Predicted response of coastal wetlands to climate changes: a Western Australian model

Semeniuk, V.

doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1159-0

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…There is ample evidence that sea level has risen in the past, and paleoenvironmental studies provide important perspectives on how mangroves and associated wetlands have coped with these changes (Woodroffe 1990, McKee et al 2007, Ellison 2008, Semeniuk 2013. A key question is whether surface elevation beneath mangroves is able to keep pace with rising sea level.…”

Section: Relative Sea-level Risementioning

confidence: 99%

Mangrove Sedimentation and Response to Relative Sea-Level Rise

Woodroffe

Rogers

McKee

et al. 2016

Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci.

399

285

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Mangroves occur on upper intertidal shorelines in the tropics and subtropics. Complex hydrodynamic and salinity conditions, related primarily to elevation and hydroperiod, influence mangrove distributions; this review considers how these distributions change over time. Accumulation rates of allochthonous and autochthonous sediment, both inorganic and organic, vary between and within different settings. Abundant terrigenous sediment can form dynamic mudbanks, and tides redistribute sediment, contrasting with mangrove peat in sediment-starved carbonate settings. Sediments underlying mangroves sequester carbon but also contain paleoenvironmental records of adjustments to past sea-level changes. Radiometric dating indicates long-term sedimentation, whereas measurements made using surface elevation tables and marker horizons provide shorter perspectives, indicating shallow subsurface processes of root growth and substrate autocompaction. Many tropical deltas also experience deep subsidence, which augments relative sea-level rise. The persistence of mangroves implies an ability to cope with moderately high rates of relative sea-level rise. However, many human pressures threaten mangroves, resulting in a continuing decline in their extent throughout the tropics.

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Section: Relative Sea-level Risementioning

confidence: 99%

Mangrove Sedimentation and Response to Relative Sea-Level Rise

Woodroffe

Rogers

McKee

et al. 2016

Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci.

399

285

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to air temperature extremes (i.e., freeze events), mangrove mortality and/or damage can also be induced by hypersaline conditions, which are most common and intense along arid and semiarid coasts (Saenger , Saintilan et al. , Semeniuk , Asbridge et al. , Lovelock et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests

Osland

Feher

Griffith

et al. 2017

Ecological Monographs

265

217

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Mangrove forests are highly productive tidal saline wetland ecosystems found along sheltered tropical and subtropical coasts. Ecologists have long assumed that climatic drivers (i.e., temperature and rainfall regimes) govern the global distribution, structure, and function of mangrove forests. However, data constraints have hindered the quantification of direct climate–mangrove linkages in many parts of the world. Recently, the quality and availability of global‐scale climate and mangrove data have been improving. Here, we used these data to better understand the influence of air temperature and rainfall regimes upon the distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests. Although our analyses identify global‐scale relationships and thresholds, we show that the influence of climatic drivers is best characterized via regional range‐limit‐specific analyses. We quantified climatic controls across targeted gradients in temperature and/or rainfall within 14 mangrove distributional range limits. Climatic thresholds for mangrove presence, abundance, and species richness differed among the 14 studied range limits. We identified minimum temperature‐based thresholds for range limits in eastern North America, eastern Australia, New Zealand, eastern Asia, eastern South America, and southeast Africa. We identified rainfall‐based thresholds for range limits in western North America, western Gulf of Mexico, western South America, western Australia, Middle East, northwest Africa, east central Africa, and west‐central Africa. Our results show that in certain range limits (e.g., eastern North America, western Gulf of Mexico, eastern Asia), winter air temperature extremes play an especially important role. We conclude that rainfall and temperature regimes are both important in western North America, western Gulf of Mexico, and western Australia. With climate change, alterations in temperature and rainfall regimes will affect the global distribution, abundance, and diversity of mangrove forests. In general, warmer winter temperatures are expected to allow mangroves to expand poleward at the expense of salt marshes. However, dispersal and habitat availability constraints may hinder expansion near certain range limits. Along arid and semiarid coasts, decreases or increases in rainfall are expected to lead to mangrove contraction or expansion, respectively. Collectively, our analyses quantify climate–mangrove linkages and improve our understanding of the expected global‐ and regional‐scale effects of climate change upon mangrove forests.

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“…In some areas, the frequency and intensity of rainfall events is increasing while in others the opposite trend is becoming prevalent, resulting in prolonged drought conditions (IPCC ). However, for many coastal plants, the effects of drought are predicted to be much more severe than increases in rainfall (Semeniuk ; Osland, Enwright & Stagg ; Watson et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of changing climate in driving the shift from perennial grasses to annual succulents in a Mediterranean saltmarsh

et al. 2017

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1. Changing climate threatens the structure and function of saltmarshes, which are often severely degraded by other human perturbations. Along the Mediterranean coastline, increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall have been hypothesised to trigger habitat shifts from perennial grasses to annual succulents in fragile saltmarsh ecosystems, such as those fringing the North Adriatic coastline. 2. We used manipulative field experiments to investigate the effects of increased temperature, decreased precipitation and increased inundation period associated with rising sea levels on the dominant species in the lower marsh, the perennial grass Spartina spp. and the annual succulent Salicornia veneta. 3. At ambient inundation, the combined effects of increased temperature and decreased precipitation enhanced soil temperature and decreased soil moisture, resulting in an increased number of plants, height and live biomass of S. veneta, as well as greater dead biomass of Spartina spp. compared with current conditions. Increased inundation reduced the soil redox potential, and resulted in losses of both Spartina spp. and S. veneta, but these negative effects were much more pronounced for S. veneta. An inundation tolerance test confirmed that S. veneta is significantly more vulnerable to rapid increases in inundation than Spartina spp. 4. We conclude that at current inundation, the increasing drought conditions in the North Adriatic Sea are favouring the spread of the annual succulent S. veneta. The increasing spread of these succulents could reduce the future capability of the system to respond to projected increasing sea levels, as S. veneta is highly vulnerable to increased inundation. 5. Synthesis. Our results highlight the complex interactions between different components of changing climate. Management strategies for saltmarshes in the Mediterranean and other microtidal locations facing similar changes in climate should focus on maintaining the freshwater and coastal channels free from blockages to ameliorate the effects of episodic drought/heatwave conditions and increasing the sediment supply and preventing coastal squeeze to enhance the resilience of the system to the continuous threat of sea level rise

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Predicted response of coastal wetlands to climate changes: a Western Australian model

Cited by 39 publications

References 54 publications

Mangrove Sedimentation and Response to Relative Sea-Level Rise

Mangrove Sedimentation and Response to Relative Sea-Level Rise

Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests

The role of changing climate in driving the shift from perennial grasses to annual succulents in a Mediterranean saltmarsh

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