LB 14-133 - Provision of traditionally important vegetation species by restored coastal ridges

Coastal Ridges are intuitively valuable, but understudied, habitats in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. The restoration of coastal ridges has been undertaken as a component of the greater, coordinated effort to combat the extraordinarily coastal land loss currently occurring in Louisiana. To provide insights into the degree to which these coastal ridges support crucial ecosystem services and ecological processes in Louisiana, a large, multidisciplinary field study was undertaken in which coastal ridges of various histories (naturally formed ridges, recently restored ridges, older restored ridges), as well as spoil banks, in different salinity settings (high salinity, low to moderate salinity, fresh) were assessed in regards to a number of attributes (soil characteristics, terrestrial and emergent vegetation, associated nekton and avifauna). One component of this multifaceted study was to evaluate the provision of vegetation species identified as important for traditional usage by various communities by coastal ridges of varying histories and settings. Preliminary analyses suggest that species important for traditional cultural usage occur in greater abundance in fresher settings than either low to moderate or high salinity settings. Interestingly, the spoil bank in the fresh setting exhibited the second highest overall abundance of traditionally important vegetation species. Although ridges in saline settings generally exhibited relatively low abundance of traditionally important species, it is important to note that within saline settings older restored ridges demonstrated similar abundances as reference ridges. Overall, this research highlights how ecological restoration projects can directly support traditions of local human communities.