San Francisco Estuary Habitat Restoration
The Boyer Lab is actively involved in advancing the science of habitat restoration in an era of changing climate, with a focus on protecting shorelines, increasing carbon sequestration, and reducing ocean acidification. They are working on multiple living shorelines projects, which restore habitats such as eelgrass and native oysters while evaluating their roles in shore protection. Additionally, they are working on the restoration of rare species, including an endangered plant (Suaeda californica) that may promote high tide refuge and shoreline resiliency with sea level rise.
Dr. Matt Ferner, Research Director of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (SF Bay NERR) is currently working on a "thin-layer placement" tidal marsh enhancement experiment. The goal is to evaluate the effects of placing thin layers of sediment on top of marsh vegetation as a method of increasing marsh surface elevation relative to local sea level. When completed, this project will inform future marsh restoration planning and implementation at both local and national scales, hopefully improving our ability to conserve these sensitive and important habitats in the face of accelerating rates of global sea-level rise.
Dr. Stuart Siegel, Interim Director of the SF Bay NERR, has a focus on the science and policy intersections of climate change, ecosystem restoration, resilience, coupled human-natural systems, and regional land use planning. Examples of this work include developing adaptation strategies for the China Camp State Park component of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and restoring previously diked marshlands at the Rush Ranch Open Space Preserve component of the SF Bay NERR, reconnecting the watershed to the bay’s tidal marshes and opening areas for natural marsh migration with sea level rise.