Final Memo for Ecological Implications of mangrove forest migration in the southeasten U.S
Dates
Date Reported
2014-11-12
Citation
Michael J Osland, Final Memo for Ecological Implications of mangrove forest migration in the southeasten U.S: .
Summary
Winter climate change has the potential to have a large impact on coastal wetlands in the southeastern United States. 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 evaluate the ecological implications of mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. The potential ecological impacts 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 [...]
Summary
Winter climate change has the potential to have a large impact on coastal wetlands in the southeastern United States. 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 evaluate the ecological implications of mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. The potential ecological impacts 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). This research specifically investigated the impact of mangrove forest migration on coastal wetland soil processes and the consequent implications for coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise and carbon storage.
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Final Memo Osland.pdf
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Purpose
In parts of the southeastern U.S., winter climate change has the potential to cause relatively dramatic landscape-scale structural transformations as mangrove trees replace salt marsh grasses in tidal saline wetlands (Osland et al. 2013, Cavanaugh et al. 2014, Saintilan et al. 2014). The objective of the proposed research was to investigate some of the ecological implications of mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. Our research investigated the impact of mangrove forest migration on coastal wetland soil processes and the consequent implications for coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise and carbon storage. We 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 ecological implications of mangrove forest encroachment and development into salt marsh in terms of soil development, carbon and nitrogen storage, and soil strength?
Communities
National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
