Changes in Ecosystem Nitrogen and Carbon Allocation with Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) Encroachment into Spartina alterniflora Salt Marsh

Macy, Aaron; Osland, Michael J.; Cherry, Julia A.; Cebrián, Just

doi:10.1007/s10021-020-00565-w

Cited by 9 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…In the tropics, A. germinans can be a foundation species that plays a facilitative role for other mangrove individuals (Huxham et al 2010), but in the northern Gulf of Mexico, studies indicate that S. alterniflora is likely a more suitable target plant foundation species to facilitate plant community development and jump‐start coastal wetland restoration due to its more rapid growth, greater horizontal expansion, and higher recruitment compared to A. germinans (Lewis & Dunstan 1975; Crewz & Lewis 1991; McKee et al 2007; Yando et al 2019). Moreover, temperate marsh species can tolerate extreme freeze events through annual aboveground biomass turnover (Macy et al 2020), while mangroves are sensitive to cold temperatures that can result in physiological damage and/or mortality (Madrid et al 2014; Osland et al 2015; Osland et al 2019). Larger mangroves, stems and roots closer to the sediment, and individuals buffered by favorable microclimates typically have greater survival following freeze events than smaller, more exposed individuals (Devaney et al 2017; Osland et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of chronic and acute stressors on transplanted black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings along an eroding Louisiana shoreline

Macy

Osland

Cherry

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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Coastal wetland restoration can be used to offset past wetland losses and/or reduce future losses due to land-use changes, rising sea levels, and accelerating climate change. However, there is a need for information regarding the restoration-relevant performance of foundation species like mangrove and marsh plants, including their responses to acute and chronic stressors that can affect restoration outcomes. Mangrove encroachment and poleward range expansion into marsh, facilitated by warming winters, has provided restoration practitioners in the northern Gulf of Mexico with a new foundation plant species to consider using during restoration. To evaluate the performance of transplanted mangroves and characterize restoration-relevant marsh-mangrove interactions, we planted nursery-raised black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings within different marsh cover treatments along an eroding marsh-dominated shoreline in Louisiana. Mangrove seedling survival increased with greater densities of marsh cover, indicating that marsh grass (Spartina alterniflora) may facilitate mangrove establishment. However, only 35% of transplanted mangrove seedlings established after 10 weeks, suggesting a low return on resources expended in raising seedlings for 1-3 years in greenhouse conditions. Moreover, a 2018 freeze event killed 100% of transplanted mangrove seedlings, while nearby naturally established mangroves suffered minor damage. Our results, along with those in the mangrove restoration literature, indicate that planting mangroves in the northern Gulf of Mexico may not be the most efficient use of limited resources. Rather, restoration efforts may benefit from focusing initially on the restoration of abiotic conditions (e.g. elevation and hydrologic regimes), followed by using marsh plants (rather than transplanted mangroves) to jump-start ecosystem development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of chronic and acute stressors on transplanted black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings along an eroding Louisiana shoreline

Macy

Osland

Cherry

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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“…These studies show higher nitrogen content in the aboveground tissues of black mangroves ( A. germinans ) than in marsh smooth cordgrass ( S. alterniflora ; McKee & Rooth, 2008; Macy et al, 2020). Higher aboveground biomass and aboveground nitrogen stocks (Macy et al, 2020) suggest higher nitrogen uptake from the soil by plants in A. germinans than in S. alterniflora stands, which is consistent with the lower nitrogen concentrations observed in the soil porewater of A. germinans in comparison with S. alterniflora stands (Macy et al, 2020). Altogether, these results suggest that A. germinans individuals, by removing larger quantities of nitrogen from the soil, may be larger filters of nitrogen pollution than S. alterniflora .…”

Section: Water Quality: Nutrient and Sediment Retentionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs

Osland

Hughes

Armitage

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Climate change is transforming ecosystems and affecting ecosystem goods and services. Along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States, the frequency and intensity of extreme freeze events greatly influence whether coastal wetlands are dominated by freeze‐sensitive woody plants (mangrove forests) or freeze‐tolerant grass‐like plants (salt marshes). In response to warming winters, mangroves have been expanding and displacing salt marshes at varying degrees of severity in parts of north Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. As winter warming accelerates, mangrove range expansion is expected to increasingly modify wetland ecosystem structure and function. Because there are differences in the ecological and societal benefits that salt marshes and mangroves provide, coastal environmental managers are challenged to anticipate the effects of mangrove expansion on critical wetland ecosystem services, including those related to carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, storm protection, erosion reduction, water purification, fisheries support, and recreation. Mangrove range expansion may also affect wetland stability in the face of extreme climatic events and rising sea levels. Here, we review the current understanding of the effects of mangrove range expansion and displacement of salt marshes on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States. We also identify critical knowledge gaps and emerging research needs regarding the ecological and societal implications of salt marsh displacement by expanding mangrove forests. One consistent theme throughout our review is that there are ecological trade‐offs for consideration by coastal managers. Mangrove expansion and marsh displacement can produce beneficial changes in some ecosystem services, while simultaneously producing detrimental changes in other services. Thus, there can be local‐scale differences in perceptions of the impacts of mangrove expansion into salt marshes. For very specific local reasons, some individuals may see mangrove expansion as a positive change to be embraced, while others may see mangrove expansion as a negative change to be constrained.

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“…Biomass C and N pools are largest in mangroves relative to other vegetation occupying saline habitats. Mangrove biomass stores 4–30 times more aboveground organic carbon than graminoid salt marshes, and 15–120 times more aboveground carbon than succulent salt marshes per unit area (Yando et al ., 2016; Macy et al ., 2021). Total aboveground biomass N pools in mangroves are c .…”

Section: Vegetation Functional Types and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling strategies and data needs for representing coastal wetland vegetation in land surface models

LaFond-Hudson

Sulman

2023

New Phytologist

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Summary Vegetated coastal ecosystems sequester carbon rapidly relative to terrestrial ecosystems. Coastal wetlands are poorly represented in land surface models, but work is underway to improve process‐based, predictive modeling of these ecosystems. Here, we identify guiding questions, potential simulations, and data needs to make progress in improving representation of vegetation in terrestrial–aquatic interfaces, with a focus on coastal and estuarine ecosystems. We synthesize relevant plant traits and environmental controls on vegetation that influence carbon cycling in coastal ecosystems. We propose that models include separate plant functional types (PFTs) for mangroves, graminoid salt marshes, and succulent salt marshes to adequately represent the variation in aboveground and belowground productivity between common coastal wetland vegetation types. We also discuss the drivers and carbon storage consequences of shifts in dominant PFTs. We suggest several potential approaches to represent the diversity in vegetation tolerance and adaptations to fluctuations in salinity and water level, which drive key gradients in coastal wetland ecosystems. Finally, we discuss data needs for parameterizing and evaluating model implementations of coastal wetland vegetation types and function.

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Changes in Ecosystem Nitrogen and Carbon Allocation with Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) Encroachment into Spartina alterniflora Salt Marsh

Cited by 9 publications

References 88 publications

Effects of chronic and acute stressors on transplanted black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings along an eroding Louisiana shoreline

Effects of chronic and acute stressors on transplanted black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) seedlings along an eroding Louisiana shoreline

The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs

Modeling strategies and data needs for representing coastal wetland vegetation in land surface models

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