Factors Influencing the Resilience of Created Tidal Marshes in the Fraser River Estuary, British Columbia

More than 100 tidal marsh creation projects were constructed throughout the Fraser River Estuary, British Columbia, Canada from the 1980s to present. Past studies described and evaluated many of these projects and found varied success, but the underlying factors that determine project outcomes remain uncertain. Combining field sampling, spatial analysis, and statistical modeling of plant communities, we aim to address this knowledge gap by asking what factors influence the resilience of created marshes, as measured by (1) persistence of marsh vegetation, (2) native species dominance, and (3) species richness. We observed marsh recession in 40 of the 78 projects visited, representing 23,666 m2 (9.3