Elevated CO2 enables brackish marsh transgression into freshwater forested wetlands while stimulating CH4 emissions
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Abstract
Wetlands are significant carbon (C) sinks and are expected to promote greater C assimilation as atmospheric CO2 concentrations rise. However, the fate of C with environmental change along fresh-to-oligohaline wetland transitions is not well understood. We established an ex-situ mesocosm experiment to mimic future elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2, 720 ppm) versus current (380 ppm), and we exposed four co-occurring coastal wetland communities that naturally transgress (i.e., freshwater forest, mixed forest and marsh, marsh, mudflat) to these concentrations for two years. Overall, wetland communities with marsh plants in monoculture and mixed culture maintained high ecosystem C uptake with eCO2 versus freshwater forested wetlands or mudflats, likely from superior plant species photosynthetic adjustment versus leaf area increases. eCO2 promoted greater CO2 uptake by leaves in all communities except mudflats, while promoting CH4 efflux from whole ecosystems only when marsh plants were present. eCO2 is projected to stimulate C gain 2.2-fold for forested wetlands and oligohaline marsh and 2.9-fold for forest-marsh mixture through greater CO2 uptake. However, this comes at a cost of stimulated CH4 flux by 1.4-to-1.7-fold in mixed and marsh communities versus reduced CH4 fluxes with eCO2 by forest and mudflat communities, perhaps through different oxidation pathways. Freshwater forested wetlands limited greenhouse gas emissions compared with transitional habitats, oligohaline marshes, and mudflats as atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased. Stimulated C uptake in marshes may not offset higher methane emissions from these systems, potentially facilitating greater warming in a future with elevated atmospheric CO2.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Elevated CO2 enables brackish marsh transgression into freshwater forested wetlands while stimulating CH4 emissions |
| Series title | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109385 |
| Volume | 323 |
| Publication Date | June 09, 2025 |
| Year Published | 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Contributing office(s) | Wetland and Aquatic Research Center |
| Description | 109385, 11 p. |