Sea level rise, drought and the decline of Spartina patens in New England marshes

Watson, E. B.; Szura, Katelyn; Wigand, Cathleen; Raposa, Kenneth B.; Blount, Keyyana; Cencer, Morgan M.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.02.011

Cited by 53 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The root zone of S. patens is described as an extensive, interwoven network of fine and coarse roots, maximizing biomass at shallow depths (about 4–8 cm; Connor and Chmura 2000), and the plant is able to develop aquatic roots that form into a fibrous network just above the existing marsh surface (Nyman et al 2006). Spartina patens is sensitive to increased levels of nutrients and to the extent and frequency of inundation (Gleason and Zieman 1981, Emery et al 2001, Nyman et al 2006, Watson et al 2016). Therefore, S. patens may be susceptible to increased inundation associated with rapid sea level rise in the nutrient-enriched interface zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discontinuities in soil strength contribute to destabilization of nutrient‐enriched creeks

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a whole‐ecosystem, nutrient addition experiment in the Plum Island Sound Estuary (Massachusetts), we tested the effects of nitrogen enrichment on the carbon and nitrogen contents, respiration, and strength of marsh soils. We measured soil shear strength within and across vegetation zones. We found significantly higher soil percent organic matter, carbon, and nitrogen in the long‐term enriched marshes and higher soil respiration rates with longer duration of enrichment. The soil strength was similar in magnitude across depths and vegetation zones in the reference creeks, but showed signs of significant nutrient‐mediated alteration in enriched creeks where shear strength at rooting depths of the low marsh–high marsh interface zone was significantly lower than at the sub‐rooting depths or in the creek bank vegetation zone. To more closely examine the soil strength of the rooting (10–30 cm) and sub‐rooting (40–60 cm) depths in the interface and creek bank vegetation zones, we calculated a vertical shear strength differential between these depths. We found significantly lower differentials in shear strength (rooting depth < sub‐rooting depths) in the enriched creeks and in the interface zones. The discontinuities in the vertical and horizontal shear strength across the enriched marshes may contribute to observed fracturing and slumping occurring in the marsh systems. Tide gauge data also showed a pattern of rapid sea level rise for the period of the study, and changes in plant distribution patterns were indicative of increased flooding. Longer exposure times to nutrient‐enriched waters and increased hydraulic energy associated with sea level rise may exacerbate creek bank sloughing. Additional research is needed, however, to better understand the interactions of nutrient enrichment and sea level rise on soil shear strength and stability of tidal salt marshes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discontinuities in soil strength contribute to destabilization of nutrient‐enriched creeks

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…maritima [32]; S . patens , Distichlis spicata , Juncus gerardii [45,46,47]). Under high inundation conditions and when there is low sediment supply, plants need to accumulate enough belowground carbon and build peat to keep up with the increased flooding [9,31,48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varying Inundation Regimes Differentially Affect Natural and Sand-Amended Marsh Sediments

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is altering sea level rise rates and precipitation patterns worldwide. Coastal wetlands are vulnerable to these changes. System responses to stressors are important for resource managers and environmental stewards to understand in order to best manage them. Thin layer sand or sediment application to drowning and eroding marshes is one approach to build elevation and resilience. The above- and below-ground structure, soil carbon dioxide emissions, and pore water constituents in vegetated natural marsh sediments and sand-amended sediments were examined at varying inundation regimes between mean sea level and mean high water (0.82 m NAVD88 to 1.49 m NAVD88) in a field experiment at Laws Point, part of the Plum Island Sound Estuary (MA). Significantly lower salinities, pH, sulfides, phosphates, and ammonium were measured in the sand-amended sediments than in the natural sediments. In natural sediments there was a pattern of increasing salinity with increasing elevation while in the sand-amended sediments the trend was reversed, showing decreasing salinity with increasing elevation. Sulfide concentrations generally increased from low to high inundation with highest concentrations at the highest inundation (i.e., at the lowest elevations). High pore water phosphate concentrations were measured at low elevations in the natural sediments, but the sand-amended treatments had mostly low concentrations of phosphate and no consistent pattern with elevation. At the end of the experiment the lowest elevations generally had the highest measures of pore water ammonium. Soil carbon dioxide emissions were greatest in the sand-amended mesocosms and at higher elevations. Differences in coarse root and rhizome abundances and volumes among the sediment treatments were detected with CT imaging, but by 20 weeks the natural and sand-amended treatments showed similar total belowground biomass at the intermediate and high elevations. Although differences in pore water nutrient concentrations, pH, salinity, and belowground root and rhizome morphology were detected between the natural and sand-amended sediments, similar belowground productivity and total biomass were measured by the end of the growing season. Since the belowground productivity supports organic matter accumulation and peat buildup in marshes, our results suggest that thin layer sand or sediment application is a viable climate adaptation action to build elevation and coastal resiliency, especially in areas with low natural sediment supplies.

show abstract

“…Tidal inundation, which originates from coastal waters, influences sediment salinity and pore-water sulfide concentration [5]. Soil salinities and porewater sulfide concentrations are further enhanced with high inundation [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Proteomic Analysis Reveals the Regulatory Effects of H2S on Salt Tolerance of Mangrove Plant Kandelia obovata

Liu

Shen

Simón

et al. 2019

IJMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As a dominant mangrove species, Kandelia obovata is distributed in an intertidal marsh with an active H2S release. Whether H2S participates in the salt tolerance of mangrove plants is still ambiguous, although increasing evidence has demonstrated that H2S functions in plant responses to multiple abiotic stresses. In this study, NaHS was used as an H2S donor to investigate the regulatory mechanism of H2S on the salt tolerance of K. obovata seedlings by using a combined physiological and proteomic analysis. The results showed that the reduction in photosynthesis (Pn) caused by 400 mM of NaCl was recovered by the addition of NaHS (200 μM). Furthermore, the application of H2S enhanced the quantum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) and the membrane lipid stability, implying that H2S is beneficial to the survival of K. obovata seedlings under high salinity. We further identified 37 differentially expressed proteins by proteomic approaches under salinity and NaHS treatments. Among them, the proteins that are related to photosynthesis, primary metabolism, stress response and hormone biosynthesis were primarily enriched. The physiological and proteomic results highlighted that exogenous H2S up-regulated photosynthesis and energy metabolism to help K. obovata to cope with high salinity. Specifically, H2S increased photosynthetic electron transfer, chlorophyll biosynthesis and carbon fixation in K. obovata leaves under salt stress. Furthermore, the abundances of other proteins related to the metabolic pathway, such as antioxidation (ascorbic acid peroxidase (APX), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CSD2), and pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1)), protein synthesis (heat-shock protein (HSP), chaperonin family protein (Cpn) 20), nitrogen metabolism (glutamine synthetase 1 and 2 (GS2), GS1:1), glycolysis (phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) and triosephosphate isomerase (TPI)), and the ascorbate–glutathione (AsA–GSH) cycle were increased by H2S under high salinity. These findings provide new insights into the roles of H2S in the adaptations of the K. obovata mangrove plant to high salinity environments.

show abstract

Sea level rise, drought and the decline of Spartina patens in New England marshes

Cited by 53 publications

References 52 publications

Discontinuities in soil strength contribute to destabilization of nutrient‐enriched creeks

Discontinuities in soil strength contribute to destabilization of nutrient‐enriched creeks

Varying Inundation Regimes Differentially Affect Natural and Sand-Amended Marsh Sediments

Comparative Proteomic Analysis Reveals the Regulatory Effects of H2S on Salt Tolerance of Mangrove Plant Kandelia obovata

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About