Freshwater Marshes

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Freshwater Marshes
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Freshwater Marches are at the beginning of the
Chesapeake Bay
And change from season to season
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Fresh Water brings Diversity

• Fresh Water marsh occur in the uppermost portion
  of the bay, where the inflow of saltwater from
  tidal influences is diluted by a much larger
  amount of freshwater from upstream.
• Most fresh water is located in Delaware at the
  mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and in Virginia below
  D.C. along the Potomac, Chickahominy, and James
  Rivers
• Freshwater provides an atmosphere for the most
  diverse richness of species in the estuarine
  zone.

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Tidal Marshes 3 kinds

• Fresh
• Brackish
• Salty
• Salinity greatly affects the type of life the
  marsh supports

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Fishing in the Marsh

• Any angler who has sought out lily pads to find
  bass or pike, then silently cursed the plants for
  snagging his hook, has come face to face with
  some of the vegetation that is key to the health
  of tidal freshwater marshes.

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Spatterdock is prevalent

• Freshwater Tidal Marsh composed primarily of
  spatterdock (Nuphar advena) along Accokeek Creek,
  Stafford County.
• Photo Gary P. Fleming.

One of the most common species
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Freshwater Vegetation
Emergents broad leaves plants
Certain plants only grow in Fresh Water marsh
regions.
sweetflag
Waterhemp pigweed
Arrow-arum
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Marsh wildflowers
Hibiscus
Sweet William
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Close to the Water Edge Narrow leaves -
cattails
Typha augustifolia
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Many Plants common to Tidal Freshwater
Dotted smartweed
pickerelweed
Wild rice
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More Common Plants
Rice Cut Grass
American three square
Beggar-ticks
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Wild Rice Grows Here

• Wild rice (Zizania aquatica var. aquatica) and
  pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) in a Freshwater
  Tidal Marsh along Baileys Creek, near its
  confluence with the James River, Henrico County.
• Photo Irvine Wilson

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Globally Rare
Some plants are globally rare and threatened by
extinction through the introduction of invasive
species
This marsh dewflower is an invasive plant
threatening the jointvetch above
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Lotus

• A rare type of Freshwater Tidal Marsh dominated
  by American lotus (Nelumbo lutea). Potomac Creek,
  above its confluence with Accokeek Creek and the
  Potomac River, Stafford County.
• Photo Irvine Wilson.

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Marsh Grasses make Habitat for Birds, Many
Endangered
Least Bittern
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Bay Grasses (SAV)

• Bay grasses or submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV)
  are vascular plants that live underwater and are
  found through-out Marylands tidal and non-tidal
  waters. Approximately fifteen varieties of bay
  grasses are typically found in the Chesapeake Bay
  and surrounding bodies of water. Unlike
  terrestrial plants which have rigid stems and
  leaves, bay grasses have specialized cells which
  provide buoyancy in the water environment. Bay
  grasses serve many important ecological roles
  such as improving water quality, providing food
  and shelter for other species as well as
  stabilizing sediment at the bottom of the water
  column.

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Forty Year Decline

• Forty years ago there used to be extensive beds
  of aquatic grasses along every shore in the
  Chesapeake Bay. They covered the bottom from 1
  foot below mean low water out to 8 or nine feet
  of water. They filtered the bay water resulting
  in much better visibility than we have today now
  that the grasses have largely disappeared. Back
  then it was not unusual to be able to see 4 or 5
  feet to the bottom. Now in most places visibility
  is under one foot.At the head of the bay on the
  Susquehanna flats, there was a massive aquatic
  grass "meadow" miles long and a mile wide. Today
  there are few clumps of grasses struggling to
  reclaim there territory. Not only is the clarity
  of the water diminished, but a nursery for small
  fish, young fish and molting crabs has been lost.

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2003 a record year for Nutrient and Sediment
Loads and Nitrogen from Plants and runoff
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• Generate food and habitat for waterfowl, fish,
  shellfish, and invertebrates.Release oxygen
• Inhibit wave action  
• Remove sediment
•  Absorb excess nutrients

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MDNR Not met Goals for SAV
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Fresh Water Bay Grasses

• Recent declines in water quality in the Bay
  caused by excess nutrients and sediment has
  caused significant losses of bay grass
  populations. Because of their importance, the
  restoration of bay grasses in the Chesapeake and
  Coastal Bays is a priority for Maryland DNR as
  well as the other Bay partners.

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Maryland Students Plant Grass
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Students Help

• The Bay Grasses in Classes (BGIC) project is a
  joint partnership with the Maryland Department of
  Natural Resources (DNR) and the Chesapeake Bay
  Foundation (CBF). Since its inception in 1998,
  over 1,269 classes and 32,000 students have been
  involved with Bay Grasses in Classes. During this
  time students have planted over 2.5 acres of
  bottom surface in the Bay with the 425,000 plants
  grown in their classrooms.  Last year, for the
  first time, annual aerial surveys taken by the
  Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) have
  mapped healthy grass beds planted by students in
  the program.

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MDNR Makes New GoalsNEW Bay Agreement of 2000

• VITAL HABITAT PROTECTION AND RESTORATION
• 2.1 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
• 2.1.1 Recommit to the existing goal of protecting
  and restoring 114,000 acres of submerged aquatic
  vegetation (SAV). Due date Bay Program Lead
  LRSCStrategy or Plan (due date) None
  RequiredMD Lead Agency DNRContact Name Dave
  GoshornMD Supporting Agencies None2.1.2.1 By
  2002, revise SAV restoration goals and strategies
  to reflect historic abundance, measured as
  acreage and density from the 1930s to the
  present. The revised goals will include specific
  levels of water clarity that are to be met in
  2010. Strategies to achieve these goals will
  address water clarity, water quality. Due date
  2002Bay Program Lead LRSCStrategy or Plan (due
  date) None RequiredMD Lead Agency DNRContact
  Name Dave GoshornMD Supporting Agencies
  None2.1.3 By 2002, implement a strategy to
  accelerate protection and restoration of SAV beds
  in areas of critical importance to the Bays
  living resources. Due date 2002Bay Program
  Lead LRSCStrategy or Plan (due date) View
  StrategyMD Lead Agency DNRContact Name Dave
  GoshornMD Supporting Agencies None