Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nutrient And Sediment Effects On Oligohaline Marsh Plant Community In Mississippi River Delta, Sareh Poormahdi

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi River Delta comprises approximately 40% of the coastal wetlands in the conterminous United States, but has experienced more than 80% of the wetland loss in part due to flood control levees that have hydrologically isolated the lower River from the adjacent wetlands for a century. Thus, reconnecting the River to the wetlands through diversions is one of the approaches being used to reduce the rate of wetland loss. However, the diversion structures were originally designed to deliver freshwater rather than sediment. Furthermore, nutrient concentrations in the River water have increased during the past half-century as a result of …