Wetland loss patterns and inundation-productivity relationships prognosticate widespread salt for southern New England

Estuaries and Coasts : Journal of the Estuarine Research Federation
Elizabeth Burke WatsonK B Raposa

Abstract

Tidal salt marsh is a key defense against, yet is especially vulnerable to, the effects of accelerated sea level rise. To determine whether salt marshes in southern New England will be stable given increasing inundation over the coming decades, we examined current loss patterns, inundation-productivity feedbacks, and sustaining processes. A multi-decadal analysis of salt marsh aerial extent using historic imagery and maps revealed that salt marsh vegetation loss is both widespread, and accelerating, with vegetation loss rates over the past four decades summing to 17.3%. Seaward retreat of the marsh edge, widening and headward expansion of tidal channel networks, loss of marsh islands, and the development and enlargement of interior depressions found on the marsh platform contributed to vegetation loss. Inundation due to sea level rise is strongly suggested as a primary driver: vegetation loss rates were significantly negatively correlated with marsh elevation (r2=0.96; p=0.0038), with marshes situated below mean high water (MHW) experiencing greater declines than marshes sitting well above MHW. Growth experiments with Spartina alterniflora, the Atlantic salt marsh ecosystem dominant, across a range of elevations and inundation ...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 1, 2017·Estuaries and Coasts : Journal of the Estuarine Research Federation·E B WatsonR S Warren
Jun 12, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Weifang HuCongsheng Zeng
Jun 22, 2021·Estuaries and Coasts : Journal of the Estuarine Research Federation·David L Taylor, Molly M Fehon
Aug 13, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·A R CarrascoA Matias

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