Dredged materials from navigation channel maintenance represent a potentially valuable resource for wetland creation and restoration. In the northern Chesapeake Bay, fine-grained sediments from Baltimore Harbor approach channels are transported by barge southward for creation of wetlands on the site of an eroded island. High concentrations of ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus, dissolved iron, and iron sulfide minerals in channel deposits are altered by the transport and drying of these materials prior to wetland development. The oxidation of iron sulfide minerals results in low pH, with the initiation of tidal inundation removing sulfuric acid from near-surface soil horizons and moderating the soil pH. Despite the loss of ammonium during dewatering and soil processing, the resultant soils retained high concentrations of dissolved and adsorbed ammonium. Iron-associated inorganic phosphorus represented a large pool of potentially labile phosphorus and along with the high ammonium, resulted in high nutrient concentrations for plant growth. Combined with results on plant growth presented elsewhere, these data suggest that fine-grained dredged materials from non-contaminated environments are well suited for the creation of tidal wetlands after placement and seasoning 1–2 years.

航道维护中的疏materials材料是湿地创建和恢复的潜在宝贵资源。在北部切萨皮克湾，巴尔的摩港进出航道的细颗粒沉积物被驳船向南运输，从而在一个被侵蚀的岛屿上创造了湿地。在湿地开发之前，这些物质的运输和干燥会改变通道沉积物中高浓度的铵，可溶性反应性磷，溶解的铁和硫化铁矿物质。硫化铁矿物的氧化导致pH值低，潮汐开始泛滥，从近地表土壤层中除去硫酸，并缓和了土壤的pH值。尽管在脱水和土壤处理过程中损失了铵，最终的土壤保留了高浓度的溶解和吸附的铵。与铁相关的无机磷代表了大量潜在的不稳定磷，并且与高铵盐一起，导致植物生长所需的高养分浓度。结合其他地方提出的植物生长结果，这些数据表明，来自未受污染的环境的细颗粒疏materials材料非常适合放置和调味1至2年后形成潮汐湿地。