At Lippenbroek, a restoration technique that combines safety and ecology on an embanked site with an elevation far below mean high water, is tested. This pilot project is a flood control area (FCA) with a controlled reduced tide (CRT), a technique similar to Regulated Tidal Exchange, but with major ecological advantages. A well designed sluice system allows semi-diurnal water exchange between the study area and the Scheldt estuary. Although the tidal amplitude is strongly reduced, the newly created marsh faces inundation characteristics similar to a macrotidal reference marsh, showing a wide range of inundation frequencies.
From the start in 2006 on, an intensive monitoring on tidal variation, nutrient processing, species colonization and habitat development in this 10 ha big pilot CRT is elaborated, showing the huge potential of this new technique. Thanks to this successful pilot project, the CRT concept is being implemented on more than 1000 ha in the freshwater Scheldt estuary.
If you want to use this experimental field site for your research, please contact Tom Maris.
