Assessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network

Autor: Kathleen M. Swanson, Jonathan M. Willis, Nicholas M. Enwright, Rebecca J. Howard, William C. Vervaeke, Joseph J. Baustian, Julia A. Cherry, Nicole Cormier, Renee C. Collini, Jack C. Larriviere, Jeremy R. Conrad, Joseph F. Donoghue, Sarai C. Piazza, Mark S. Woodrey, Kereen T. Griffith, Donald R. Cahoon, Carlos Coronado-Molina, John M. Tirpak, Daniel E. Kroes, K. Van Wilson, Laura C. Feher, Michael J. Osland, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Ken W. Krauss, Karen L. McKee, Greg D. Steyer, Jennifer W. Harper, Robert R. Lane, Joshua L. Breithaupt, Fred H. Sklar, Jena A. Moon, Nicole M. Rankin, Irving A. Mendelssohn, Beth A. Middleton, Sean A. Graham, Mark W. Hester, David A. Oster
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
0106 biological sciences
Topography
Marsh
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
lcsh:Medicine
Marine and Aquatic Sciences
Wetland
Fractional Precipitation
01 natural sciences
Geographical locations
Mississippi
Environmental protection
lcsh:Science
Gulf of Mexico
Multidisciplinary
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology
Salting Out
Texas
Precipitation Techniques
Research Design
Salt marsh
Florida
Alabama
Coastal Ecology
Research Article
Freshwater Environments
Environmental Monitoring
Mangrove Swamps
Climate Change
Climate change
Marine Biology
Marshes
Research and Analysis Methods
Sampling Studies
Gulfs
Vulnerability assessment
Bodies of water
Seawater
Sea level
Ecosystem
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Information Services
geography
Landforms
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
lcsh:R
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Elevation
Aquatic Environments
Biology and Life Sciences
Geomorphology
Ecotone
Louisiana
Marine Environments
United States
Coasts
Wetlands
North America
Earth Sciences
Environmental science
lcsh:Q
Physical geography
People and places
Zdroj: PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 9, p e0183431 (2017)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise are greatly influenced by biogeomorphic processes that affect wetland surface elevation. Small changes in elevation relative to sea level can lead to comparatively large changes in ecosystem structure, function, and stability. The surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) approach is being used globally to quantify the relative contributions of processes affecting wetland elevation change. Historically, SET-MH measurements have been obtained at local scales to address site-specific research questions. However, in the face of accelerated sea-level rise, there is an increasing need for elevation change network data that can be incorporated into regional ecological models and vulnerability assessments. In particular, there is a need for long-term, high-temporal resolution data that are strategically distributed across ecologically-relevant abiotic gradients. Here, we quantify the distribution of SET-MH stations along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast (USA) across political boundaries (states), wetland habitats, and ecologically-relevant abiotic gradients (i.e., gradients in temperature, precipitation, elevation, and relative sea-level rise). Our analyses identify areas with high SET-MH station densities as well as areas with notable gaps. Salt marshes, intermediate elevations, and colder areas with high rainfall have a high number of stations, while salt flat ecosystems, certain elevation zones, the mangrove-marsh ecotone, and hypersaline coastal areas with low rainfall have fewer stations. Due to rapid rates of wetland loss and relative sea-level rise, the state of Louisiana has the most extensive SET-MH station network in the region, and we provide several recent examples where data from Louisiana's network have been used to assess and compare wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise. Our findings represent the first attempt to examine spatial gaps in SET-MH coverage across abiotic gradients. Our analyses can be used to transform a broadly disseminated and unplanned collection of SET-MH stations into a coordinated and strategic regional network. This regional network would provide data for predicting and preparing for the responses of coastal wetlands to accelerated sea-level rise and other aspects of global change.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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