Long-term carbon flux and balance in managed and natural coastal forested wetlands of the Southeastern USA

Aguilos, Maricar; Mitra, Bhaskar; Noormets, Asko; Minick, Kevan J.; Prajapati, Prajaya; Gavazzi, Michael; Sun, Ge; McNulty, Steven G.; Li, Xuefeng; Domec, Jean‐Christophe; Miao, Guofang; King, John S.

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108022

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…Though stand-replacing disturbances (e.g., harvests) lead to a net forest C loss, replanting as part of the rotational cycle will eventually replace the lost carbon. However, if trees do not reach maturity and peak primary productivity before subsequent harvests [4,9], increased harvest intensity could result in net carbon losses as was demonstrated in the positive relationship between harvest intensity and aboveground carbon declines in our results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Land use activities and modifications, such as farming, forestry, and even land abandonment, influence carbon storage and flux on the landscape. Agricultural and forestry pressures (as quantified by agricultural pressure and harvest intensity described below) can alter soil properties, increase nutrient runoff, and change vegetation composition, all of which influence carbon pools both in the areas actively managed and on spatially adjacent or nearby lands [4,9]. Land abandonment (e.g., fallow lands) can also change carbon pools by allowing for natural regeneration, providing buffers from storms for nearby lands, and increasing productivity on site or nearby [51].…”

Section: Land Use Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coastal forests cover less than 3% of the Earth's surface yet sequester and store as much carbon (C) as their terrestrial counterparts [1,2]. By storing carbon in vegetation and sediments, coastal forests play important roles in biogeochemical carbon (C) cycling and mitigating climate change [3,4]. Coastal forests provide a suite of additional ecosystem services, including storm surge protection, wildlife habitat, water filtration, and recreational opportunities [3,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sea level rise rates are accelerating, outpacing the average 20th century rates, and leading to increased flooding and erosion, saltwater intrusion, and coastal forest loss [7]. At the same time, rapid population growth, demand for food and fiber, and unconstrained coastal development have caused rapid declines in the health and extent of coastal forests [4]. The interactive effects of sea level rise, land use, and other disturbances (e.g., wildfires) impact the quantity and quality of ecosystem services supplied by coastal forests [8], but regional assessments that account for these effects together are limited [9], and few account for spatial dependencies and nonstationarity in the socio-spatial processes driving ecosystem change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, research on carbon flux (e.g., the driving processes and controls of C dynamics) in temperate coastal forests has focused on findings from field studies [2,4,30]. These studies are requisite to an understanding of the fine scale processes driving coastal forest carbon change, but their applicability at regional scales is limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying Drivers of Coastal Forest Carbon Decline Highlights Opportunities for Targeted Human Interventions

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Vukomanovic

Taillie

et al. 2021

Land

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As coastal land use intensifies and sea levels rise, the fate of coastal forests becomes increasingly uncertain. Synergistic anthropogenic and natural pressures affect the extent and function of coastal forests, threatening valuable ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and storage. Quantifying the drivers of coastal forest degradation is requisite to effective and targeted adaptation and management. However, disentangling the drivers and their relative contributions at a landscape scale is difficult, due to spatial dependencies and nonstationarity in the socio-spatial processes causing degradation. We used nonspatial and spatial regression approaches to quantify the relative contributions of sea level rise, natural disturbances, and land use activities on coastal forest degradation, as measured by decadal aboveground carbon declines. We measured aboveground carbon declines using time-series analysis of satellite and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imagery between 2001 and 2014 in a low-lying coastal region experiencing synergistic natural and anthropogenic pressures. We used nonspatial (ordinary least squares regression–OLS) and spatial (geographically weighted regression–GWR) models to quantify relationships between drivers and aboveground carbon declines. Using locally specific parameter estimates from GWR, we predicted potential future carbon declines under sea level rise inundation scenarios. From both the spatial and nonspatial regression models, we found that land use activities and natural disturbances had the highest measures of relative importance (together representing 94% of the model’s explanatory power), explaining more variation in carbon declines than sea level rise metrics such as salinity and distance to the estuarine shoreline. However, through the spatial regression approach, we found spatial heterogeneity in the relative contributions to carbon declines, with sea level rise metrics contributing more to carbon declines closer to the shore. Overlaying our aboveground carbon maps with sea level rise inundation models we found associated losses in total aboveground carbon, measured in teragrams of carbon (TgC), ranged from 2.9 ± 0.1 TgC (for a 0.3 m rise in sea level) to 8.6 ± 0.3 TgC (1.8 m rise). Our predictions indicated that on the remaining non-inundated landscape, potential carbon declines increased from 29% to 32% between a 0.3 and 1.8 m rise in sea level. By accounting for spatial nonstationarity in our drivers, we provide information on site-specific relationships at a regional scale, allowing for more targeted management planning and intervention. Accordingly, our regional-scale assessment can inform policy, planning, and adaptation solutions for more effective and targeted management of valuable coastal forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Land Use Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying Drivers of Coastal Forest Carbon Decline Highlights Opportunities for Targeted Human Interventions

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Vukomanovic

Taillie

et al. 2021

Land

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Beyond carbon flux partitioning: Carbon allocation and nonstructural carbon dynamics inferred from continuous fluxes

Miao

Noormets

Gavazzi

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Carbon (C) allocation and nonstructural carbon (NSC) dynamics play essential roles in plant growth and survival under stress and disturbance. However, quantitative understanding of these processes remains limited. Here we propose a framework where we connect commonly measured carbon cycle components (eddy covariance fluxes of canopy CO 2 exchange, soil CO 2 efflux, and allometry-based biomass and net primary production) by a simple mass balance model to derive ecosystem-level NSC dynamics (NSC i ), C translocation (dC i ), and the biomass production efficiency (BPE i ) in above-and belowground plant (i = agp and bgp) compartments. We applied this framework to two long-term monitored loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations of different ages in North Carolina and characterized the variations of NSC and allocation in years under normal and drought conditions. The results indicated that the young stand did not have net NSC flux at the annual scale, whereas the mature stand stored a near-constant proportion of new assimilates as NSC every year under normal conditions, which was comparable in magnitude to new structural growth. Roots consumed NSC in drought and stored a significant amount of NSC post drought. The above-and belowground dC i and BPE i varied more from year to year in the young stand and approached a relatively stable pattern in the mature stand. The belowground BPE bgp differed the most between the young and mature stands and was most responsive to drought.

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Coastal Wetland Hydrologic Resilience to Climatic Disturbances: Concept, Quantification, and Threshold Response

Zhang,

Li,

Sun

et al. 2022

Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience

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Long-term carbon flux and balance in managed and natural coastal forested wetlands of the Southeastern USA

Cited by 25 publications

References 101 publications

Quantifying Drivers of Coastal Forest Carbon Decline Highlights Opportunities for Targeted Human Interventions

Quantifying Drivers of Coastal Forest Carbon Decline Highlights Opportunities for Targeted Human Interventions

Beyond carbon flux partitioning: Carbon allocation and nonstructural carbon dynamics inferred from continuous fluxes

Coastal Wetland Hydrologic Resilience to Climatic Disturbances: Concept, Quantification, and Threshold Response

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