Restored salt marshes across New York City are delivering an important environmental benefit: helping remove excess nitrogen from local waterways. A new study co-authored by Brooklyn College Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Executive Director of the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay Brett Branco; Caitlin Lynch ’15 M.S.; (earth and environmental sciences), and Professor Peter Groffman, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, found that restored wetlands can match natural marshes in their ability to remove reactive nitrogen through denitrification, a process that improves water quality and supports healthier coastal ecosystems.
The research also found that commonly used restoration assessment methods may overlook key indicators of ecosystem function. While restored marshes performed well, the study suggests that rapid assessments should place greater emphasis on below-ground factors such as soil organic matter to characterize the potential for nitrogen removal. The findings provide valuable guidance for scientists, policymakers, and restoration practitioners working to strengthen the resilience and ecological health of urban coastlines.
You can read the paper here.
