New vegetation data collection: sub-plot-level small plot cover

Start Date

2012-12-01

End Date

2013-10-31

Winter climate change has the potential to have a large impact on coastal wetlands in the southeastern U.S. Warmer winter temperatures and reductions in the intensity of freeze events would likely lead to mangrove forest range expansion and salt marsh displacement in parts of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast. The objective of this research was to better understand some of the ecological implications of mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. The potential ecological effects of mangrove migration are diverse ranging from important biotic impacts (e.g., coastal fisheries, land bird migration; colonial nesting wading birds) to ecosystem stability (e.g., response to sea level rise and drought; habitat loss; coastal protection) to biogeochemical processes (e.g., carbon storage; water quality). In this research, our focus was on the impact of mangrove forest migration on coastal wetland soil processes and the consequent implications for coastal wetland responses to sea level rise, ecosystem resilience, and carbon storage. Our study specifically addressed the following questions: (1) How do ecological processes and ecosystem properties differ between salt marshes and mangrove forests; (2) As mangrove forests develop, how do their ecosystem properties change and how do these properties compare to salt marshes; (3) How do plant-soil interactions across mangrove forest structural gradients differ among three distinct locations that span the northern Gulf of Mexico; and (4) What are the implications of mangrove forest encroachment and development into salt marsh in terms of soil development, carbon and nitrogen storage, and soil strength?

• National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
• Southeast CASC

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