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Saltmarshes are of increasing interest to a wide range of environmental scientists, engineers, conservationists, and planners concerned with coastal zone management. Seven leading scientists present an overview of the most important questions including geomorphology, ecology, conservation and engineering significance.

The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast-its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival. Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it \"a biological factory without equal.\" Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina (Spartina alterniflora)-a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration. Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast's bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer. For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or \"improved\" for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

Defines marshes and swamps, discusses how conditions in them may change, and examines the life found in and around them.

One of California's most remarkable wetlands, Suisun Marsh is the largest tidal marsh on the West Coast and a major feature of the San Francisco Estuary. This productive and unique habitat supports endemic species, is a nursery for native fishes, and is a vital link for migratory waterfowl. The 6,000-year-old marsh has been affected by human activity, and humans will continue to have significant impacts on the marsh as the sea level rises and cultural values shift in the century ahead. This study includes in-depth information about the ecological and human history of Suisun Marsh, its abiotic and biotic characteristics, agents of ecological change, and alternative futures facing this ecosystem.

\"A child goes on an adventure to a marsh to observe a swan and discovers swans can be dangerous if they're defending their nest\"-- Provided by publisher.

Australian Saltmarsh Ecology presents the first comprehensive review of the ecology and management of Australian saltmarshes. The past 10 years in particular have seen a sustained research effort into this previously poorly understood and neglected resource. Leading experts in the field outline what is known of the biogeography and geomorphology of Australian saltmarshes, their fish and invertebrate ecology, the use of Australian saltmarshes by birds and insectivorous bats, and the particular challenges of management, including the control of mosquito pests, and the issue of sea-level rise. They provide a powerful argument that coastal saltmarsh is a unique and critical habitat vulnerable to the combined impacts of coastal development and sea-level rise. The book will be an important reference for saltmarsh researchers, marine and aquatic biologists, natural resource managers, environmentalists and ecologists, as well as undergraduate students and the interested layperson.

Tidal wetlands are productive ecosystems with the capacity to sequester large amounts of carbon (C), but we know relatively little about the impact of climate change on wetland C cycling in lower salinity (oligohaline and tidal freshwater) coastal marshes. In this study we assessed plant production, C cycling and sequestration, and microbial organic matter mineralization at tidal freshwater, oligohaline, and salt marsh sites along the salinity gradient in the Delaware River Estuary over four years. We measured aboveground plant biomass, carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) exchange between the marsh and atmosphere, microbial sulfate reduction and methanogenesis in marsh soils, soil biogeochemistry, and C sequestration with radiodating of soils. A simple model was constructed to estimate monthly and annually integrated rates of gross ecosystem production (GEP), ecosystem respiration (ER) to carbon dioxide ([Formula: see text]) or methane ([Formula: see text]), net ecosystem production (NEP), the contribution of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis to ER, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) source or sink status of the wetland for 2 years (2007 and 2008). All three marsh types were highly productive but evidenced different patterns of C sequestration and GHG source/sink status. The contribution of sulfate reduction to total ER increased along the salinity gradient from tidal freshwater to salt marsh. The Spartina alterniflora dominated salt marsh was a C sink as indicated by both NEP (~140 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) and ²¹⁰Pb radiodating (336 g C m⁻² year⁻¹), a minor sink for atmospheric CH₄, and a GHG sink (~620 g CO₂₋ₑq m⁻² year⁻¹). The tidal freshwater marsh was a source of CH₄ to the atmosphere (~22 g C–CH₄ m⁻² year⁻¹). There were large interannual differences in plant production and therefore C and GHG source/sink status at the tidal freshwater marsh, though ²¹⁰Pb radiodating indicated modest C accretion (110 g C m⁻² year⁻¹). The oligohaline marsh site experienced seasonal saltwater intrusion in the late summer and fall (up to 10 mS cm⁻¹) and the Zizania aquatica monoculture at this site responded with sharp declines in biomass and GEP in late summer. Salinity intrusion was also linked to large effluxes of CH₄ at the oligohaline site (>80 g C–CH₄ m⁻² year⁻¹), making this site a significant GHG source (>2,000 g CO₂₋ₑq m⁻² year⁻¹). The oligohaline site did not accumulate C over the 2 year study period, though ²¹⁰Pb dating indicated long term C accumulation (250 g C m⁻² year⁻¹), suggesting seasonal salt-water intrusion can significantly alter C cycling and GHG exchange dynamics in tidal marsh ecosystems.

\"Salt marshes are highly dynamic and important ecosystems that dampen impacts of coastal storms and are an integral part of tidal wetland systems, which sequester half of all global marine carbon. They are now being threatened due to sea-level rise, decreased sediment influx, and human encroachment. This book provides a comprehensive review of the latest salt marsh science, investigating their functions and how they are responding to stresses through formation of salt pannes and pools, headward erosion of tidal creeks, marsh-edge erosion, ice-fracturing, and ice-rafted sedimentation. Written by experts in marsh ecology, coastal geomorphology, wetland biology, estuarine hydrodynamics, and coastal sedimentation, it provides a multidisciplinary summary of recent advancements in our knowledge of salt marshes. The future of wetlands and potential deterioration of salt marshes is also considered, providing a go-to reference for graduate students and researchers studying these coastal systems, as well as marsh managers and restoration scientists\"-- Provided by publisher.

Coastal marshes are one of the world's most productive ecosystems. Consequently, they have been heavily used by humans for centuries, resulting in ecosystem loss. Direct human modifications such as road crossings and ditches and climatic Stressors such as sea-level rise and extreme storm events have the potential to further degrade the quantity and quality of marsh along coastlines. We used an 18-year marsh-bird database to generate population trends for 5 avian species (Rallus crepitans, Tringa semipalmata semipalmata, Ammodramus nelsonii subvirgatus, Ammodramus caudacutus, and Ammodramus maritimus) that breed almost exclusively in tidal marshes, and are potentially vulnerable to marsh degradation and loss as a result of anthropogenic change. We generated community and species trends across 3 spatial scales and explored possible drivers of the changes we observed, including marsh ditching, tidal restriction through road crossings, local rates of sea-level rise, and potential for extreme flooding events. The specialist community showed negative trends in tidally restricted marshes (-2.4% annually from 1998 to 2012) but was stable in unrestricted marshes across the same period. At the species level, we found negative population trends in 3 of the 5 specialist species, ranging from -4.2% to 9.0% annually. We suggest that tidal restriction may accelerate degradation of tidal marsh resilience to sea-level rise by limiting sediment supply necessary for marsh accretion, resulting in specialist habitat loss in tidally restricted marshes. Based on our findings, we predict a collapse of the global population of Saltmarsh Sparrows (A. caudacutus) within the next 50 years and suggest that immediate conservation action is needed to prevent extinction of this species. We also suggest mitigation actions to restore sediment supply to coastal marshes to help sustain this ecosystem into the future. Los humedales costeros son uno de los ecosistemas más productivos en el mundo. Consecuentemente, han sido utilizados intensivamente por los humanos durante siglos, resultando en la pérdida del ecosistema. Modificaciones humanas directas como caminos y zanjas, así como agentes climáticos estresantes como el incremento del nivel del mar y eventos de tormentas extremas tienen el potencial de degradar aun más la cantidad y calidad de humedales a lo largo de las costas. Utilizamos una base de datos de 18 años de aves de humedal para generar tendencias poblaciones de especies de aves (Rallus crepitans, Tringa semipalmata semipalmata, Ammodramus nelsonii subvirgatus, A. caudacutus, y A. maritimus) que se reproducen casi exclusivamente en marismas y que son potencialmente vulnerables a la degradación y pérdida de humedales como resultado de cambios antropogénicos. Generamos tendencias de la comunidad y de especies en 3 escalas espaciales y exploramos los posibles factores de los cambios observados, incluyendo la construcción de canales, la restricción de mareas por medio de caminos, tasas locales de incremento del nivel del el potencial de eventos de inundación extremos. La comunidad de especialistas mostró tendencias negativas en humedales restringidos por las mareas (-2.4% anualmente de 1998 a 2012), pero fue estable en humedales no restringidos. A nivel de especies, encontramos tendencias poblacionales negativas en 3 de las 5 especies especialistas que variaron entre -4.2% a 9% anualmente. Sugerimos que la restricción de mareas puede acelerar la degradación de la resiliencia de marismas al incremento del nivel del mar al limitar el aporte de los sedimentos necesarios para la acreción de marismas, lo cual resulta en la pérdida de habitat en marismas restringidas por las mareas. Con base en nuestros resultados, pronosticamos un colapso de la población global de A. caudacutus en los próximos 50 años y sugerimos que se requieren acciones de conservación inmediatas para prevenir la extinción de esta especie. También sugerimos acciones de mitigación para restaurar el aporte de sedimentos en los humedales costeros para ayudar a sostener este ecosistema en el futuro.