Even though a substantial amount of sand covers the spartina, the rhizome plants still grow through the sand to reach the surface. At this point in time, it is not known how much sand cover it takes to prevent the plants from having sustained growth.
Photo taken May 18, 2011
It is noted that in future projects biologs may not be needed because the plants, as long as they are well anchored, seem to tolerate the water turbulence. The biologs are a hindrance because they trap sand. It would be better to just use the heavy duty 900 Coir matting alone by burying and staking the leading and trailing edges. In this way the water can easily ebb and flow over the matting and plants without accumulating any sand. In order to do this, we would have to eliminate the metal staples that don’t work very well, in favor of ½” x 1” x 16” wooden stakes with ¼” holes drilled thru the top to connect the matting to the stakes driven just below beach surface and attached with plastic zip ties. The plants could then be tied with jute twine to the matting much the same way as tomato plants are tied to stakes. The savings by eliminating the biologs for the 200 feet would be about $ 4,000. That savings could be utilized for increased shoreline footage. That would also make the project less labor intensive. We could probably do 320 lineal feet for what it cost us to do 200 feet.
Submitted by
BSHCA member
William E. McGrath, PLS
Riparian Consultant
No comments:
Post a Comment