OOS 86
Coastal Wetlands in a Changing World: Drivers of Carbon Storage and Loss

Friday, August 14, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
317, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Benjamin J. Wilson, Florida International University
Co-organizers:
Sean P. Charles, Florida International University; John S. Kominoski, Florida International University; Shelby M. Servais, Florida International University; Nicholas Schulte, Florida International University; and Viviana Mazzei, Florida International University
Moderator:
Sean P. Charles, Florida International University
Coastal ecosystems are under extreme direct and indirect pressure from various global environmental change drivers. Resilience to rapid changes along coastlines depends largely on net ecosystem exchange of carbon (C), which is affected by global and local anthropogenic ecosystem alteration. Coastal forests and marshes are characterized by high net ecosystem production, making these ecosystems a global conservation priority for C storage. Coastal wetland ecosystems store a disproportionate amount of C, up to 50 times more than terrestrial forests per unit area, considering they account for less than 1% of earth’s land area. However, anthropogenic-mediated disturbances can drastically change natural C balances. The objective of this oral session is to bring together research from across multiple coastal wetland ecosystems to characterize the factors that most contribute to changes in C fluxes (storage and losses). We will address how changes in C storage and losses are driven by variation in 1) nutrient loading, 2) vegetation regime shifts, 3) sea level rise and its associated biogeochemical changes, and 4) freshwater availability. Understanding how the magnitude and variance in these drivers influence ecosystem-level C processes is critical given imminent sea level rise.
8:00 AM
8:20 AM Cancelled
8:40 AM
 Vegetation regime shift in coastal wetlands affects trapping of wrack subsidies from subtidal habitats
Steven C. Pennings, University of Houston; Hongyu Guo, University of Houston; Sayantani Dastidar, University of Houston; Zoe Hughes, University of Houston; Anna R. Armitage, Texas A&M University at Galveston; Carolyn Weaver, Texas A&M University; Ahsley Whitt, Texas A&M University at Galveston; John Kominoski, Florida International University; Sean P. Charles, Florida International University
9:00 AM
 Invasive Phragmites enhances decomposition of deep, stable soil organic matter
Blanca Bernal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Thomas J. Mozdzer, Bryn Mawr College; J. Patrick Megonigal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
9:20 AM
 The effects of projected sea-level rise on Everglades coastal ecosystems: Evaluating the potential for and mechanisms of peat collapse
Tiffany G. Troxler, Florida International University; Fred Sklar, South Florida Water Management District; Stephen Davis, Everglades Foundation; Evelyn E. Gaiser, Florida International University; Steve Kelly, South Florida Water Management District; John S. Kominoski, Florida International University; Christopher J. Madden, South Florida Water Management District; Viviana Mazzei, Florida International University; Carlos Coronado, South Florida Water Management District; David Rudnick, Everglades National Park; Shelby Servais, FLorida International Unversity; Joesph Stachelek, South Florida Water Management District; Benjamin J. Wilson, Florida International University
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
 How tidal freshwater forested wetland response to salinization affects carbon balance and soil surface elevation
Ken W. Krauss, U.S. Geological Survey; Gregory B. Noe, U. S. Geological Survey; Camille L. Stagg, U.S. Geological Survey; Cliff R Hupp, US Geological Survey; Nicole Cormier, U.S. Geological Survey; William H. Conner, Clemson University; Jamie A. Duberstein, Clemson University; Graeme Lockaby, Auburn University; Kathryn N. Pierfelice, Auburn University; Donald R. Schoolmaster Jr., U.S. Geological Survey
10:10 AM
 Disentangling the effects of drought and salinity on carbon fluxes at varying temporal and spatial scales from a coastal forested wetland
Marcelo Ardón, East Carolina University; Amanda S. Powell, Meredith College; Ashley M. Helton, University of Conneticut; Emily S. Bernhardt, Duke University
11:10 AM
 Anticipatory restoration of coastal communities in the face of climate change
Loretta L. Battaglia, Southern Illinois University; Brooklyn Krings, Southern Illinois University