Marsh Types Research Articles

Toward understanding the hydrologic, ecologic and community flooding implications of coastal restoration strategies: Sediment diversions

Evaluating the real-world impacts of proposed restoration strategies is a complex process. Typically, restoration is pursued to achieve a number of primary and secondary objectives as most coastal and deltaic areas support a variety of functions and activities with substantial social and economic values. In this analysis, we demonstrate the importance of considering the broad implications of planning and implementing restoration projects. We use a recently developed simplified and computationally efficient biophysical numerical model. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a restoration project approximately 60 km down the Mississippi River from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, offers an opportunity to quantify the benefits and potential impacts of large-scale restoration. Operation plans of the diversion are employed in this analysis to reveal the delicate balance between its potential benefits and possible adverse effects. Evaluation metrics include net land change and landscape evolution, change in salinity and subsequent shift in the distribution of marsh types, long-term change in the hydroperiod and marsh inundation, and change in the flood risk for unique local coastal communities and culture. We also consider subaqueous basin infilling, spatial sediment deposition, and creation of shallow water areas that might be of ecological value. These metrics are evaluated collectively under a set of future scenarios capturing long-term impacts of sea level rise and subsidence. This analysis provides evidence in favor of using a multi-metric approach to holistically evaluate restoration during the planning and design phases, as well as to guide the process of adaptively managing restoration projects post construction.

Blue carbon storage of tidal flats and salt marshes: A comparative assessment in two Chinese coastal areas

Coastal wetlands are blue carbon (C) reservoirs and play an important role in mitigating climate change by efficiently capturing and storing organic carbon (OC). However, assessments of blue C sequestration focus primarily on soil organic carbon (SOC) inventories of vegetated coastal ecosystems and often neglect the potential of tidal flats to sequestrate C. To address the issue, a comparative assessment was carried out for two representative coastal wetlands in China: the Yellow River Delta and Yancheng coastal wetlands. The study focused on distinct types of coastal ecosystems including unvegetated tidal flats and three types of salt marshes vegetated by either Spartina alterniflora, Suaeda salsa, or Phragmites australis. We combined field sampling and data synthesis to assess the OC stock of different coastal areas and evaluate the regional OC storage. The results indicated that vegetated salt marshes exhibited higher OC stocks per unit area compared to unvegetated tidal flats in both regions. Interestingly, tidal flats in the Yellow River Delta displayed comparable OC stocks to S. salsa marsh on the Yancheng coast. The regional OC storage was estimated to be 5.64 ± 0.61 Tg C for the Yellow River Delta and 9.96 ± 1.52 Tg C for the Yancheng coast. Tidal flats with low SOC stock per unit area were the primary contributors to regional OC storage, accounting for over 75 % of the total. This predominance was attributed to the extensive distribution of tidal flats along China's coast, indicating their significant potential as blue C sinks. Overall, this study provides insights into the OC storage potential of various wetland types in China and highlights the importance of considering tidal flats in estimates of blue C sequestration.

Short-term evolution pattern in salt marsh landscapes: the importance of physical constraints

ContextSalt marsh landscapes at the land-sea interfaces exhibit contrasting spatiotemporal dynamics, resulting from varying physical constraints that limit new marsh establishment. The expansion of salt marsh landscapes towards the sea or their retreat towards the land is determined by patch-level changes, relying on the balance of power between the intrinsic biota traits and external physical disturbances.ObjectivesExamine how marsh dynamics respond to physical constraints, and clarify the pathway from coupled physical processes involving hydrodynamic forces, sediment transport, and morphological changes to rapid patch evolution and landscape changes.MethodsWe defined and distinguished four types of marsh changes based on patch proximities from five-month drone images in two typical marsh pioneer zones of the Yangtze Estuary, China: outlying expansion, edge expansion, infilling expansion, and retreat. Hydrodynamics and sediment transport were synchronously measured and compared near the two marsh edges, and morphological changes were generated by drone-derived digital elevation models (DEMs).ResultsWe identified distinct seasonal patterns of net marsh expansion at the accretion-prone site, that is: Net marsh expansion started from the outlying expansion in spring, followed by edge expansion in summer and infilling expansion in autumn. However, at the erosion-prone site that experienced high bed shear stress, low sediment availability and high seaward sediment transport, we only observed limited infilling and edge expansion in spring. This suggests that the potential for long-distance patch formation beyond the initial marsh edges is diminished in areas subjected to intensive physical disturbances.ConclusionsPatch evolution dynamics in response to site-specific physical constraints drive state differentiation of salt marsh landscape changes. Consequently, the heterogeneous evolution in salt marsh landscapes should be taken into account in restoration practice.

Identifying and Constraining Marsh-Type Transitions in Response to Increasing Erosion over the Past Century

Marsh environments, characterized by their flora and fauna, change laterally in response to shoreline erosion, water levels and inundation, and anthropogenic activities. The Grand Bay coastal system (USA) has undergone multiple large-scale geomorphic and hydrologic changes resulting in altered sediment supply, depositional patterns, and degraded barrier islands, leaving wetland salt marshes vulnerable to increased wave activity. Two shore-perpendicular transect sites, one along a low-activity shoreline and the other in a high activity area of the same bay-marsh complex, were sampled to investigate how the marshes within 50 m of the modern shoreline have responded to different levels of increased wave activity over the past century. Surface sediments graded finer and more organic with increased distance from the shoreline while cores generally exhibited a coarsening upwards grain-size trend; all cores contained multiple large sedimentological shifts. 210Pb-based mass accumulation rates over the last two decades were greater than the long-term (centurial) average at each site with the fastest accumulation rates of 7.81 ± 1.58 and 7.79 ± 1.63 kg/m2/year at the sites nearest the shoreline. A shoreline change analysis of three time-slices (1848–2017, 1957–2017, 2016–2017) shows increased erosion at both sites since 1848 with modern rates of −0.95 and −0.88 m/year. Downcore sedimentology, mass accumulation rates, and shoreline change rates paired with foraminiferal biofacies and identification of local estuarine indicator species, Paratrochammina simplissima, aided in identifying paleo marsh types, their relative proximity to the shoreline, and sediment provenance. The high-energy marsh site transitioned from middle marsh to low marsh in the 1960s, and the low-energy marsh site transitioned later, at the end of the twentieth and early twenty-first century, due to its more protected location. Marsh type transition corresponds chronologically with the coarsening upwards grain-size trend observed and the degradation of Grand Batture Island; since its submergence, signatures of multiple storm event have been preserved downcore.

Mapping the tidal marshes of coastal Virginia: a hierarchical transfer learning approach

ABSTRACT Coastal wetlands, especially tidal marshes, play a crucial role in supporting ecosystems and slowing shoreline erosion. Accurate and cost-effective identification and classification of various marsh types, such as high and low marshes, are important for effective coastal management and conservation endeavors. However, mapping tidal marshes is challenging due to heterogeneous coastal vegetation and dynamic tidal influences. In this study, we employ a deep learning segmentation model to automate the identification and classification of tidal marsh communities in coastal Virginia, USA, using seasonal, publicly available satellite and aerial images. This study leverages the combined capabilities of Sentinel-2 and National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery and a UNet architecture to accurately classify tidal marsh communities. We illustrate that by leveraging features learned from data abundant regions and small quantities of high-quality training data collected from the target region, an accuracy as high as 88% can be achieved in the classification of marsh types, specifically high marsh and low marsh, at a spatial resolution of 0.6 m. This study contributes to the field of marsh mapping by highlighting the potential of combining multispectral satellite imagery and deep learning for accurate and efficient marsh type classification.

Microbial Diversity, Biomass, and Community Structure Differences among Restored and Natural Saltwater Marshes, Louisiana

Tidally influenced, saltwater marsh construction projects are being completed in Louisiana to combat coastal erosion and land loss, as well as to restore critical fisheries and counteract ecosystem injuries caused by oil spills and other anthropogenic activities. Historically, metrics of success for restored marshes have been based on the amount of aboveground biomass, survival of planted vegetation, and recruitment of local endemic versus invasive species. The microbial communities responsible for cycling nutrients within restored soils are not typically evaluated. Therefore, we investigated microbial community structure, biomass, and diversity in marsh soils that had been created from nearby dredge material over the past 10 years in the Lake Hermitage, West Point a La Hache area, and compared the results to those from natural marsh soils from Bay Batiste, as determined using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques and from 16S rRNA gene profiles. Soils were collected from two depths (0-2 cm and 8-10 cm) from four sampling locations along a 100-m transect that extended inland from the coastline. Soil organic carbon content and soil pH were consistently lower at restored sites compared to natural marshes. Natural marsh soil microbial diversity strongly correlated with the biomass of typical marsh plants (e.g., Spartina alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus), whereas restored soil diversity correlated to higher Paspalum spp. (crowngrass) and Schoenoplectus pungens (common bulrush) biomass. Created soils had higher overall microbial diversity, but natural marsh soils had at least twice as much PLFA biomass than the created marshes at the shallow depth and 10X more biomass at the deeper depth. Biomass estimates ranged from below detectable levels to 6 x104 pmol PLFA gdw−1, with shallower soils from all sites exhibiting higher biomass (average 104 pmol PLFA gdw-1) compared to deeper soils (average 103 pmol PLFA gdw-1). Diverse PLFA profiles were observed. Shallow soils were dominated by terminally-branched and midchain-branched saturates that are indicative of Gram-positive microorganisms and actinomycetes. The shallow soils contained polyunsaturates indicative of phototrophs. Deeper soil profiles were dominated by monounsaturates associated with Gram-negative bacteria and sulfate- and metal-reducing bacteria. These monounsaturates contained on average 7% of the total PLFA profile as cyclopropyl fatty acids, which likely indicated anaerobic processes and the presence of nutritional stress. The shallow natural marsh soils exhibited more mid-branched saturates, branched monounsaturates, and polyunsaturates, whereas the shallow created marsh soils had more terminally-branched saturates. In the deeper soils, the natural marshes exhibited more terminally-branched saturates and monounsaturates, but the created marshes contained more saturates. GC/MS analyses of dimethyl disulfide derivatizations revealed shifts in microorganisms, as indicated by the types and bonding positions of monounsaturates, and the changes in the presence/absence of methanotrophic populations within the soils, which was also reflected in the 16S rRNA gene profiles. From these results, the microbial communities from the created marsh soils were different than the natural soil communities, and may reflect not being the best desired outcome for marsh restoration. With time, the expectation would be that created marsh above and belowground microbial diversity and biomass would begin to mimic natural marshes, but continued monitoring through time will be necessary to understand how these linkages develop and affect basic soil processes, nutrient cycling, and recruitment and sustenance of higher organisms like fish or crustaceans.

Dynamic changes in net primary productivity of marsh wetland vegetation in China from 2005 to 2015

Wetlands are one of the world's three major ecosystems. Marsh wetland vegetation, with its unique characteristics, is playing an increasingly prominent role in absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide and mitigating climate warming. This study estimated the annual, seasonal, and monthly trends of marsh wetland vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) in China from 2005 to 2015 based on the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford approach (CASA) model. The temporal and spatial characteristics of NPP were analyzed and the driving factors were discussed. The results showed that the annual marsh wetland vegetation NPP had an increasing trend from 2005 to 2015 on national scale in China, with the lowest and highest values in 2005 (202.03 gCm−2a−1) and 2015 (222.58 gCm−2a−1), respectively. The monthly seasonal variations in marsh wetland vegetation NPP consistent with the typical growth pattern of vegetation observed in China. Monthly marsh wetland vegetation NPP showed a unimodal distribution, and May to September were the main months for NPP accumulation. The highest vegetation NPP values occurred during the summer season. Marsh wetland vegetation types did impact the NPP distribution, Gramineous marsh vegetation contributed most to the total NPP (29%). Spatially, the NPP was higher in east than in the west, and higher in the center than in the south and north. An overall positive impact of precipitation and temperature on the Chinese marsh wetland vegetation NPP was revealed. The study recommended to give greater attention the conservation of Gramineous vegetation alongside the overall protection of Chinese marsh wetlands. Our findings can offer important evaluation results and guidance for the future addressing climate change and conservation and maintenance of the carbon sink capacity of marsh wetland vegetation in China.

Local environmental variables outperform spatial and land use pattern in the maintenance and assembly of phytoplankton communities in the wetland cluster

Phytoplankton is a crucial primary producer in wetland ecosystems and is highly sensitive to changes in water quality. It has long been considered one of the most important biological indicators for monitoring water pollution. However, our understanding of the various aspects of phytoplankton communities assembly and the factors driving them remains limited. In this study, we conducted collection and analysis of phytoplankton samples from a temperate wetland cluster encompassing both lake and marsh types under the backdrop of industrial pollution from the petroleum industry. Our aim was to investigate the influence of spatial factors, land use patterns, and local environmental variables on the taxonomic and functional structure of the phytoplankton community, utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) and variation partitioning. Our results revealed that environmental filtering exerts a greater relative impact on shaping the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton compared to mass effects. Human activities, such as industrial and agricultural production, can lead to landscape modifications that increase water nutrient levels and consequently influence the community composition. Taxonomic beta diversity is determined by both mass effects and environmental filtering. In contrast, functional beta diversity responds more to local environmental gradients, while the land use pattern was not important for facets of beta diversity in the wetland cluster. These results validate the concordance and complementarity between functional and taxonomy-based biome structures, highlighting the significance of integrating multiple ecological drivers. The results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of wetland community assembly and the processes of biogeography, and are of crucial significance for the biological monitoring and management of freshwater ecosystem environmental pollution.

Accelerated Hg loss and increased methylmercury covary with soil organic matter mineralization and dissolved organic matter humification under warming conditions in permafrost marsh, Northeast China

Currently, little is available on how mercury (Hg) methylation couples with soil organic matter decomposition in degraded permafrost in high northern latitudes, where the climate is becoming warmer rapidly. Here, we revealed the complex interactions between soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization, dissolved organic matter (DOM) and methylmercury (MeHg) production based on an 87-day anoxic warming incubation experiment. Results supported remarkably promotion effects of warming on MeHg production, by 130%–205% on average. Total mercury (THg) loss under warming treatment depended on marsh types but showed an increasing trend on the whole. Warming yielded higher proportions of MeHg to THg (%MeHg), increased by 123%–569%. As expected, greenhouse gas emission was significantly enhanced by warming. Warming also strengthened fluorescence intensities of fulvic-like and protein-like DOM, with contributions to total fluorescence intensities of 49%–92% and 8%–51%, respectively. DOM and its spectral features explained 60% variation of MeHg, and the explanation increased to 82% in conjunction with greenhouse gas emissions. The structural equation model implied that warming, greenhouse gas emission, and humification of DOM had positive effects on Hg methylation potential, while microbial-derived DOM showed negative effects on MeHg. These results showed that accelerated Hg loss and increased methylation covaried with greenhouse gas emission and DOM formation under warming conditions in permafrost marsh.

Surrounding landscape, habitat and hybridization dynamics drive population structure and genetic diversity in the Saltmarsh Sparrow

Abstract Determining factors that shape a species’ population genetic structure is beneficial for identifying effective conservation practices. We assessed population structure and genetic diversity for Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta), an imperiled tidal marsh specialist, using 13 microsatellite markers and 964 individuals sampled from 24 marshes across the breeding range. We show that Saltmarsh Sparrow populations are structured regionally by isolation-by-distance, with gene flow occurring among marshes within ~110 to 135 km of one another. Isolation-by-resistance and isolation-by-environment also shape genetic variation; several habitat and landscape features are associated with genetic diversity and genetic divergence among populations. Human development in the surrounding landscape isolates breeding marshes, reducing genetic diversity, and increasing population genetic divergence, while surrounding marshland and patch habitat quality (proportion high marsh and sea-level-rise trend) have the opposite effect. The distance of the breeding marsh to the Atlantic Ocean also influences genetic variation, with marshes farther inland being more divergent than coastal marshes. In northern marshes, hybridization with Nelson’s Sparrow (A. nelsoni) strongly influences Saltmarsh Sparrow genetic variation, by increasing genetic diversity in the population; this has a concomitant effect of increasing genetic differentiation of marshes with high levels of introgression. From a conservation perspective, we found that the majority of population clusters have low effective population sizes, suggesting a lack of resiliency. To conserve the representative breadth of genetic and ecological diversity and to ensure redundancy of populations, it will be important to protect a diversity of marsh types across the latitudinal gradient of the species range, including multiple inland, coastal, and urban populations, which we have shown to exhibit signals of genetic differentiation. It will also require maintaining connectivity at a regional level, by promoting high marsh habitat at the scale of gene flow (~130 km), while also ensuring “stepping stone” populations across the range.

Plant potential and ecological and economic suitability of reindeer pastures on the right bank of the Norilsk River

Purpose : identification of plant potential, ecological and economic suitability of deer pastures of the forest-tundra zone located in the zone of anthropogenic influence Material and methods . Ground geobotanical survey of the vegetation cover of deer pastures was carried out by route method in accordance with the method of geobotanical studies. The ecological and economic value of each type of pasture was determined based on the data of the ecological and economic classification of deer pastures in the north. Results . 25 species of reindeer pastures are described on the right bank of the Norilsk River in the northwestern part of the Putorana Plateau. On the basis of signs of uniformity in the structure of vegetation (proximity of species composition, similarity of vertical and horizontal structures), they are combined into 4 types: tundra, swamps, shrubs and light forests. Tundra (30.9%) and shrub (27.6%) types of pastures dominate. The most important feature is the active participation in the structure of phytocenoses of shrubs (Betula nana s. str, Salix glauca s. str, S. lanata s. str.) and shrubs (Ledum palustre. Vaccinium uliginosum s. str, V. vitis-idaea s. str.). Green fodder is most nutritious in the first half of summer. The nutritional value of fruticose lichens does not change during the year. Reindeer pastures with lichen cover and high (from 5 to 12 o-days/ha) reindeer capacity during the snowy period occupy insignificant (24.3%) areas. Basically, these are willow and dwarf dwarf shrub-lichen tundras and larch sparse forests of dwarf-shrub moss-lichen. The participation of lichens in the ground cover of plant communities does not exceed 25–35%. The following lichen species have been recorded: Cladonia arbuscula, C. stellaris, C. rangiferina, C. cornuta, C. deformis, C. mitis, Cetraria cucullata, and C. islandica. The most widespread species of the genus Cetraria: Cetraria islandica and C. cucullata, with a clear advantage of the latter. The main forage species of the genus Cladonia (Cladonia arbuscula, C. stellaris, C. rangiferina) are not widely distributed. Pastures with a high (from 9 o-days/ha to 14 o-days/ha) reindeer capacity in the summer, early autumn and late spring periods prevail in the study area. Basically, these are communities of shrub and marsh types. Shrubs (Salix glauca s. str, S. lanata s. str., S. hastata, Betula nana s. str.), shrubs (Salix reticulata, Vaccinium vitis-idaea s. str.) and forbs (species of the genera Petasites, Pedicularis, Astragalus, Hedysarum, Equisetum, Bistorta).

Pixel-based unique phenological feature composite method: tackle the challenges of Spartina alterniflora identification and salt marsh classification in mixed vegetations area

Coastal salt marshes are valuable wetland ecosystems, and obtaining accurate information on their spatial and temporal distribution is crucial. However, due to the strong spectral similarity among various types of salt marshes, distinguishing them is difficult, especially in areas with mixed salt marsh growth. In this study, we developed a pixel-based unique phenological feature composite method (PUpf-CM). First, we identified a unique phenological period for each type of salt marsh by analyzing the normalized difference vegetation index time-series of Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) and native salt marshes [Suaeda salsa (S. salsa), Phragmites australis (P. australis), and Imperata cylindrica (I. cylindrica)] in Yancheng National Nature Reserve, Jiangsu Province, China. Then, we generated a composite image for each unique phenological period, maximizing the spectral separability between the corresponding salt marsh and background species. Second, we used the composite images obtained at the unique phenological period of S. alterniflora as input to the random forest classifier, achieving high precision identification of S. alterniflora. Compared with the previously developed pixel-based PUpf-CM, the overall accuracy (OA) of PUpf-CM was 98.26% to 99.42%, and the Kappa was 0.940 to 0.975, indicating an improvement of 0.87% to 4.94% and 0.031 to 0.179, respectively. Finally, we tested the possibility of applying PUpf-CM to salt marsh classification by stacking four composite images obtained at different unique phenological periods. We found that the maximum spectral separability was achieved for the combination of four unique phenological periods, and the OA and Kappa of the PUpf-CM-based salt marsh classification reached 97.54% and 0.969, respectively.

The concept of land bridge marshes in the Mississippi River Delta and implications for coastal restoration

Louisiana has high coastal wetland loss rates due to natural processes such as subsidence and anthropogenic activities such as construction of river levees and dams, pervasive alteration of surface hydrology by local industries such as oil and gas, and navigation. With the exception of the Atchafalaya River discharge area, most of Louisiana's marsh coastline is retreating and coastal marshes are degrading. In the inactive degrading delta regions, there exists a previously uncharacterized landform referred to colloquially as coastal ‘land bridge’ marshes. Land bridge marshes are saline or brackish marshes fronting large estuarine bays or lakes with sufficient fetch and wave energy to supply high levels of resuspended sediments to the marsh surface. They are generally linear features that are oriented parallel to the coast and the shoreline front retreats landward due to erosion from wave energy. These marshes persist over time vertically due to input of resuspended sediments but are experiencing rapid edge erosion due to wave attack. Comparison of data from Louisiana's Coastal Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) sites show that land bridge marshes have a greater frequency of higher soil surface elevation and higher soil bulk density than non-land bridge marshes. Because land bridges are vertically stable relative to other coastal wetlands, identification of measures to sustain these landscape features is important. Simulations using MarshMorpho2D, a process-based reduced-complexity morphology model, suggest that protection barriers installed on the seaward side of land bridge marshes will attenuate wave energy and, thus, edge erosion. Shoreline protection that can reduce wave energy but still allow sediment input to marshes include living shorelines, rock barriers, and/or breakwaters. Periodic thin layer nourishment of the marsh surface may be necessary to help sustain vertical growth. Further, marsh creation projects directly landward of land bridge marshes may benefit from their protection from waves and as a source of sediment. Consideration of land bridge marshes as distinct marsh types in the State Master Plan and integrated modeling could help to identify measures to sustain these landscape features.

Effect of Seawall Embankment Reclamation on the Distribution of Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn Pollution in Invasive Spartina alterniflora and Native Phragmites australis Coastal Saltmarshes of East China.

Coastal reclamation by seawall embankments and the spread of invasive C4 perennial grass Spartina alterniflora have recently become more prevalent in eastern China's coastal wetlands. While trace metals (TMs), carbon, and nitrogen dynamics concerning reclamation have extensively been explored across China's coastal wetlands, to date, the impact of reclamation by coastal embankment and exotic plant invasion on TMs' pollution dynamics in coastal marshes remains largely unexplored. We compared TMs Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn cumulation in coastal embankment-reclaimed versus unreclaimed S. alterniflora and Phragmites australis saltmarshes in eastern China coastal wetlands. In both S. alterniflora and P. australis marshes, coastal embankment reclamation spurred an increase in Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations by 31.66%, 53.85%, 32.14%, 33.96% and by 59.18%, 87.50%, 55.55%, 36.84%, respectively, in both marsh types. Reclamation also reduced plant biomass, soil moisture, and soil salinity in both plants' marshes. Our findings suggest that the impact of coastal embankment reclamation and replacement of native saltmarshes by invasive S. alterniflora had a synergistic effect on TM accumulation in the P. australis marshes, as corroborated by bioaccumulation and translocation factors. Reclamation by coastal embankments and invasive alien plants could significantly impair the physico-chemical properties of native plant saltmarsh and essentially weaken the accumulation of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn potential of the coastal saltmarshes. Our findings provide policymakers with an enhanced knowledge of the relationship between reclamation, plant invasiveness, and TM pollution dynamics in coastal wetlands, providing a baseline for attaining future goals and strategies related to the tradeoffs of various wetland reclamation types.

Stability of a Tidal Marsh Under Very High Flow Velocities and Implications for Nature-Based Flood Defense

Nature-based strategies, such as wave attenuation by tidal marshes, are increasingly proposed as a complement to mitigate the risks of failure of engineered flood defense structures such as levees. However, recent analysis of historic coastal storms revealed smaller dike breach dimensions if there were natural, high tidal marshes in front of the dikes. Since tidal marshes naturally only experience weak flow velocities (~0-0.3 ms-1 during normal spring tides), we lack direct observations on the stability of tidal marsh sediments and vegetation under extreme flow velocities (order of several ms-1) as may occur when a dike behind a marsh breaches. As a first approximation, the stability of a tidal marsh sediment bed and winter-state vegetation under high flow velocities were tested in a flume. Marsh monoliths were excavated from Phragmites australis marshes in front of a dike along the Scheldt estuary (Dutch-Belgian border area) and installed in a 10 m long flume test section. Both sediment bed and vegetation responses were quantified over 6 experimental runs under high flow velocities up to 1.75 ms-1 and water depth up to 0.35 m for 2 hours. These tests showed that even after a cumulative 12 hours exposure to high flow velocities, erosion was limited to as little as a few millimeters. Manual removal of the aboveground vegetation did not enhance the erosion either. Present findings may be related to the strongly consolidated, clay- and silt-rich sediment and P. australis root system in this experiment. During the flow exposure, the P. australis stems were strongly bent by the water flow, but the majority of all shoots recovered rapidly when the flow had stopped. Although present results may not be blindly extrapolated to all other marsh types, they do provide a strong first indication that marshes can remain stable under high flow conditions, and confirm the potential of well-developed tidal marshes as a valuable extra natural barrier reducing flood discharges towards the hinterland, following a dike breach. These outcomes promote the consideration to implement tidal marshes as part of the overall flood defense and to rethink dike strengthening in the future.

A phenology-based vegetation index classification (PVC) algorithm for coastal salt marshes using Landsat 8 images

• Constructed a new CRVI for red vegetation extraction. • Proposed an enhanced semi-automatic PVC algorithm. • The optimal PVIs reflected the phenological differences of vegetation. • The developed classification model had spatio-temporal stability and scalability. Coastal salt marshes, as a globally significant intertidal ecosystem, are highly productive but extremely fragile and unstable. Mapping coastal salt marshes accurately is the basis of assessing global climate change, biological invasion, and coastal erosion. Using Landsat 8 images, this paper integrated the advantages of pixel- and phenology-based algorithms and vegetation indices in vegetation classification. An enhanced phenology-based vegetation index classification (PVC) algorithm is proposed to obtain the spatial distribution and community composition of coastal salt marshes in Bohai Sea of China accurately and quickly. The results showed that (1) the coastal redness vegetation index (CRVI) can be used to extract Suaeda spp. effectively, and the phenology-based vegetation indices (PVIs) dataset can alleviate the spatial variability of phenology in coastal salt marshes; (2) the crucial phenological periods for identifying coastal salt marshes are May, October, and November, and the optimal PVIs are consistent with the phenological characteristics of salt marshes; (3) during the year 2018–2019, the overall accuracy (OA) of the PVC algorithm in Yancheng coast of Jiangsu Province and Bohai Sea coast reached 80.49 % and 90.8 % respectively. A total of 14,763.39 ha of salt marshes were found in the coastal area of Bohai Sea, and Shandong Province had the most abundant types of salt marshes and the largest area; (4) the classification model based on the PVC algorithm is stable and scalable in 2016–2017 and 2020–2021, with the OA of 89.19% and 86.67% respectively. These results demonstrate the value of the PVC algorithm in vegetation classification, and this study can provide a referable semi-automatic vegetation classification method for other coastal areas.

Effects of Spartina invasion on the soil organic carbon content in salt marsh and mangrove ecosystems in China

Abstract Coastal wetlands are large reservoirs of soil carbon (C) and have been invaded globally by the exotic species Spartina alterniflora. However, the effects of these invasions on soil C content remain unclear. We performed a meta‐analysis of 2479 soil organic C (SOC) content observations collected from 91 field studies conducted in coastal China, the world's largest introduced range for S. alterniflora. Spartina alterniflora invasions had no significant effect on the SOC content in vegetated native wetlands in coastal China. S. alterniflora increased the SOC content in the top 30 cm of salt marshes after invading only one of the nine marsh types, which was dominated by a dwarf succulent species, Suaeda salsa in the northern subtropics and decreased the SOC content in the top 60 cm of mangroves dominated by Kandelia obovata and mixed communities after invasion in the southern subtropics. S. alterniflora invasions did not significantly affect the SOC content in the other salt marsh or mangrove ecosystems. Moreover, the SOC content in S. alterniflora‐invaded ecosystems increased only on a decadal scale and then decreased, rather than increasing monotonically. Synthesis and applications. Our findings reveal that the SOC content of S. alterniflora‐invaded ecosystems is similar to or lower than that of most native ecosystems. As soil bulk density is often reduced by S. alterniflora invasions, the C storage capabilities of vegetated native ecosystems might be substantially reduced after S. alterniflora invasions. Moreover, the SOC content in these invaded ecosystems gradually decreased after long‐term S. alterniflora invasions (>20 years). Therefore, the displacement of native salt marsh or mangrove species by S. alterniflora may not be considered a natural climate solution to increase the C sink in coastal China. Future efforts are required to control S. alterniflora preferentially in coastal wetlands where S. alterniflora invasions do not increase the SOC content, and to conserve and restore native coastal wetlands, which are the core areas of the World Natural Heritage site serving as China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries that have been severely threatened by S. alterniflora invasions, to increase ecological integrity and C sinks and to mitigate climate change.

Spatial variation and ecological risk assessment for heavy metals in marsh sediments in Fuzhou reach of the Min River, Southeast China

To explore the pollution levels, sources and risks of heavy metals in sediments in Fuzhou reach of the Min River, the sediments involving in seven marsh types were sampled. Results showed that the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in sediments declined from freshwater segment to estuarine segment. Higher levels of Cu, Cr and Ni in sediments generally occurred in estuarine segment. The highest levels of Pb and Cd were observed in bush swamp, while those of Cr, Ni, Zn and Cu occurred in mudflat. Cr, Cu, Zn and Ni probably shared common source, while Pb and Cd originated from another source. Pb and Cd were identified as heavy metals of primary concerns and the former showed high potential toxicity and high contributions to ΣTUs. Next step, the metal pollutions in sediments might be more serious if effective measures were not taken to control the loading of pollutants.

Relationships between ecosystem properties and sea-level rise vulnerability of tidal wetlands of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.

Tidal wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic, USA, are experiencing high rates of relative sea level rise, and it is unclear whether they will be resilient in the face of future flooding increases. In a previous study, we found 80% of our study areas in tidal freshwater and salt marshes in the Delaware Estuary and Barnegat Bay had elevation change rates lower than the 19-year increase in mean sea level. Here, we examine relationships between marsh elevation dynamics and abiotic and biotic parameters in order to assess their utility as indicators of vulnerability to relative sea level rise. We further apply a range of marsh vulnerability indicators including elevation change rates to evaluate their ability to corroborate marsh habitat change over the last 30years. Of the field measurements, soil bulk density and belowground plant biomass were among the strongest predictors of elevation change and accretion dynamics across all marsh types and settings. Both tidal freshwater and salt marshes tended to have higher rates of elevation increase and surface accretion in areas where soil bulk density and live belowground biomass were higher. Nine of the ten marshes experienced a net loss of area from the 1970s to 2015 ranging from 0.05 to 14%. Although tidal freshwater marshes were low in elevation and experienced variable elevation change rates, marsh area loss was low. Conversely, salt marshes closest to the coast and perched high in the tidal frame with a higher degree of human modification tended to experience the greatest marsh loss, which incorporated anthropogenic impacts and edge erosion. Thus, our regional assessment points to the need for a comprehensive understanding of factors that influence marsh resilience including human modifications and geomorphic settings.

Coastal salt marsh restoration drives element composition of soils toward its original state by recovering soil organic matter

AbstractLarge areas of coastal wetlands have been restored recently throughout the world; it is important to know if restoration practice recovers original levels of biogeochemical functioning in coastal wetlands. We did samplings in five sites in the Liaohe River Delta, China. Each site had three salt marsh types: natural, restored, and degraded. We measured the concentrations of 43 elements and environmental variables including soil organic matter, soil electrical conductivity, soil pH, soil salinity, and soil water content. Concentrations of 39 elements differed significantly between salt marsh types. The values of the concentrations of 39 elements in the restored salt marshes were all in between those of natural and degraded salt marshes. Soil organic matter and the relative abundance of most elements including nutrients and metals increased simultaneously during restoration. Redundancy analysis indicated that soil organic matter explained 72.1% of the total variation in element composition. Our findings indicated that the recovery of soil biogeochemical functioning in salt marshes was driven by the accumulation of soil organic matter during restoration. It may take a very long time for the soil composition and biogeochemistry to reach the original levels prior to disturbance.