Compensatory Mechanisms Absorb Regional Carbon Losses Within a Rapidly Shifting Coastal Mosaic

Smith, Alexander J.; McGlathery, Karen; Chen, Yaping; Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J.; Doney, Scott C.; Gedan, Keryn; LaRoche, Carly K.; Berg, Peter; Pace, Michael L.; Zinnert, Julie C.; Kirwan, Matthew L.

doi:10.1007/s10021-023-00877-7

Ecosystems

2023

DOI: 10.1007/s10021-023-00877-7

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Compensatory Mechanisms Absorb Regional Carbon Losses Within a Rapidly Shifting Coastal Mosaic

Alexander J. Smith,

Karen McGlathery,

Yaping Chen

et al.

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Cited by 2 publications

References 80 publications

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Litter Decomposition in Retreating Coastal Forests

Smith,

Valentine,

Small

et al. 2024

Estuaries and Coasts

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Rising sea levels lead to the migration of salt marshes into coastal forests, thereby shifting both ecosystem composition and function. In this study, we investigate leaf litter decomposition, a critical component of forest carbon cycling, across the marsh-forest boundary with a focus on the potential influence of environmental gradients (i.e., temperature, light, moisture, salinity, and oxygen) on decomposition rates. To examine litter decomposition across these potentially competing co-occurring environmental gradients, we deployed litterbags within distinct forest health communities along the marsh-forest continuum and monitored decomposition rates over 6 months. Our results revealed that while the burial depth of litter enhanced decomposition within any individual forest zone by approximately 60% (decay rate = 0.272 ± 0.029 yr−1 (surface), 0.450 ± 0.039 yr−1 (buried)), we observed limited changes in decomposition rates across the marsh-forest boundary with only slightly enhanced decomposition in mid-forest soils that are being newly impacted by saltwater intrusion and shrub encroachment. The absence of linear changes in decomposition rates indicates non-linear interactions between the observed environmental gradients that maintain a consistent net rate of decomposition across the marsh-forest boundary. However, despite similar decomposition rates across the boundary, the accumulated soil litter layer disappears because leaf litter influx decreases from the absence of mature trees. Our finding that environmental gradients counteract expected decomposition trends could inform carbon-climate model projections and may be indicative of decomposition dynamics present in other transitioning ecosystem boundaries.

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Litter Decomposition in Retreating Coastal Forests

Smith,

Valentine,

Small

et al. 2024

Estuaries and Coasts

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Shoreface erosion counters blue carbon accumulation in transgressive barrier-island systems

Barksdale,

Hein,

Kirwan

2023

Nat Commun

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Landward migration of coastal ecosystems in response to sea-level rise is altering coastal carbon dynamics. Although such landscapes rapidly accumulate soil carbon, barrier-island migration jeopardizes long-term storage through burial and exposure of organic-rich backbarrier deposits along the lower beach and shoreface. Here, we quantify the carbon flux associated with the seaside erosion of backbarrier lagoon and peat deposits along the Virginia Atlantic Coast. Barrier transgression leads to the release of approximately 26.1 Gg of organic carbon annually. Recent (1994–2017 C.E.) erosion rates exceed annual soil carbon accumulation rates (1984–2020) in adjacent backbarrier ecosystems by approximately 30%. Additionally, shoreface erosion of thick lagoon sediments accounts for >80% of total carbon losses, despite containing lower carbon densities than overlying salt marsh peat. Together, these results emphasize the impermanence of carbon stored in coastal environments and suggest that existing landscape-scale carbon budgets may overstate the magnitude of the coastal carbon sink.

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Compensatory Mechanisms Absorb Regional Carbon Losses Within a Rapidly Shifting Coastal Mosaic

Cited by 2 publications

References 80 publications

Litter Decomposition in Retreating Coastal Forests

Litter Decomposition in Retreating Coastal Forests

Shoreface erosion counters blue carbon accumulation in transgressive barrier-island systems

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