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Dedication

TheeditorswishtodedicatethepresentbooktothememoryofDr.MarkM.Brinson,ourfriend,colleague,and memberoftheeditorialteamofthe firsteditionofCoastal Wetlands:AnintegratedEcosystemApproach.

GerardoM.E.Perillo,EricWolanski,DonaldR. Cahoon,andCharlesS.Hopkinson

Dr.MarkM.BrinsonretiredinSeptember2010with thetitleofDistinguishedResearchProfessor,aftermore than35yearsatEastCarolinaUniversity.Wewerelooking forwardtoseveralmoreactiveyearsofresearchandprofessionalservicewhenheunexpectedlypassedawayafew monthslater,onJanuary3,2011.Inwordsofhisdearfriend andcolleague,Dr.RobertChristian,welostathoughtful, hardworking,andcreativeEcosystemNaturalistthatday.

Markdevotedhisresearchtounderstandinghow wetlandsfunction,unravelingtheintricaterelationships amongthephysical,chemical,andbiologicalcomponents ofwetlandecosystems.Hisuniqueperspectivemadesubstantialcontributionsnotonlytowetlandsciencebutalso totheenvironmentalmanagementofwetlands.Mark’ s workhadasignificantimpactonthehydrogeomorphic classi ficationofwetlands,centraltothefunctionalassessmentofwetlandsandmitigationproceduresbasedon functionalloss.Thisfunctionalapproachalongwiththeuse ofreferencestatesthatoneofhismostsignificantcontributionsgreatlychangedmitigationpoliciesandtargetsfor restorationstrategies.

Throughouthiscareer,MarktaughtnumerouscoursesandworkshopsonwetlandecologywithintheUnited Statesandabroad.Hehasedited,authored,andcoauthoredmanypublicationsonwetland ecologyandservedasatechnicalconsultanttotheUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,US FishandWildlifeService,andtheSmithsonianInstitution.HewasalsoPresidentofthe SocietyofWetlandScientistsandservedonitsBoardofDirectorsforseveralyears.In addition,Markhasreceivedmanyhonorsandawards,includingtheThomasHarriotCollege ofArtsandSciencesDistinguishedProfessorAward,LifetimeAchievementAward,aNationalWetlandsAwardforScienceResearchcosponsoredbytheEnvironmentalLawInstituteandtheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,andFellowshipoftheSocietyofWetland Scientists.

Onamorepersonalnote,ImetMarkin2003,whenIwasagraduatestudentatUniversidaddeBuenosAires.BythattimehewasusingaFulbrightForeignScholarshipAward

LauraL.Flynn CoastalResourcesGroup,Inc., Venice,FL,UnitedStates

IreneFortune ScottishOceansInstitute,School ofBiology,UniversityofStAndrews,Fife, Scotland

JonFrench CoastalandEstuarineResearch Unit,UCLDepartmentofGeography,UniversityCollegeLondon,GowerStreet,London, UnitedKingdom

ShuGao StateKeyLaboratoryforEstuarine andCoastalResearch,EastChinaNormal University,Shanghai,China

ChristopherHaight NewYorkCityDepartmentofParks & Recreation,NewYork,NY, UnitedStates

RichardS.Hammerschlag UnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey,PatuxentWildlifeResearch Center,Laurel,MD,UnitedStates

EllenKracauerHartig NewYorkCityDepartmentofParks & Recreation,NewYork,NY, UnitedStates

MarianneHolmer DepartmentofBiology, UniversityofSouthernDenmark,Odense, Denmark

CharlesS.Hopkinson DepartmentofMarine Sciences,UniversityofGeorgia,Athens,GA, UnitedStates

RobertL.Jefferiesy

S.B.Joye DepartmentofMarineSciences,UniversityofGeorgia,Athens,GA,UnitedStates

JeffreyJ.Kelleway DepartmentofEnvironmentalSciences,MacquarieUniversity,Sydney, NSW,Australia

JasonR.Kirby LiverpoolJohnMooresUniversity,SchoolofNaturalSciences & Psychology, Liverpool,UnitedKingdom

StefanoLanzoni DepartmentofCivil,Environmental,andArchitecturalEngineering,UniversityofPadova,PD,Italy

MaritLarson NewYorkCityDepartmentof Parks & Recreation,NewYork,NY,UnitedStates

PaulS.Lavery SchoolofScience & Centrefor MarineEcosystemsResearch,EdithCowan University,Joondalup,WA,Australia;Centro deEstudiosAvanzadosdeBlanes,Consejo SuperiordeInvestigacionesCientíficas,Blanes, Spain

NicolettaLeonardi UniversityofLiverpool, SchoolofEnvironmentalSciences,Department ofGeographyandPlanning,Liverpool,United Kingdom

RoyR.LewisIII CoastalResourcesGroup,Inc., SaltSprings,FL,UnitedStates

CatherineLovelock TheSchoolofBiological Sciences,TheUniversityofQueensland,St Lucia,QLD,Australia;GlobalChangeInstitute, TheUniversityofQueensland,StLucia,QLD, Australia

MarcoMarani DepartmentofCivil,Environmental,andArchitecturalEngineering, UniversityofPadova,PD,Italy

I.PeterMartini SchoolofEnvironmental Sciences,UniversityofGuelph,Guelph,ON, Canada

KarenL.McKee U.S.GeologicalSurvey,WetlandandAquaticResearchCenter,Lafayette, LA,UnitedStates

J.PatrickMegonigal SmithsonianEnvironmentalResearchCenter,Edgewater,MD, UnitedStates

StephenMidway DepartmentofOceanography andCoastalSciences,LouisianaStateUniversity,BatonRouge,LA,UnitedStates

IrisMöller CambridgeCoastalResearchUnit, DepartmentofGeography,Universityof Cambridge,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom

R.I.GuyMorrison NationalWildlifeResearch Centre,EnvironmentandClimateChange Canada,Ottawa,ON,Canada

ScottC.Neubauer DepartmentofBiology,VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity,Richmond, VA,UnitedStates

DavidM.Paterson ScottishOceansInstitute, SchoolofBiology,UniversityofStAndrews, Fife,Scotland yDeceased.

GerardoM.E.Perillo InstitutoArgentinode Oceanografía(CONICET UNS),Bahía Blanca,Argentina;DepartamentodeGeología, UniversidadNacionaldelSur,BahíaBlanca, Argentina

MariaCintiaPiccolo InstitutoArgentinode Oceanografia-UniversidadNacionaldelSur, BahiaBlanca,BuenosAires,Argentina

AndrewPlater UniversityofLiverpool,School ofEnvironmentalSciences,Departmentof GeographyandPlanning,Liverpool,United Kingdom

PaulaPratolongo UniversidadNacionaldelSur, Dto.deBiologíaBioquímicayFarmacia CONICET,InstitutoArgentinodeOceanografía,BahíaBlanca,Argentina

AndreaRinaldo DepartmentofCivil,Environmental,andArchitecturalEngineering,UniversityofPadova,PD,Italy;Laboratoryof Ecohydrology,EcolePolytechniqueFèdèrale Lausanne,Lausanne,Switzerland

VictorH.Rivera-Monroy Departmentof OceanographyandCoastalSciences,College oftheCoastandtheEnvironment,Louisiana StateUniversity,BatonRouge,LA,United States

KerryleeRogers Geoquest,UniversityofWollongong,Wollongong,NSW,Australia

AndreS.Rovai DepartmentofOceanography andCoastalSciences,CollegeoftheCoast andtheEnvironmen t,LouisianaState University,BatonRouge,LA,UnitedStates; ProgramadePós-GraduaçãoemOceanogra fi a,UniversidadeFederaldeSanta Catarina,Florianópolis,Brazil

NeilSaintilan DepartmentofEnvironmental Sciences,MacquarieUniversity,Sydney,NSW, Australia

CharlesE.Sasser DepartmentofOceanography andCoastalSciences,LouisianaStateUniversity,BatonRouge,LA,UnitedStates

C.A.Schutte LouisianaUniversitiesMarine Consortium(LUMCON),Chauvin,LA,United States

M.Seidel InstituteforChemistryandBiologyof theMarineEnvironment(ICBM),Universityof Oldenburg,Oldenburg,Germany

LiudmilaA.Sergienko DepartmentofBotany andPlantPhysiology,PetrozavodskState University,Petrozavodsk,Russia

OscarSerrano SchoolofScience & Centrefor MarineEcosystemsResearch,EdithCowan University,Joondalup,WA,Australia

DanielO.Suman RosenstielSchoolofMarine andAtmosphericScience,UniversityofMiami, Miami,FL,UnitedStates

RebeccaK.Swadek NewYorkCityDepartmentofParks & Recreation,NewYork,NY, UnitedStates

CraigTobias UniversityofConnecticut,Groton, CT,UnitedStates

RobertR.Twilley DepartmentofOceanographyandCoastalSciences,Collegeofthe CoastandtheEnvironment,LouisianaState University,BatonRouge,LA,UnitedStates

JennekeM.Visser InstituteforCoastaland WaterResearch,andSchoolofGeosciences, UniversityofLouisianaatLafayette,Lafayette, LA,UnitedStates

DennisF.Whigham SmithsonianEnvironmental ResearchCenter,Edgewater,MD,UnitedStates

EricWolanski TropWATERandCollegeof ScienceandEngineering,JamesCookUniversity,Townsville,QLD,Australia;Australian InstituteofMarineScience,Townsville,QLD, Australia

ColinD.Woodroffe SchoolofEarthandEnvironmentalSciences,UniversityofWollongong, Wollongong,NSW,Australia

C.S. Wu MaxPlanckInstituteforMarine Microbiology,Bremen,Germany

PrefacetotheSecondEdition

Aswewrotethispreface,werealizedthat exactly10yearshavepassedsincethetime wewrotetheoriginalprefaceforthe first edition.Threeandhalfyearsago, Elsevier withasurprisingmailbyCandice Janco invitedustolookintothepossibility ofasecondedition.Althoughinitiallythe thoughtofgettingbackintoalltheeffortthat editingabookofthesecharacteristicsdemandsseemedanunhealthyadventure,all ofusactuallyjumpedrightinwiththeidea. Unfortunately,aswepresentinthededicatory,ourgoodfriendMarkBrinsonpassed awayintheperiodbetweenbotheditions. However,ChuckHopkinsonhasbeenbrave enoughtocomeonboardplayingamajor roleintheoutcomeofthebook.

Allthecommentsgivenintheoriginal prefaceareastruetodayastheywerethen. Unfortunately,manymanagementissues andcomplexsituationsthatcoastalwetlands weresufferingarestillpresenttodayand, graver,theyhavebecomeworse.Therefore, theywillnotberepeatedhere.

Inthissense,totheoriginalstructureof thebook,weaddednewchapterspointing outspecificallynewviewsofcoastalwetlands managementandvaluation.Nevertheless, eachchapterwassignificantlyimprovedand updatedtoreflectonthenewadvances achievedbythewetlandcommunityinthe last10years.

Manyoftheoriginalleadauthorsfrom the firsteditiongladlyacceptedthechallenge togetbacktotheiroldnotesandredothem forthenewedition.Afewcouldnotcommit themselvestothetaskforvariousreasons.In thecaseswhereitwaspossible,wefound newadventurerswhowerewillingtotake the “relaybaton” andwriteacompletely newchapteronthesubject.

Inallcases,wemustremember,authors wereaskedtomakeathoroughreviewona speci ficsubjectratherthandescribetheir ownpersonalwork.However,wereliedon theoutstandingcapabilitiesandworldwide recognitioneachoftheleadauthorsbrought tothebook,accompaniedbynolesser coauthors.

Again,wecouldnothavepresenteda bookofthislevelofqualitywithoutthe unsel fishinputofover50reviewers.They wereessentialinprovidinguswiththeir expertiseforthosechaptersinwhichwemay notbeasconfidentasthem.Abookisas goodasitsauthors,andalsoitisimproved bythequalityofitsreviewers.Wecannot thankenougheachandeveryoneofthem fortheirtimeandsupport.

Finally,againwecannotthankenough theoriginalinvitationofCandiceJanco wholeftusnotonlyforanotherposition withinElsevieralmostatthebeginningof theprojectbutalsointheverycapable

FIGURE1.1 Thecoastaloceanlandscapehighlightingatidalwetland-dominatedestuaryanditslinkagestothe adjacentwatershed/river,thecontinentalshelf,andtheopenocean. Arrows illustratekeyhydrologicandmaterial exchangesbetweenthevariouslandscapeelements.

watersandbottoms.Quiteoftenthereareextremelysharptransitionsbetweenlandscape elementsinthecoastalzone,forexample,betweenopenwaterandmarsh,marshand uplands,andseagrassandmangroves(Fig.1.2AandB).Groundwater(freshwaterdraining fromuplands)isanothersourceofupland-derivedwatersandmaterials.Theexchangeand mixingofwaterandmaterialsenteringfromriversandtheoceandefinestheoverallstructureanddistributionoflandscapeelements.Thedistributionanddepositionofsediments fromlandandtheoceanestablishestheoverallbathymetry.Bathymetryincombination withtidalrangeandthespatialgradientinsalinityaretheprimarydeterminants ofecosystemdistributionwithinthecoastaloceanlandscape.Emergentandsubmerged vegetation,onceestablished,exertanecogeomorphicfeedbackonthefateofriverandocean sourcesofvariousmaterials.Forexample,vegetationslowsthemovementofwater, promotesthesettlingofsedimentparticles,andacceleratesestuarinein fillingandtidal wetlandexpansionandaccretion.

2.ASYNTHESISOFCOASTALWETLANDSSCIENCE

Inthissectionweprovideanoverviewofthestructureandfunctioningofcoastalwetlands withemphasisonkeyforcesandprocessesthatinteractwiththeircoastalgeographic location.Itisdifficulttodiscusstheseforcesinisolationbecause,forexample,climatechange influencessealevel,sealevelforceschangesinvegetationstructure,disturbance,andherbivoryaffectvegetation,andsoforth.Assuch,comparisonacrossmajorecosystemtypescan provideinsightintothedifferencesandtherelativeimportanceofbothextrinsicforcesand intrinsicstructure.Wealsodiscusstheroleofmodelinginelucidatingtherelativeimportance ofkeyprocessesandinpredictingtheeffectsofalterationbyhumans.Thislasteffectpresents uswithchallengesofhowtobestprotectandmanagecoastalwetlandsfortheirattributesof lifesupportand,importantly,fortheircontributiontoestheticandculturalvalues.Tothis end,weoutlinekeyresearchneedsthatrecognizetheusefulnessofworkingbeyond “single factorcauseandeffect.”

2.1Geography

Coastalwetlandsincludeseagrassmeadows,intertidal flats,tidalsaltmarshes,mangrove forests,andtidalfreshwaterwetlands.Theyarefoundinsixcontinentsandallbutextreme polarlatitudes.Cliffsandrockyshoresareprobablytheonlycoastswithminimalwetlands. Worldwide,wetlandsareheavilyimpactedbyincreasingpopulationandcoastaldevelopment.Theareaoccupiedbywetlandshasbeengreatlyreducedoverthepast100years anditwilllikelydecreasesubstantiallythroughoutthe21stcenturyaspopulationpressure andtherateofSLRaccelerate.Thereisconsiderableuncertaintyinestimatesoftheglobal areacoveredbyalltidalwetlands.Muchoftheuncertaintyistheresultofinsuf ficientdetail insatelliteimagery(e.g.,1km)andtheintegrationofdisparateandincompatiblegeospatial andstatisticaldatasources(FAO,2007).ConsistentutilizationoftheUSGeologicalSurvey (USGS)compiledLandsatarchive,whichisnowfreelyavailable,couldlikelydecreasethe uncertaintyinestimatesthatarecurrentlyintheliterature.

Estimatesofmangrovecoverdifferwidely,fromabout80,000km2 toabout230,000km2 worldwide(Diop,2003;Dukeetal.,2007).Oneofthemostrecentestimates,basedon30m resolutionLandsatimagery,is137,760km2 (Girietal.,2011).Usingaslightlydifferentapproach, however, HamiltonandCasey(2016) estimateglobalmangroveareaofonly83,495km2.The largestextentofmangrovesisinIndonesia,andabout75%arelocatedinjust15countries (Girietal.,2011).Althoughthegreatestdistributionisbetween5 Nand5 S,mangrovesextend from31 200 Nto38 590 S(Fig.1.3).Thedistributioniscontrolledbythecombinationofcontinental(nofrostsoronlyveryrarely,typicallylessthan1frostevery10years; LugoandPatterson Zucca,1977)andoceanicclimates(warmwaters; Dukeetal.,2007).Recentcompilationsestimateglobalsaltmarshareaatabout54,950km2 (Mcowenetal.,2017)Theareaofsaltmarshes inCanadaandtheUnitedStatesaloneisabout19,600km2 accordingto Chmuraetal.(2003) and20,000km2 accordingto Mcowenetal.(2017).Largeareasofsaltmarshes (w7000 13,000km2)mightalsoexistinnorthernRussiaandAustralia(Mcowenetal.(2017) Saltmarshesarealsofoundscatteredinthemangrovebelt,usuallyintheupperintertidalareas landwardofmangroves.Seagrassescoverwasmostrecentlyestimatedtobe177,000km2 worldwide(GreenandShort,2003;Waycottetal.,2016),rangingfromatleast165,000km2

FIGURE1.3 Worlddistributionofmangroves(shadedareas alongtropicalandsubtropicalshorelines)andthe approximatedistributionofcoaststhatfollowoneofthreerelativesealeveltrajectoriesforthepast10,000years.Zone Ahasseenacontinualrise,zoneBexperiencedamorerapidriseinitiallyfollowedbyaslowdecreaseinSL,while zoneCexperiencedacontinueddecreaseinsealevelprimarilyasaresultoftectonicactivityandreboundingfrom glacialcoverage. RedrawnfromEllison,J.,2009.Geomorphologyandsedimentologyofmangroves.In:Perillo,G.M.E., Wolanski,E.,Cahoon,D.R.,Brinson,M.M.(Eds.),CoastalWetlands:AnIntegratedEcosystemApproach.Elsevier,Amsterdam.565 591andadaptedfrom;Woodroffe,C.D.,1992.Mangrovesedimentsandgeomorphology.In:Robertson,A.I.,Alongi, D.M.(Eds.),TropicalMangroveEcosystems.AmericanGeophysicalUnion,WashingtonD.C.7 42;Pirazzoli,P.A.,1996.Sea LevelChanges:TheLast20000Years.JWiley & Sons,Chichester;Lambeck,K.,Woodroffe,C.D.,Antonioli,F.,Anzidei,M., Gehrels,W.R.,Laborel,J.,Wright,A.J.,2010.Paleoenvironmentalrecords,geophysicalmodelling,andreconstructionofsea leveltrendsandvariabilityoncentennialandlongertimescales.In:Church,J.A.,Woodworth,P.L.Aarup,T.,Wilson,W.S. (Eds.),UnderstandingSeaLevelRiseandVariability,Wiley-Blackwell,Chichester,61 121.SeeChapter20.

upto600,000km2 (Nellemannetal.,2009a;Hopkinsonetal.,2012).Theworldwideareaoftidal flatsandfreshwatercoastalwetlandsseemsunknown,thoughback-of-the-envelopeestimates suggestthattheymayreach300,000km2.

2.2GeomorphicEvolutionUnderPastClimateChange:HowPresentCoastal WetlandsCametoBe

Wetlandscontinuouslyevolveintimeandspace.Thestoryofpresent-daycoastalwetlandsstarts120,000yearsago,whichisaninterglacialperiodthatlastedabout15,000years

FIGURE1.5 Sketchofthecontinentalshelfandcontinentalslope,andthelocationoftheestuaryandthecoastal wetlandsatpresentand20,000yearsBP(yearsbeforepresent).

higher(Isla,1989)andupto7mhigherthanatpresent(GómezandPerillo,1995),andit decreasedsmoothlytoitspresentelevationuntilabout2000yearsago.Inthoseareaswhere sealevelhasdropped,thecoastinitiallyrecededfromanadvancingseaandthenprograded slightlyduringthelast5000years.Withineachofthesezones,therewerelocalexceptions (Sweetetal.,2017),especiallyindeltaicregionswheresedimentsupplywassuf ficientto compensateforcoastalretreat.

Worldwidetheestuariesrespondedtothesechangingconditionsofsealevel,riverand sedimentdischarge,changingseaice,watercurrents,storms,andwavesbroughtaboutby anewclimate.TheelevationoftheMSLrelativetolandleveldeterminedatanytimethelocationoftheestuary.Thenetsedimentbudget,thebalancebetweenthesedimentinflow(from theriverandimportfromthesea),andthesedimentout flowfromtheestuarytothesea determinedtheevolutionoftheestuary.Wheretherelativesealevelfellrapidly(zoneC in Fig.1.3),newlandemergedconstantlyandtheestuarymigratedseaward,continuallyreinventingitself;the “old” estuaryroseabovesealevelandbecamepartofthelandscape;this evolutionisstillproceedinginzoneC(Fig.1.6A).Wheresealevelrose, “old” estuarieswere drownedandnewestuariesformedlandwardwherethelandmetthesea(Fig.1.6B).

InzoneC(Fig.1.3),nosteadystatehasyetbeenreached.Theestuaryisstillmoving seawardasnewlandemerges.InzoneA,aquasi-steadystatewasnearlyreachedbythe endofthe1800sastherelativerateofSLRwasonlyabout0.4mmyear 1 fortheprevious 1000yearsorso.InzoneB,theestuaryisstillevolving,albeitmuchslowerthaninthe pastbecausethechangesinrelativeMSLsloweddownconsiderablyduringthelast 6000years.ThedownwardtrajectoryintheabsoluterateofSLRbegantoreverseworldwide duringthemid-1800s(Kempetal.,2011).Regardlessofwhetherestuarieswereinsteadystate ornotatthattime,changesthatbeganthenhaveonlybecomegreatersince.Thiswilllikely movealltidalwetlandsoutofsteadystate,socoastalwetlandswillcontinuetomigrate.

2.3TheInfluenceofVegetationontheGeomorphicEvolutionWith ClimateChange

Estuariestrapsomeportionoftheriverinesedimentinput(Perillo,1995;Wolanskiand Elliott,2015).EstuariesinzoneCarethussiltingassoonastheyforminanewposition;small

occurred(WoodroffeChapter2andEllisonChapter20).Atsomelocations(Fig.1.6C)awide, shallowestuaryformed;thisenabledavastcoastalwetlandtoformthatfringedthemain channelastheestuary filledwithsedimentfromboththeriverandthesea(throughprocesses suchastidalpumping).Becauseofvegetationandadequatesedimentsupplies,thiswetland typeacceleratedsiltationandenabledtheestuarinesystemtokeepupwithSLR.Laterthis estuarine,salinesedimentwascappedbyfreshwatersediment;theestuaryhadbythen reached “oldage” becauseithadusedalltheaccommodatingspaceonlandandcould thenonlyevolvefurtherbymovingoffshoretoformadelta,oritcanoccasionallyberejuvenatedbyopeninganewchannelorbyisostaticorstructuralmovements.Inothercases (Fig.1.6D),theestuarymoveduplandwitharisingsealeveluntilabout6000yearsago whensealevelstabilized;astheestuarymigrated,sodidthecoastalwetlands,leavingbehind theirsignatureintheformofawell-preservedorganic-richmudlayer.Thismudwascapped byinorganicsediment,whichprovidedasubstrateonwhichthewetlandprograded,andin theprocessformedanear-surface,organic-richmudlayer.Stillinothercases(Fig.1.6E),principallyinmicrotidalareasandinareaswherethegeomorphologyformedsemienclosed coastalwatersassealevelrose,riverinesediment filledalagoon-typeenvironmentand thisareawascolonizedbywetlands,leavingbehindanorganic-richmudlayer.Therelative sealevelevolutionoverthelastfewthousandyearshascreated,insediment-starvedestuariesofzoneB,avariedsuccessionofwetlandhabitats,including(Fig.1.6F)thedie-offof mangrovesandtheircappingbycalcareoussedimentlatercolonizedbyseagrass,and (Fig.1.6G)thedie-offofmangrovesandtheircappingbycalcareoussedimentwithan evenlatercappingbyanewmangroveswampwithaccretingorganic-richmud.Inthe caseoftemperate,sediment-starvedestuariesinzoneB,thelackofsedimentinputledto erosionoftheoriginalwetlandsedimentsandanevolutioninwetlandtypes.Forexample, inBahíaBlancaEstuary,Argentina,someolder Sarcocornia highmarsheseroded(Minkoff etal.,2005,2006;Escapaetal.,2007),whichloweredtheirpositioninrelationtoMSLand ledtotheirevolutiontotidal flats,whichlaterwerecolonizedby Spartina (Pratolongo etal.,2013;Pratolongoetal.,Chapter3).

ThemarshesinBarnstableHarborinthenortheasternUnitedStatesareagoodexampleof tidalwetlanddevelopmentinazoneAsystem.Developmentofthetidalwetlands commencedwhentherateofSLRslowedtoabout0.4mmyear 1 about2000to3000years ago(Fig.1.4C). Redfield(1965) tooksedimentcorestobasementcoarsesandsand,onthebasisof 14Cdatingthepeatatvariousdepthsinthecores,reconstructedtheprocessesofharbor infilling,wetlandtransgression,wetlandprogradation,andverticalelevationgain(Fig.1.7A).

Theinitialmarshwas firstestablishedalongtheupland-tidal flatshorelinebetweenMSLand meanhighwater(MHW).Oncemarshvegetationbecameestablished,themarshgained elevationthroughthecombinedprocessesofenhancedsedimenttrappingduringtidalinundationandtheaccumulationofundecomposedmarshplantrootsandrhizomes(Fig.1.7B). Concomitantlywithmarshelevationgain,tidal flatsgainedelevationbecauseofdeposition ofocean-derivedsedimentthroughtheprocessoftidalpumping(Woodroffe,Chapter2and EllisonChapter20).Marshplantsmigrateontothesenewlycreatedtidal flatswhenelevation reachesMSL,whichenablesthemarshtoprogradetowardopenwater.Assealevelrose (Fig.1.7AandB),uplands flooded,enablingmarshplantstotransgressupacrossthenow floodeduplands.Thisprocesscontinuestothisdayassealevelcontinuestoriseandsedimentsentertheharborbytidalpumpingfromtheoceanorrunofffromuplands.

FIGURE1.7 Saltmarshdevelopmentoverthepastseveralthousandyears.(A)Thedistributionofpeatdepthsin themarshesoftheBarnstableHarborEstuary.Contoursare6ft(1.6m).(B)SaltmarshdevelopmentinBarnstable HarborEstuarydemonstratingtheprocessesofelevationgain,progradationtowardopenwaterandtransgression ontouplandsinresponsetosedimentinputsandsealevelrise. FromRedfield,A.,1965.Ontogenyofasaltmarsh.Science 145,50 55 Figs.1and2page52.ReprintedandusedwithpermissionofAAASandESA.

Thus,coastalwetlandshavebeensubjectedtolargechangesindriversoverthepast 20,000years,yettheyhaveadapted,greatlyexpandedinarealdistribution,especiallyduring thelast4000years,andsurvived.Sealevelevolution,changesinsedimentandwaterinput fromthecontinentandfromtheocean,andtidalrangemodifications,inadditiontotheevolutionofwetlandplantsandfauna,arethecontrollingfactorsthatactedonthevarioustypes ofwetlands.Therefore,coastalwetlandsprovideasigni ficantexampleofoneofthemost resilientecosystems anecosystemthatcanwithstandmajormodificationsbutstillevolve inasustainablemanner.Coastalwetlandsareconstantlyevolvingbyfeedbackmechanisms, especiallywithrespecttorisingsealevelandtodisturbances.Thestateofaparticular wetlandatanyonetimeaffectsitsfutureandisdeterminedbytheaccumulatedhistoryof previousstates.Whatweseeinawetlandisasnapshotintime.

2.4TheStabilizingRoleofVegetation

Thereisastronginterplaybetweentidalhydrodynamics,sedimentinfillingandredistributioninintertidalregions,wetlandplants,andthegeomorphicdevelopmentofdrainage networksandtidalwetlandsinestuaries(Woodroffe,Chapter2;Gao,Chapters10andEllison, 20;D’Alpaosetal.,Chapter5).Aslongasmud flatelevationremainsbelowMSL,generally themud flatremainsfairly flatanduneventfulandtidalcreeksmaynotform(Fig.1.8A).

FIGURE1.8 Aerialphotographsof(A)the6-kmwidemud flatatthemouthoftheMaryRiver,Australia’ s NorthernTerritory,showingtheriverchannelandnotidalcreeks,and(B)adendritictidalcreekinanunvegetated tidal flat(KingSound,WesternAustralia;mangrovetreesareonlypresentinthelowerreachesofthecreekwhere theyformaone-treewidevegetationstrip).(C)Sketchoftheasymmetryofthewatersurfaceandthetidalcurrentsin acoastalwetlandat floodtideand(D)ebbtide.(E)Thetipofatidalcreekinanunvegetatedmudbankstopsatthe mangrovevegetation(DarwinHarbour,Australia).(F)Numericalpredictionofthedistributionoffrictionalstresses inadendritictidalcreekinanunvegetatedmud flat(D’Alpaosetal.,2009).(G)Adensemangroverootnetworklocks thesoiltogethertoadepthofseveralmetersandinhibitswaveerosionofthebank.(H J)Highnear-bottom vegetationdensityduetotreetrunks,proproots,buttresses,andpneumatophoresinmangroves.

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