737
flora plants colonized our restoration cells. Transport of rhizomes by ice is suspected
as a contributing mechanism; plant material has been observed in ice blocks
(Redfield 1972; van Proosdij et al. 2006b). In any case, once established, patches of
S. alterniflora would triple or quadruple in area over one summer (ME Hicks, DW
Schneider, SDS Virgin and MA Barbeau, unpublished data). Then, the sudden large
Fig. 21.22 Aerial
photographs of the
Northwest (NW)
restoration cell taken on
(a) 15 September 2013
showing small Spartina
alterniflora patches and
surviving Spartina
pectinata plants in the
higher elevation areas in
the cell; (b) 25 August
2014 showing S.
alterniflora patches and S.
alterniflora young-of-theyear (YOY) growing in
between the patches; and
(c) 19 October 2015
showing near full coverage
of the cell by S.
alterniflora. In c, one can
still differentiate the
patches (now with plants
≥3 years old) from the
2-year-old and YOY plants
(Photographs by Beth
MacDonald, Julie Paquet
and Sebastian Richard,
respectively)
21 Returning the Tide to Dikelands in a Macrotidal and Ice-Influenced Environment…