Flora of Freshwater Wetlands in the Tsunami-Affected Zone of the Tohoku Region

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami broke open seawalls, levees, and channels on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region, creating temporary marshes and pools at sites that had been dry before the earthquake. In ponds, paddy fields, and canals that had existed before 2011, the tsunami disturbed sediments, deposited sand, and soil and changed the growth environments of wetland plants.