Relationships Between Key Indicators of Environmental Condition and Degrees of Oiling in Sediments in Salt Marsh Habitats: a Balance Between Contamination and Ecological Recovery by Natural Processes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many sheltered intertidal habitats along Saudi Arabia's east coast impacted by the 1991 Gulf War oil spill still exhibit signs of ecological degradation. Lack of plant and animal biomass recovery is evident, with presumed loss of many ecosystem functions attributed to intertidal habitats. While natural processes have restored some ecosystem health and integrity, large-scale remediation is required to accelerate this recovery process - such a project is underway. The challenge of this project is to apply remediation efforts which accelerate natural recovery of impacted habitats. Ecological indicators for salt marshes included the abundance and distribution of key species; morphology of cyanobacteria mats; ponding of the marsh surface between tides, and use of tidal channel banks as habitat. The degree of sediment contamination was indicated by visual descriptors and chemical confirmation. These indicators were chosen because they can be readily observed; they integrate historical monitoring effort...