WETLAND LOSS IN MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA COMPLEX: CAUSES AND REMEDIATION

The Mississippi River Delta is the largest in the world. It is a significant ecological region in the US, including 12,000 km² of coastal wetlands. However, during the period from the 1930s to 90s, the wetlands at coastal Louisiana had lost a total of 3950 square miles at a rate of 65~91 square miles per year. Some scientists forecast that the wetlands of coastal Louisiana will loss 1833 square miles more up to 2050. The reasons of wetland loss are complicated and vary from place to place, such as deltaic cycles, seawater intrusion, land subsidence, sea level rise, large-scale winter storm and hurricane, the deterioration by rodents and use of tracklaying vehicles. A lot can be done to restore the wetland, such as building freshwater diversion system, planting superior plants and sand nourishment for rebuilding of barrier systems.