolkit, leveraging current and ongoing mapping research.

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

Developing or improving vegetation mapping workflows using geospatial data-driven techniques will help managers better understand vegetation distribution and more effectively manage and restore habitats. In addition, custom image processing workflows using familiar ArcMap and ENVI software will streamline data processing, enabling rapid generation of information and mapping products.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Lasko, K. and Griffin, S. (2021). Monitoring Ecological Restoration with Imagery Tools (MERIT): Python-based Decision Support Tools Integrated into ArcGIS for Satellite and UAS Image Processing, Analysis, and Classification (ERDC/GRL TR-21-3), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/40262
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Griffin, S.P. and Lasko, K.D. (2020). Using unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and satellite imagery to map aquatic and terrestrial vegetation (ERDC/GRL TN 20-4), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/38086
Other
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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Candice Piercy (ERDC)

SON: 2017-ER-18: Quantifying Coastal Storm (and Flood) Risk Management Benefits for Natural and Nature-based Features; 2017-F-8: Biophysical System Performance of Natural and Nature Based Features (NNBFs) for Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) SMART Planning Studies

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Incorporation of Natural and Nature-based Features into Feasibility Studies: Identification, Analysis, Benefits, and Costs

Research Need

Coastal resources such as beaches, dunes, wetlands, islands, and biotic reefs are important for both their ecological and storm protection value. However, the use these natural and nature-based features (NNBF) as part of a holistic flood risk management scheme is limited. This is due to a number of factors including uncertainty about NNBF efficacy, difficulty estimating project cost, and lack of information regarding environmental impacts. Better integration of NNBF into USACE planning will require synthesis of available knowledge to address uncertainties.

Project Objectives & Plan

The objective of this project is to determine and prioritize research needs related to NNBF and to support USACE efforts to develop NNBF guidelines. This will be accomplished by distilling existing knowledge on NNBF practices to develop guidelines for implementation by USACE. Through a series of engagement exercises such as surveys, webinars, and meetings input on use of NNBF will be gathered from across USACE. In parallel to this effort, contributions to an international NNBF guidance document will be made.

Payoff

Greater understanding of the function of NNBF during and between storm and flood events will help USACE implement more holistic and resilient flood risk management projects that provide benefit to the ecosystem restoration and navigation missions using a full array of measures, not just limited to structural measures that are better defined and understood. The use of NNBF in conjunction with structural and non-structural measures can create more sustainable flood risk management projects that can provide benefits beyond just flood risk management, attracting more partners and affording better buy-in from communities and other stakeholders. Additional benefits to the ecosystem restoration and navigation mission areas creates synergy between major USACE business lines, leading to better management of coastal systems that can ultimately reduce costs.

Products

  • Bridges, T. and King, J. and Simm, J.D. and Beck, M. and Collins, G. and Lodder, Q. and Mohan, R., eds. (2021). International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management. USACE, Vicksburg. ISBN 978-1-7325904-9-6. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/41946

For more information please see:
https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/international-guidelines-on-natural-and-nature-based-features-for-flood-risk-management/

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Fiscal Year Start: 2018; Fiscal Year Ending: 2022.

POC: Eric Britzke (ERDC)

SON: 2015-ER-7 Federally listed bat species response to invasive vegetation control in forest stands

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Factsheet

Impact of Habitat Management on Bats

Research Need

Bat species are an important part of a biological community, and their conservation is, therefore, a stewardship responsibility on USACE lands. Recently, bats have received increased attention from managers due to massive population declines resulting from the spread of White Nose Syndrome (WNS). These declines are ongoing and WNS is continuing to spread across the country resulting in the listing of once common species. Currently, USACE managers do not have sufficient information to determine how habitat restoration and management actions will affect bats, making project planning difficult. To address this information deficit and aid decision making, models that can predict the impact of habitat management and restoration actions on bats are needed.

Project Purpose & Objectives

The objective of this project is to develop a habitat model framework that can simulate the impact of restoration and management projects on bats. Model development will begin with a literature review to determine relevant model parameters. Draft models of habitat use by bats will then be constructed using an agent based petri-network model framework. Acoustic monitoring studies conducted throughout the country will be leveraged to parameterize and validate draft models. Finally, a user friendly implementation for models will be developed.

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

Models which can simulate the effects of habitat restoration and management on bats will provide USACE planners with critical information. This will allow tailoring of habitat restoration and management actions to reduce potentially negative impacts and achieve maximum benefits for bat species on USACE lands.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Saltus, C.L. and Britzke, E.R. (2022). Literature Review: Macrohabitat metrics to identify presence of Chiroptera on the landscape in the United States. (ERDC/EL SR-22-8), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/45523
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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2021.

POC: Damarys Acevedo-Mackey, Eve Eisemann & Amy Yarnell (ERDC)

SON: 2016 ER 12 - Correlation of Vegetative Density with Particle Size Distribution of Historically Placed Dredged Sediments for Substrate Nourishment to Enhance Ecosystem Function, 2017 ER 16 - Quantifying the relationship between SAV habitat and geomorphological features to inform SAV restoration efforts

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Factsheet

Framework of Optimum Selection of Source Material and Geomorphological Characteristics for Desired Vegetation and SAV in Restoration Projects

Research Need

The success of coastal & estuarine vegetation restoration efforts requires the creation of a suitable and sustainable physical environment for growth. However, correlations between coastal vegetation growth, substrate characteristics and geomorphological conditions have not been developed. Improved guidance/best management practices are needed to aid in selection of source material and design of geomorphological features to enhance ecosystem function.

Project Purpose & Objectives

The objective of this research is to develop a framework that will inform and expedite decision making for future coastal vegetation restoration efforts during the planning process. This will be achieved through:

  • analysis of previous restoration efforts
  • assessment of the effectiveness of source material placement
  • statistical analysis to establish correlations
  • determination of suitable substrate and geomorphological characteristics required for a wide variety of coastal vegetation types

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

The framework developed will directly benefit restoration project planning and adaptive management by informing manager decisions regarding source material selection for coastal ecosystem restoration.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Eisemann, E.R., Thomas, C.C., Balazik, M.T., Acevedo-Mackey, D., and Altman, S. (2021). Environmental factors affecting coastal and estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) (ERDC/EL SR-21-6), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/42185
  • Yarnall, A.H., Eisemann, E.R., Reif, M.K., Slyvester, C.S., Balazik, M.T., and Altman, S. (In editing) Predicting seagrass habitat suitability with remote sensing and machine learning: A case study in the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands. (ERDC/EL TR 25-X), Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Eisemann, E.R., Altman, S., Acevedo-Mackey, D., and Reif, M.K. (2019). Relating seagrass habitat to geomorphology and substrate characteristics around Ship Island, MS (ERDC/TN EMRRP-EBA-24), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/33023
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Fiscal Year Start: 2018; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Tosin Gaskin (ERDC)

SON: 2017-F-25 Implementation of Living Shoreline Techniques and Guidance in USACE Projects

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Living Shoreline Implementation across USACE Districts

Research Need

Living shorelines (also called green or soft shorelines) are coastal edges that have been stabilized through the installation of natural materials like rock, sand, and native plants. Living shorelines can provide habitat and contribute to carbon cycling processes in nearshore environments, and often cost less to maintain than artificial (also called hard) shorelines. Currently, there is limited guidance available on design, development, construction, maintenance, and implementation of living shoreline projects across USACE Districts nationwide. To better inform implementation of living shoreline projects, this effort assessed the current state of knowledge with respect to Living Shorelines and the utility of available guidance to USACE applications.

Project Purpose & Objectives

In order to identify knowledge gaps pertaining to the implementation of living shoreline restoration projects, a review assessing the literature, guidance materials, tools, applications, and engineering guidance on living shorelines projects currently available and accessible to USACE Districts was conducted. Once the existing knowledge base was identified, a technical report was synthesized to summarize current guidance.

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

This project provided summary guidance to USACE districts on implementation of Living Shorelines projects to restore coastal ecosystems. It also elucidated areas where current information or guidance for these projects is deficient. In the future, research and development projects focusing on living shorelines will be able to target these areas and continue to innovate how USACE restores and manages shorelines.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Gaskin, T.A., Balazik, M., Thomas, C., Davis, J., Durham, B., Davis, B., and Ihametz, I. (In Editing). Living Shoreline in USACE Projects - A Review, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/49678
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Fiscal Year Start: 2018; Fiscal Year Ending: 2021.

POC: Michael Guilfoyle (ERDC)

SON: 2016-ER-21; 2017-ER-8

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Compilation and Assessment of USACE Suggested Management Practices used during Coastal Engineering to Benefit Coastal Shoreline-dependent Species along the Atlantic Coast

Research Need

A large number of shoreline-dependent species, some of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), are impacted by coastal engineering operations. USACE Districts need improved Suggested Management Practices (SMPs) to create, enhance or mitigate for coastal habitats degraded or lost during coastal engineering.

Project Purpose & Objectives

The objective of this project is to work with USACE Districts and other stakeholders to compile and assess SMPs to improve habitats for coastal species while maintaining environmental compliance and meeting coastal engineering mission objectives. This will be accomplished by:

  1. Compiling, adapting, and revising existing SMPs forimplementation during USACE coastal engineering projects to benefit shoreline-dependent birds and nesting sea turtles
  2. Leveraging existing projects to procure monitoring datafrom pre-engineering, post-engineering, and beachnourishment projects for shoreline-dependent birds and turtles
  3. Selecting two or more demonstration sites to implement asuite of several SMPs for pre- and post-implementation monitoring
  4. Using ongoing projects to assess physiological condition orother population parameters on engineered and non-engineered sites and/or sites where selected SMPs have been implemented
  5. Capturing and affixing 5 g satellite tags on 3-4 shorebirds before spring and/or fall migration
  6. Integrating coastal SMPs into the USFWS Information andPlanning for Consultation (IPAC) online tool (https://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/)
  7. Transferring knowledge gained on SMPs through series of ERDC Technical Reports, Webinars, Workshops, Peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference participation

Payoff

The final products of this effort will provide the foundation of more informed planning efforts and coastal engineering along the Atlantic Coast. Implementation of SMPs in a proactive manner will improve flexibility of USACE engineering mission requirements, particularly through streamlining of ESA Section 7 consultations. SMP implementation also should provide measurable benefits to shoreline-dependent bird and turtle populations. This effort can also serve to promote proactive efforts that may minimize or reverse ongoing declines in shoreline-dependent birds and turtle populations. Reducing or eliminating declines of non-listed shoreline-dependent species may serve to limit or prevent future listings under the ESA.

Products

Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Guilfoyle, M.P., Golder, W., Winn, B., Fischer, R.A., Jung, J.F. (In review) Suggested Management Strategies to Benefit Seasonal Coastal Bird Populations during Coastal Engineering Projects, Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Reine, K. (2022). A literature review of beach nourishment impacts on marine turtles (ERD/EL TR-22-4) Technical Report. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/43829
Technical Notes (TNs)
  • Guilfoyle, M.P., Jung, J.F., Fisher, R.A., Dickerson, D.D. (2019). Developing Best Management Practices for Coastal Engineering Projects that Benefit Atlantic Coast Shoreline-Dependent Species (ERDC/TN-EMRRP-SI-38), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/33203
  • Guilfoyle, M.P., Catlin, D., Karpanty, S., Fraser, J., Alvino, C., Britton, W., Gibson, D., Hunt, K., Morelli, J., and Weithman, C. (In Prep). Application of GPS/GMS Tag Technology to Investigate Seasonal Habitat Use by Coastal Bird: A Pilot Study Using the Royal Turn (Thalasseus maximus), Technical Note. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Conference Presentations/Webinars/Workshops
  • (2018). Best management practices to benefit coastal bird and turtle populations along the Atlantic coast during coastal engineering operations, Poster. Super RARG.
  • (2018). Kick-off meeting with Audubon North Carolina and Manomet Center for Conservation Science, Meeting. Wilmington, NC.
  • (2019). Coastal States Organization Annual Meeting with Manomet Center for Conservation Science, Meeting. Providence, RI.
  • (2019). Coastal States Organization Regional Meeting, Meeting. Richmond, VA.
  • (2019). Meeting with Wilmington, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia Districts for establishing BMP demonstration sites, Meeting.
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Fiscal Year Start: 2017; Fiscal Year Ending: 2021.

POC: Glenn Suir (ERDC)

SON: 2016-ER-3 Use of Remote Sensing and Field Data Collection to Quantify Inundation Effects on Marsh Vegetation

Printable
Factsheet

Quantifying Inundation Effects on Marsh Vegetation

Research Need

Currently, high levels of uncertainty exist regarding the effects of hydrologic alterations and water management actions on wetland resources. Coastal marsh ecosystems are sensitive to a number of vegetation and soil parameters, however there is still considerable uncertainty over effect of these parameters on coastal marsh mortality. Parameters associated with uncertainty are critical inundation depth for marsh mortality, inundation duration required for mortality, lag time between inundation and mortality, and effect of soil structure and function on mortality. This lack of knowledge hinders planning and adaptive management efforts. Therefore, there is an immediate need to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of inundation depth and duration on marshes in coastal wetlands.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this work unit is to improve understanding of impacts to coastal marsh vegetation resulting from changes in hydrologic regime. The impact of depth/duration of inundation will be evaluated for the following factors: wetland productivity, soil condition and function, vegetation sequencing and seasonal effects, tolerance across vegetation species and spatial integrity. Inundation-based indices and factors will be developed for decision-support tools/models. Mesocosm experiments will be conducted to evaluate the effects of inundation depth/duration in a controlled environment. These efforts will be transitioned to a field setting for additional testing.

Payoff

This project will provide the information needed to produce decision-support tool/models needed by project planners and aquatic habitat managers. Remote sensing methods developed will allow for efficient assessment of coastal marsh health and improve management outcomes.

Products

Journal Articles (JAs)
  • Suir, G.M. and Sasser, C.E. (2019). Use of NDVI and Landscape Metrics to Assess Effects of Riverine Inputs on Wetland Productivity and Stability. Wetlands 39, 815-830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01132-3
  • Suir, G.M., Sasser, C.E. and Harris, J.M. (2020). Use of remote sensing and field data to quantify the performance and resilience of restored Louisiana wetlands. Wetlands 40, 2643-2658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01344-y
  • Wu, W., Grimes, E. and Suir, G. (2023). Impact of freshwater diversions on vegetation in coastal wetlands based on remote sensing derived vegetation index. Frontiers in Marine Science 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1202300
  • Lambiotte, A.N., Berkowitz, J.F., Suir, G.M., and Willis, J.M. (2023). Aboveground wetland vegetation growth responses to simulated sediment diversion inundation scenarios. Ecological Engineering 190, 106943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2023.106943
  • Grimes, E.S., Wu, W. and Suir, G. (2025). Evaluating the response of Sagittaria lancifolia to combined inundation and nitrogen addition using a marsh organ. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 197, 394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-025-13743-x
Technical Reports (TRs)
  • Suir, G.M. and Berkowitz, J.F. (2021). Inundation depth and duration impacts on wetland soils and vegetation: State of knowledge (ERDC/EL SR-21-5), Technical Report, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi. https://hdl.handle.net/11681/42146
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Fiscal Year Start: 2018; Fiscal Year Ending: 2019.

POC: Catherine Murphy (ERDC)

SON: 2017-ER-12 Certified Habitat Models for Ecosystem Restoration

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Factsheet

Certified Habitat Models to Evaluate Ecosystem Restoration Projects1

Research Need

Corps biologists and planners must anticipate ecological impacts when preparing a project and developing alternatives. Biomonitoring represents a useful tool for determining environmental health, especially for assessing the effects of anthropogenic stressors (Di Battista et al. 2016). However, without knowledge of the biotic responses that are sensitive to manipulations of the physical environment that will result from the project, environmental assessments and monitoring efforts might prove ineffective. In addition, the environmental gradient of interest, which often comprises several habitat variables, must be properly identified for cost-effective collection of appropriate data. Habitat gradients are critical to understanding differences in faunal diversity and abundance between impacted and reference sites. USACE Districts and Divisions are constrained by both time and funding in their planning guidelines.

Project Purpose & Objectives

Using existing databases, this work unit will identify biotic responses and habitat parameters germane to Corps Civil Works activities. The ERDC has access to long-term monitoring datasets which could be analyzed with multivariate methods to develop models for ecosystem restoration. The first set in this project will be compile and summarize information on available databases. Next, a case study will be conduct where models will be developed using the available databases. Finally, an analytical framework will be developed that will provide guidance for developing other models using existing datasets.

Value of Research and Development (Payoff)

This effort will enable USACE biologists and planners to determine the most relevant ecological indicators to address specific project alternatives or to evaluate the utility of existing data, when available. Relevant empirical models provide objectively derived statistical parameters to rate habitat quality for a broad suite of aquatic and wetland biota. Use of certified models expedites planning under the constraints of 3x3x3 paradigm.

Products

No products are known to have been produced.

1Project Alias – Work Unit Documentation Title: HEC-EFM (Ecosystem Function Model) ERDCWiki Title: EMRRP: Ecosystem Functions Model

No results found