Tidal Marsh Restoration: A Synthesis of Science and Management ed. by Charles T. Roman and David M. Burdick (review)

How easy is it to restore a tidal marsh? Editors Roman and Burdick shed some light on this question in their new edited book, Tidal Marsh Restoration: a Synthesis of Science and Management, by reviewing restoration histories from the northeastern United States in this synthesis of recent studies and approaches. Over the past decade, multiple online resources have popped up, to support field sampling designs and data sharing among regional restoration efforts (e.g., NOAA, USGS). These resources are generally focused on monitoring guidance, and reinforce basic principles of sampling and data interpretation that were published in "how to" books on wetland restoration in the early 2000's. This book has a different goal—to use comparative case studies to improve the effectiveness of tidal marsh restoration. It provides a high quality regional synthesis, similar to efforts in other coastal regions of the U.S. (e.g., Palaima 2012).

As tidal wetland restoration efforts become more numerous and larger in area, managers find themselves in need of information to set reasonable goals and robust approaches to measuring and evaluating ecosystem responses. Part of a successful restoration is setting reasonable targets based on potential trajectories, but finding information on past projects to set boundaries for these trajectories is very difficult. The northeastern U.S. coast is peppered with many long-term restoration projects where tidal action has been restored to sites previously cut off from tidal flushing. This synthesis compiles accumulated knowledge from more than four decades of monitoring and science observations from restoration efforts along the coast of Atlantic Canada and New England. The outcome reads effectively like "stories from the field" from eminent and current field scientists, engineers, and managers deeply informed on data quality and availability for their specific site or interest. Given the multidisciplinary nature of tidal marsh restoration, the authors provide insight on different disciplines, approaches and metrics of success. One point of agreement among nearly all chapters is the observation that restoring tidal action may be simple at times (e.g. removing a faulty floodgate) but that documenting success through time is daunting. Two consistent themes through the chapters are: 1) differences among metrics in their timing and the magnitude of responses they measure and 2) the importance of long-term monitoring. In addition, there is some consistency, bordering on redundancy, with the same citations appearing regularly among the chapters.

If a book can be considered a form of textual travel, reading Tidal Marsh Restoration feels like a timely visit to a Northeastern U.S. regional conference on marsh restoration. The introduction (Section 1), like a plenary address, provides an overview of the chapters to come, emphasizing that compared to other regions, Northeastern tidal marshes have not so much been lost as degraded by full or partial impoundment and community alterations (esp. Phragmites invasion). Section 2 focuses on ecological metrics of salt marsh health before and after restoration, from hydrology to biogeochemistry and from birds to nekton to vegetation communities, with an additional chapter focused solely on Phragmites ecology. The breadth of literature reviewed in these six chapters is extensive and focused more on science than management, and thus the concepts reported have a broader reach for ecosystem modeling and for other regions.

Section 3, focusing on restoration practices, is far more regional in scope, with specific details of programs by state (Connecticut to Nova Scotia), and the details that make or break their successes. Less a synthesis than a compilation, Section 3 is useful for pointing managers toward gray literature, improvements in monitoring designs over the past 40 years, and a variety of experiences with funding sources, public outreach, and unintended consequences. Section 4, written predominantly by scientists, uses real-life examples to show how partnering between scientists, engineers and managers is critical for achieving restoration goals and documentation of success. From framework descriptions (targets, schedules...