The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention's resources on Wetland Restoration

The STRP Expert Working Group on Wetland Restoration

Restoration Approach: Crevasse Splays

Wetland type: Coastal wetlands in subsiding deltas.

Background: Where natural or artificial levees isolate deltaic wetlands from river-borne sediments, subsidence leads to wetland loss; that is, wetlands sink and are replaced by open-water habitat.  By breaching levees (digging a crevasse through the levee), river water can pass directly into subsided areas and, over time, deposit sediment that rebuilds lost wetlands.

Advantages: Inexpensive method of restoring wetlands in subsiding deltas.

Disadvantages: Limited application and slow process (typically takes several years for subsided wetlands to build up to a subaerial elevation).

Further information: Boyer, M., J. Harris, and R. E. Turner 1997. Constructed crevasses and land gain in the Mississippi River delta. Journal of Restoration Ecology, 5:85-92.

Trepagnier, C. M., B. Good, G. D. Steyer and W. B. Sutton.1992. Evaluation of three crevasse splay projects at the Mississippi River delta. Pages 115-119 in M. C. Landin, editor, Proceedings of the 13th Annual Conference, Society of Wetland Scientists, New Orleans, Louisiana. Society of Wetland Scientists South Central Chapter, Utica, Mississippi.

Crevasse splay in coastal Louisiana, USA.

Return to STRP Wetland Restoration index page

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 8 January 2001, updated 15 February 2002, Bill Streever and Dwight Peck.