Researchers make surprising discovery in unique coastal forests: 'A significant change in mindset'

Not all coastal ecosystems are responding equally as sea levels continue to rise, as researchers from Florida International University and Yale University demonstrated in a new study.

What's happening?

The study assessed the different strengths and weaknesses of various habitats and revealed some surprising adaptation strategies.

Researchers examined three ecosystems in the Florida Everglades: the grassy marl prairie, the mixed freshwater-saltwater ecotone, and a wetland of salt-tolerant scrub mangroves. All are experiencing sea level rise and resulting salination, but instead of being flatly affected by these conditions, the team found that each environment is responding uniquely.

A release from Yale University summarized the study, which was published in the Journal of Environmental Management. It noted that brackish ecotones and especially marl prairies showed a decreased ability to capture carbon as water levels rose, but scrub mangroves remained effective carbon sinks.

Salt marshes and seagrass beds were other coastal areas found to be carbon sinks, which absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it, helping to regulate Earth's temperature.

It would be reasonable to worry that natural carbon sequestration could be compromised by the very environmental changes it can help mitigate — certainly the declining carbon absorption capabilities of sea-inundated marl prairies bear that out. But this new study suggests that it's worth evaluating the impacts on each ecosystem rather than presuming they will all react the same way.

Why are these findings important?

Understanding that each habitat might have a different — if interconnected — role to play in adapting to rising global temperatures could go a long way in addressing them.

Coastal mangroves may continue to move inland as sea levels rise. "If this occurs," explained co-author Sparkle Malone, "it could enhance carbon capture in those new locations," perhaps helping to offset the decreased carbon absorption from marl prairies.

"We must ensure that we provide adequate space for [the scrub mangroves] to transition and avoid creating barriers that would hinder their movement into these areas," Malone, who is an assistant professor of ecosystem carbon capture at Yale School of the Environment, added.

Instead of assuming all hope is lost for coastal vegetation across the board, a closer look could uncover innovative landscape management solutions, like supporting resilient, carbon-absorbing mangroves in migrating inland in the face of rising seas.

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What can be done?

The co-authors of this new study "advocate for management approaches that prioritize the interconnectivity of freshwater and saline ecosystems to support landscape-scale climate adaptation and maintain important ecological functions."

While Malone stressed in the news release that restoration of freshwater zones will continue to be critical, she also noted that "some areas [may] need to transition to more saline ecosystems."

It could be taken by some to be a kind of surrender to sea incursion. But as she explained, "What was once seen as a sign of poor restoration may, in the future, be viewed as a positive step towards restoration. This represents a significant change in mindset."

Mindset shifts have the potential to produce impactful ideas. Indeed, scientists around the world are looking at ways to refine other carbon capture systems.

Researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston, for example, have developed a method for addressing the salt buildup that can hinder the process.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that adding nanofiltration can improve the efficiency of carbon capture.

Researchers in Japan are also working to make the process more efficient and cheaper too.

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