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Pro’s and Con’s of Converting Estuarine Habitat Back to its Natural State. What Types of Structures. Dikes To increase arable land for farming below sea level Water Control Structures Aboiteaux sluices that allowed farmers to control water to their fields Rice Trunks (SC Version of above)
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Pro’s and Con’s of Converting Estuarine Habitat Back to its Natural State
What Types of Structures • Dikes • To increase arable land for farming below sea level • Water Control Structures • Aboiteaux sluices that allowed farmers to control water to their fields • Rice Trunks (SC Version of above) • Dams • Flood Control • Power Generation
Why Were They Installed? • Agriculture • New Brunswick was among the first locations of “below-sea-level” farming in the new world. • By building dikes and water control, farmers could optimize for types of crops, timing of crops, as well as increasing amount of land • Currently some land owners use these systems to manage for waterfowl • Dams allow society to generate hydroelectricity, and control flood waters when needed. • Dams also made fishing easy • Wiers etc.
Restoration:Open Discussion • Allowing farmland to revert back to marsh • Pro’s and Con’s (think of estuary functionality) • Dam Removal • Pro’s and Con’s (Think of impact to settlement, and migratory fish)
Food For Thought…Open Discussion • What about Sea Level Rise?? • Would controlling diked lands be helpful to mitigate the impacts of Anthropogenic caused Global Warming? • What about world population? Malthus? Human’s will overcome the Earth’s Carrying Capacity by the year 1890