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Most plant diversity-function studies have been conducted in terrestrial ecosystems and have focused on plant productivity and nutrient uptake/retention, with a notable lack of attention paid to belowground processes (e.g., root dynamics, decomposition, trace gas fluxes). Here we present results from a mesocosm experiment in which we assessed how the richness of emergent macrophyte functional groups influences aboveground and belowground plant growth and microbial-mediated functions related to carbon and nitrogen cycling, with an emphasis on methane (CH4) efflux and potential denitrification rates. We found that an increase in the richness of wetland plant functional groups enhanced belowground plant biomass, altered rooting patterns, and decreased methane efflux, while having no effect on aboveground plant production or denitrification potential. We hypothesize that the greater root production and increased rooting depth in the highest diversity treatments enhanced CH4 oxidation to a relatively greater degree than methane production, leading to an overall decrease in CH4 efflux across our plant functional group richness gradient.

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Until 1979, European salt marshes were known only through the inventories of fauna and especially of flora. On such criteria, the salt marshes of the Mont-Saint-Michel bay (France) were regarded as most significant of the French coasts. However, it took 20 years of research on the role of these wetlands of the estuaries-salt marsh systems to highlight the ecological, social and economic interest of this ecotone, between continental and marine systems, a long time considered as territory "without value", except for stock breeders or hunters.

The current U.S. wetland mitigation policy of "no net loss" requires that a new wetland be created to replace any natural wetland destroyed under development pressures. This policy, however, may be resulting in a net loss of carbon-based wetland functions. We evaluated the ability of created wetlands to accumulate carbon and to mitigate loss of carbon-based functions in natural wetlands with variable hydrology. Potential limiting factors to carbon accumulation within created systems included soil aggregation, texture, and bulk density. Rates of soil development and the time required for created wetlands to accumulate the amount of carbon found in natural wetlands were estimated by an exponential model. Soils collected from five created (ages 3-8 years) and four natural freshwater marshes, located in central Ohio, USA, were analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC), mineralizable soil carbon (Cmin), water-stable aggregates (WSA), particle-size fractions (PSD), and bulk density. Peak-standing aboveground plant biomass was also quantified. Created wetlands contained significantly less plant biomass, SOC, and Cmin than natural wetlands (c < 0.05; false discovery rate). Soil physical properties also differed significantly between created and natural wetlands, with fewer macroaggregates, more microaggregates, more silt-clay (0-5 cm only), and higher bulk density in created wetlands (a < 0.05; false discovery rate). Carbon content was positively correlated with macroaggregate content and negatively correlated with microaggregate content, silt-clay fraction, and bulk density. Fit of SOC data to the exponential model indicated that a newly created wetland would require 300 years to sequester the amount of SOC contained in a natural wetland. At this rate of carbon accumulation, a mitigation ratio of 2.7:1 (area) would be necessary for successful mitigation over a 50-year time period. However, other trajectories fit the data equally well and suggested area mitigation ratios of 2.2:1 (logistic) to 4.4:1 (linear regression) to 5.1:1 (exponential regression). Whether created wetlands are on a trajectory toward natural wetland carbon function, however, remains uncertain. Until gaps in the data are filled and a trajectory verified, the best mitigation policy will be a conservative one, with a restrictive permitting process and high mitigation ratios (5.1:1 minimum).

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As a result of increased anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loading in surface waters of agricultural watersheds, there is enhanced interest to understand and quantify N removal mechanisms. Denitrification, an important N removal mechanism in aquatic systems, may contribute to reducing N pollution in agricultural headwater streams. However, the key factors controlling this process in lotic systems remain unclear. The objective of our study was to examine the factors regulating rates of denitrification in the sediments of agricultural headwater streams in the midwestern USA. Denitrification rates were variable among streams and treatments (\0.1-28.0 lg N g AFDM -1 h -1 ) and on average, were higher than those reported for similar headwater streams. Carbon quantity and quality, and pH had no effect on denitrification, while temperature and nitrate (NO À 3 ) concentrations had a positive effect on rates of denitrification. Specifically, NO À 3 controlled denitrification followingMichaelis-Menten kinetics. We calculated a value of k m (1.0 mg NO À 3 -N L -1 ) that was comparable to other studies in aquatic sediments but was well below the median in-stream NO À 3 concentrations (5.2-17.4 mg NO À 3 -N L -1 ) observed at the study sites. Despite high rates of denitrification, this removal mechanism is most likely NO À 3 saturated in the agricultural headwater streams we examined, suggesting that these systems are not effective at removing in-stream N.