In Louisiana, oil and gas exploration, rising sea levels, levee construction, and natural coastal erosion are causing wetland areas to disappear fast. So fast that these wetlands are lost at the rate of about one football field per hour. These coastal wetlands are important because they provide a habitat for a variety of wilcilife and they also provide protection from hurricane and tropical storm surges. They help prevent flooding and other storm impacts by buffering winds and absorbing rain. When these natural barriers disappear, many residents in the state's major metropolitan areas, such as New Orleans, are left more vulnerable. Designing the experiment Researchers at Louisiana State University noticed that after the Christmas season, there was a surplus of cut, recyclable Christmas trees. They hypothesized that repurposing these old Christmas trees might be used to help coastal restoration
Choose all of the correct explanations for why the trees might help prevent coastal wetland erosion.
i. Thousands of trees stacked into wooden cribs could shield fragile shorelines from pounding waves.
ii. Natural sap inside Christmas trees can help prevent them from breaking down too quickly in seawater.
iii. Tying together bundles of willow trees creates thousands of hectares of wetlands along the Louisiana coast.
iv. The stillness of this protected environment could allow native aquatic plants to take root and grow more quickly, which might reduce coastal erosion and fortify the wetlands.
v. Tree branches create an underwater sand bar that could stabilize sediment and keeps it from being washed out to sea.
vi. Thousands of trees stacked into wooden cribs could trap vital sediment needed to rebuild marshes.
vii. Tying together bundles of shrubs creates thousands of hectares wetlands along the Louisiana coast.