Fig 1.
Location of the Tomago wetland restoration project and the Ramsar listed Hunter estuary wetlands.
Fig 2.
Coastal saltmarsh and mangrove survey locations (noted in red) in the lower Hunter River estuary (outside the restoration area).
Regional mangrove and coastal saltmarsh mapping by Kleinfelder [53].
Fig 3.
Surveyed elevations of coastal saltmarsh and mangrove elevations in the lower Hunter River estuary in relation to local tidal planes (MLWS = mean low water springs, MLW = mean low water, MSL = local mean sea level, MHW = mean high water, MHWS = mean high water springs and HHWSS = high high water spring solstice).
All elevations relative to Australian Height Datum (AHD), where 0 m AHD is mean sea level.
Fig 4.
Hydroperiod (inundation duration) for surveyed mangrove and coastal saltmarsh communities in the lower Hunter River estuary based on local tidal planes.
Fig 5.
The primary drain network featuring internal hydraulic structures that allow for a staged restoration approach.
Fig 6.
Electronic SmartGates at Stage 1 (left) and buoyancy controlled SwingGates at Stages 2 and 3 (right).
Fig 7.
Example time series of observed downstream tidal boundary, the required muted tidal signal based on wetland topography and saltmarsh hydroperiod, and the predicted water level within the wetland.
Fig 8.
Predicted wetland hydroperiod based on the muted internal tidal signal versus desired hydroperiod for saltmarsh species.
Table 1.
Tidal inundation model results.
Fig 9.
Predicted wetland hydroperiod based on a muted internal tidal signal.
Table 2.
Vegetation extents and restoration timeline.