You are here:
THE RELATIVE FATE OF CARBON AMONG DIFFERENT INTERTIDAL MARSH COMMUNITIES
Citation:
Nietch*, C AND J. T. Morris. THE RELATIVE FATE OF CARBON AMONG DIFFERENT INTERTIDAL MARSH COMMUNITIES. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation Conference, Estuaries on The Edge: Convergence ofOcean, Land and Culture, Seattle, WA, 9/14-18/2003.
Description:
The fate of marsh production determines the functional role of marshes in estuarine carbon dynamics. Differences in the physicochemical environment, largely related to the mixing of fresh water and seawater, result in a variety of degradational settings and plant communities. It is important to determine how these differences affect the source and sink functions of marshes before making projections about anthropogenic or natural alterations. Microcosm studies of litter and sediment mineralization were combined with field estimates to determine relative mineralization rates and the controlling factors among marshes. Relatively small differences were found among the marshes studied in long-term carbon sequestration, although carbon mineralized from litter was positively affected by salinity in microcosm experiments. Under certain conditions this could increase the opportunity for inorganic carbon and nutrient exchange between the salt marsh and estuary relative to the freshwater marsh. Thus, the role of the marsh in controlling the quality and exchange of carbon and nutrients with the open water could differ, depending on community type and salinity, and deserves more attention considering the likelihood of future changes in freshwater inflow and sea level and the effects these will have on salt distributions in estuaries.