Chesapeake bay submerged aquatic vegetation habitat requirements and restoration targets: A technical synthesis

Abstract

Chesapeake Bay, one of the world's largest estuaries, has experienced deterioration of water quality from nutrient enrichment, resulting in anoxic or hypoxic conditions and declines in living resources. Determination of relationships between water quality and various living resources provides a mechanism of relating anthropogenic inputs to the 'health' of Chesapeake Bay. One of the major factors contributing to the high productivity of Chesapeake Bay has been the historical abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). SAV in Chesapeake Bay include some twenty freshwater and marine species of rooted, flowering plants. SAV provide food for waterfowl and are critical habitat for shellfish and finfish. SAV also affect nutrient cycling, sediment stability, and water turbidity. The primary objective of the SAV Technical Synthesis is to establish the quantitative levels of relevant water quality parameters necessary to support continued survival, propagation, and restoration of SAV.