Temperature optimum for marsh resilience and carbon accumulation revealed in a whole ecosystem warming experiment
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Abstract
Coastal marshes are globally important, carbon dense ecosystems simultaneously maintained and threatened by sea-level rise. Warming temperatures may increase wetland plant productivity and organic matter accumulation, but temperature-modulated feedbacks between productivity and decomposition make it difficult to assess how wetlands and their thick, organic rich soils will respond to climate warming. Here, we actively increased aboveground plant-surface and below-ground soil temperatures in two marsh plant communities, and found that a moderate amount of warming (1.7°C above ambient temperatures) consistently maximized root growth, marsh elevation gain, and below-ground carbon accumulation. Marsh elevation loss observed at higher temperatures was associated with increased carbon mineralization and increased microtopographic heterogeneity, a potential early warning signal of marsh drowning. Maximized elevation and below-ground carbon accumulation for moderate warming scenarios uniquely suggest linkages between metabolic theory of individuals and landscape-scale ecosystem resilience and function, but our work indicates nonpermanent benefits as global temperatures continue to rise.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Temperature optimum for marsh resilience and carbon accumulation revealed in a whole ecosystem warming experiment |
| Series title | Global Change Biology |
| DOI | 10.1111/gcb.16149 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Year Published | 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center |
| Description | 10 p. |
| First page | 3236 |
| Last page | 3245 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |