Hydrodynamic and Biological Mechanisms for Variations in Near-Bed Suspended Sediment Concentrations in a Spartina alterniflora Marsh—a Case Study of Luoyuan Bay, China

Abstract

Near-bed suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was measured at the margin and in the interior of a Spartina alterniflora marsh in Luoyuan Bay, a semi-enclosed embayment sheltered from the East China Sea, in January and July 2008. Variations in SSC at the two stations correlated to the tidal cycle: high SSC occurred in the early stage of the flood tide and the later stage of the ebb tide, while SSC was significantly lower at all other times. The SSC increased from the neap tide to the spring tide in both winter and summer. The high SSC in winter was primarily a result of stronger hydrodynamic processes, whereas the high SSC in summer was primarily attributable to biological activity. The particulate organic carbon (POC) in the S. alterniflora marsh of Luoyuan Bay primarily originates from freshwater and marine algae and phytoplankton, while the contribution of marsh detritus is limited. The contribution of POC to near-bed SSC is less than 5% in both winter and summer. During winter, the near-bed SSC was closely related to the bottom shear stress; therefore, variations in SSC were controlled by hydrodynamic processes. However, the correlation between bottom shear stress and near-bed SSC was poor in summer because of the interference of burrowing organisms during the late stage of the ebb tide. The maximum estimated contribution of turbid water flowing out of caves due to the biological activity of burrowing organisms was approximately 30.3 mg L−1 or 20.2 to 50.5% with a mean value of 34.9% of total SSC at the late stage of the ebb tide. Our findings also suggest that the relative importance of hydrodynamic processes and biological activity can vary considerably between seasons.