Declining Radial Growth Response of Coastal Forests to Hurricanes and Nor'easters

Fernandes, A.A.; Rollinson, Christine R.; Kearney, William S.; Dietze, Michael C.; Fagherazzi, Sergio

doi:10.1002/2017jg004125

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(69 reference statements)

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“…This is probably due to the steep overall decrease in NDWI in the persistence zone, which affects the beginning of the low NDWI periods. These results are in agreement with the tree cores analyzed by Fernandes et al [31] at a location within our study area. Fernandes et al [31] discovered that radial growth of loblolly pines is suppressed in the three years after a flooding event triggered by a storm surge.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…These results are in agreement with the tree cores analyzed by Fernandes et al [31] at a location within our study area. Fernandes et al [31] discovered that radial growth of loblolly pines is suppressed in the three years after a flooding event triggered by a storm surge. This supports the hypothesis that NDWI is linked to vegetation stress in coastal pine forests, as was already proven in agricultural fields [20,21].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…A dendroclimatic study carried out in a low lying coastal forest in the Delmarva Peninsula indicates that the radial growth of loblolly pines is affected by disturbance due to storms [31]. A decline in radial growth was observed in the years of an extreme storm and lasted three years.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variations in Persistence and Regenerative Zones in Coastal Forests Triggered by Sea Level Rise and Storms

et al. 2019

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Retreat of coastal forests in relation to sea level rise has been widely documented. Recent work indicates that coastal forests on the Delmarva Peninsula, United States, can be differentiated into persistence and regenerative zones as a function of sea-level rise and storm events. In the lower persistence zone trees cannot regenerate because of frequent flooding and high soil salinity. This study aims to verify the existence of these zones using spectral remote sensing data, and determine whether the effect of large storm events that cause damage to these forests can be detected from satellite images. Spectral analysis confirms a significant difference in average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) values in the proposed persistence and regenerative zones. Both NDVI and NDWI indexes decrease after storms triggering a surge above 1.3 m with respect to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). NDWI values decrease more, suggesting that this index is better suited to detect the effect of hurricanes on coastal forests. In the regenerative zone, both NDVI and NDWI values recover three years after a storm, while in the persistence zone the NDVI and NDWI values keep decreasing, possibly due to sea level rise causing vegetation stress. As a result, the forest resilience to storms in the persistence zone is lower than in the regenerative zone. Our findings corroborate the ecological ratchet model of coastal forest disturbance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

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Variations in Persistence and Regenerative Zones in Coastal Forests Triggered by Sea Level Rise and Storms

et al. 2019

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“…However, the creation of ghost forests and 111 the wholesale reorganization of ecosystems begins with more subtle changes that can be anticipated 112 with a deeper understanding of the ecological processes that link sea level rise and land conversion. In 113 the early stages of groundwater salinization, live trees may exhibit reduced sap flow 45 and annual 114 growth 46,47 though reduced growth is not always observed 34,48 . During the next phase of ghost forest 115 formation, forest distress becomes more visible.…”

Section: Ecological Processes Linking Sea Level and Land Conversion 109mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pulses of high salinity water during storms often trigger 140 mortality 60,61 . Although storm waters recede in hours, salinity effects can linger for years to decades in 141 the groundwater 62,63 , and individual storms have lasting impacts on tree growth 47 . Storm floods can 142 reach tens of kilometers inland and are accompanied by wind, erosion, and wrack disturbances.…”

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Sea-level driven land conversion and the formation of ghost forests

2019

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4 5 6 Ghost forests created by the submergence of low-lying land are one of the most striking indicators of 7 climate change along the Atlantic coast of North America. Although dead trees at the margin of 8 estuaries were described as early as 1910, recent research has led to new recognition that the 9 submergence of terrestrial land is geographically widespread, ecologically and economically 10 important, and globally relevant to the survival of coastal wetlands in the face of rapid sea level rise.11 This emerging understanding has in turn generated widespread interest in the physical and ecological 12 mechanisms influencing the extent and pace of upland to wetland conversion. Choices between 13 defending the coast from sea level rise and facilitating ecosystem transgression will play a 14 fundamental role in determining the fate and function of low-lying coastal land. 15 16 Sea level rise rates have been accelerating since the end of the 19 th century, impacting low elevation 17 land along coasts and estuaries around the world 1 . Sea level rise enhances flooding and saltwater 18 intrusion, and threatens coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems 2-4 . Ghost forests and 19 abandoned farmland are striking indicators of sea-level driven land conversion. Dead trees and stumps 20 surrounded by marshland, for example, represent relic forestland that has been replaced by intertidal 21 vegetation. Similarly, bare soil and wetland plants at the edges of agricultural fields indicate the 22 65 coastal land submergence. The review ends with implications for land management, and highlights 66 uncertainty in local flood defense strategy as the key knowledge gap limiting our ability to predict future 67 sea-level driven land conversion and its impact on coastal ecosystems. 68 69 Extent and physical controls of historical land submergence 70 Ghost forests, abandoned agricultural fields, and other indicators of historical land submergence occur 71 throughout low-lying and gently sloping portions of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America 15-20 72 (Fig. 1). Land submergence is most extensive within the mid-Atlantic sea-level rise hotspot that stretches 73 from North Carolina to Massachusetts, where relative sea level is rising three times faster than eustatic 74 rates 27 . For example, 400 km 2 of uplands in the Chesapeake Bay region have converted to tidal marsh 75 since the mid-1800s 19 , and large tracts of hardwood and cedar forest death have been observed in 76 Delaware Bay 16 . However, ghost forests are not confined to the sea level rise hotspot. Ghost forests 77 have also been documented throughout the Florida Gulf Coast 17,18 , the St. Lawrence estuary of Canada 15 , 78 and tidal freshwater forests in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana 21,28 . There has been 148 km 2 of 79 forest conversion over 120 years along the Florida Gulf Coast 17 , and near complete loss of pine forests in 80 the Lower Florida Keys 29 . Surprisingly, the phenomenon has not been widely documented on coastal 81 plains outside of...

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Asymmetric root distributions reveal press–pulse responses in retreating coastal forests

Messerschmidt

Langston

Kirwan

2021

Ecology

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The impacts of climate change on ecosystems are manifested in how organisms respond to episodic and continuous stressors. The conversion of coastal forests to salt marshes represents a prominent example of ecosystem state change, driven by the continuous stress of sea-level rise (press), and episodic storms (pulse). Here, we measured the rooting dimension and fall direction of 143 windthrown eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) trees in a rapidly retreating coastal forest in Chesapeake Bay (USA). We found that tree roots were distributed asymmetrically away from the leading edge of soil salinization and towards freshwater sources. The length, number, and circumference of roots were consistently higher in the upslope direction than downslope direction, suggesting an active morphological adaptation to sea-level rise and salinity stress. Windthrown trees consistently fell in the upslope direction regardless of aspect and prevailing wind direction, suggesting that asymmetric rooting destabilized standing trees, and reduced their ability to withstand high winds. Together, these observations help explain curious observations of coastal forest resilience, and highlight an interesting nonadditive response to climate change, where adaptation to press stressors increases vulnerability to pulse stressors.

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Declining Radial Growth Response of Coastal Forests to Hurricanes and Nor'easters

Cited by 36 publications

References 60 publications

Variations in Persistence and Regenerative Zones in Coastal Forests Triggered by Sea Level Rise and Storms

Variations in Persistence and Regenerative Zones in Coastal Forests Triggered by Sea Level Rise and Storms

Sea-level driven land conversion and the formation of ghost forests

Asymmetric root distributions reveal press–pulse responses in retreating coastal forests

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