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Mangroves buffer marine protected area from impacts of Bovoni Landfill, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands

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Abstract

One of the many ecosystem services that mangrove systems provide is their ability to act as buffers between the land and sea, protecting human development from storm surges while also trapping terrestrial pollutants. In St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, an ecologically-important mangrove system sits between Bovoni Landfill and a marine protected area, the St. Thomas East End Reserves. To characterize the physical processes driving this mangrove system, groundwater hydraulic head, sediment cores, sediment surface temperatures, and water and sediment chemistry were analyzed. Hydraulic head data from January to November 2014 were used to determine vertical and horizontal groundwater flow directions. Water and sediment samples were tested for heavy metals potentially originating from Bovoni Landfill. Stratigraphic context was provided by the sediment cores and used to infer past environmental conditions. Subsamples were taken from these cores and analyzed for dry bulk density, organic matter content (through loss on ignition), and heavy metals using electron microscopy. Vertical groundwater velocity and sediment porosity were determined by calibrating a one-dimensional finite difference heat transport model to near surface temperature data from depths of 0, 7, 14, and 21 cm. Groundwater was found to flow from the terrestrial upland, through the mangroves, and toward the ocean for the majority of the study. Flow reversal was seen after long periods of little precipitation. In the surface and shallow groundwater samples, trace metal concentrations were measured from 23 to 105 μg/L for Cr, Ni, Sn, and Zn. Sediment samples collected near the landfill contained Bi, Cr, Sn, Ti, and Zn. Very slow flushing of sediment pore water was indicated by the vertical groundwater velocities produced from the heat transport model, which ranged from ±10–7 to ±10–9 m/s. This study revealed that the mangrove system is an important buffer system protecting the outer lagoon of the marine protected area from terrestrial contaminants via sediment trapping and slowing of water fluxes from the upland area into the lagoon. The results presented here can be used as a baseline for future studies and are relevant to local managers and to landfill closure plans.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Lana Vento Charitable Foundation, the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute through 104b funding from the United States Geological Survey, and the Virgin Islands EPSCoR through the National Science Foundation for funding this work. We thank Paul Jobsis and the Center for Marine & Environmental Sciences at the University of the Virgin Islands for grant administration support, Anne-Marie Hoffman of The Nature Conservancy for project support and well installation, and Jen Kisabeth, Jon Jossart, and Joe Sellers for field assistance. Marty Yates provided assistance with the SEM/EDX at the University of Maine and Amelie Jensen, Emily Harris, Emma Swartz, Dana Cohen-Kaplan, and Florence MacGregor assisted with lab analyses at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve. This paper is contribution #168 from the Center for Marine & Environmental Studies at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Funding

Mangroves buffer marine protected area from impacts of Bovoni Landfill, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. Wetlands and Ecology Management. Jessica Keller*, Kristin Wilson Grimes, A.S Reeve, Renata Platenberg. * Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119, Marathon, FL 33050. Email: jessica.keller@myfwc.com. Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute, through 104b funding from the United States Geological Survey: Grant recipients: Kristin Wilson Grimes and Andrew Reeve. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Coastal Zone Management, no award number, Grant recipient: Kristin Wilson Grimes. Virgin Islands EPSCoR through funding from the National Science Foundation, award # 1355437. Lana Vento Charitable Foundation.

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  1. Jessica A. Keller

    Present address: Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119, Marathon, FL, 33050, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, 2 John Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, VI, 00802, USA

    Jessica A. Keller & Kristin Wilson Grimes

  2. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Rd., Wells, ME, 04090, USA

    Kristin Wilson Grimes

  3. School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, 5790 Bryand Global Sciences Center, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    A. S. Reeve

  4. College of Science and Math, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, 2 John Brewers Bay, VI, 00802, USA

    Renata Platenberg

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Keller, J.A., Wilson Grimes, K., Reeve, A.S. et al. Mangroves buffer marine protected area from impacts of Bovoni Landfill, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. Wetlands Ecol Manage 25, 563–582 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-017-9536-0

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