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Sea Level-Driven Marsh Migration Results in Rapid Net Loss of Carbon

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posted on 2024-03-01, 16:51 authored by Alexander Smith, Matthew Kirwan

Sea level rise alters coastal carbon cycling by driving the rapid migration of coastal ecosystems, salinization of freshwater systems, and replacement of terrestrial forests with tidal wetlands. Wetland soils accumulate carbon (C) at faster rates than terrestrial soils, implying that sea level rise may lead to enhanced carbon accumulation. Here, we show that carbon stored in tree biomass greatly exceeds carbon stored in adjacent marsh soils so that marsh migration reduces total carbon stocks by ∼50% in less than 100 years. Continued marsh soil carbon accumulation may eventually offset forest carbon loss, but we estimate that the time for replacement is similar to estimates of marsh survival (i.e., centuries), which suggests that forest C may never be replaced. These findings reveal a critical C source not included in coastal C budgets driven by migrating ecosystems and rapidly shifting allocations between carbon stored in soils and biomass.

Funding

The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation (Richmond Virginia)

The U.S. National Science Foundation (LTER 1237733, CAREER 1654374)

The U.S. Department of Energy Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program (DE-SC0021112, DE-SC0019110)

Contribution no. 4025 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

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