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1. Hurricanes fertilize mangrove forests in the Gulf of Mexico (Florida Everglades, USA)

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908597117  

   Castañeda-Moya, Edward; Rivera-Monroy, Victor H.; Chambers, Randolph M.; Zhao, Xiaochen; Lamb-Wotton, Lukas; Gorsky, Adrianna; Gaiser, Evelyn E.; Troxler, Tiffany G.; Kominoski, John S.; Hiatt, Matthew (February 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Hurricanes are recurring high-energy disturbances in coastal regions that change community structure and function of mangrove wetlands. However, most of the studies assessing hurricane impacts on mangroves have focused on negative effects without considering the positive influence of hurricane-induced sediment deposition and associated nutrient fertilization on mangrove productivity and resilience. Here, we quantified how Hurricane Irma influenced soil nutrient pools, vertical accretion, and plant phosphorus (P) uptake after its passage across the Florida Coastal Everglades in September 2017. Vertical accretion from Irma’s deposits was 6.7 to 14.4 times greater than the long-term (100 y) annual accretion rate (0.27 ± 0.04 cm y⁻¹). Storm deposits extended up to 10-km inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Total P (TP) inputs were highest at the mouth of estuaries, with P concentration double that of underlying surface (top 10 cm) soils (0.19 ± 0.02 mg cm⁻³). This P deposition contributed 49 to 98% to the soil nutrient pool. As a result, all mangrove species showed a significant increase in litter foliar TP and soil porewater inorganic P concentrations in early 2018, 3 mo after Irma’s impact, thus underscoring the interspecies differences in nutrient uptake. Mean TP loading rates were five times greater in southwestern (94 ± 13 kg ha⁻¹d⁻¹) mangrove-dominated estuaries compared to the southeastern region, highlighting the positive role of hurricanes as a natural fertilization mechanism influencing forest productivity. P-rich, mineral sediments deposited by hurricanes create legacies that facilitate rapid forest recovery, stimulation of peat soil development, and resilience to sea-level rise. 

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2. Resilience to Hurricanes Is High in Mangrove Blue Carbon Forests

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70124  

   Reed, David; Chavez, Selena; Castañeda‐Moya, Edward; Oberbauer, Steven_F; Troxler, Tiffany; Malone, Sparkle (March 2025, Global Change Biology)

   ABSTRACT Mangrove forests are typically considered resilient to natural disturbances, likely caused by the evolutionary adaptation of species‐specific traits. These ecosystems play a vital role in the global carbon cycle and are responsible for an outsized contribution to carbon burial and enhanced sedimentation rates. Using eddy covariance data from two coastal mangrove forests in the Florida Coastal Everglades, we evaluated the impact hurricanes have on mangrove forest structure and function by measuring recovery to pre‐disturbance conditions following Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. We determined the “recovery debt,” the deficit in ecosystem structure and function following a disturbance, using the leaf area index (LAI) and the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Calculated as the cumulative deviation from pre‐disturbance conditions, the recovery debt incorporated the recapture of all the carbon lost due to the disturbance. In Everglades mangrove forests, LAI returned to pre‐disturbance levels within a year, and ecosystem respiration and maximum photosynthetic rates took much longer, resulting in an initial recovery debt of 178 g C m⁻²at the tall forest with limited impacts at the scrub forest. At the landscape scale, the initial recovery debt was 0.40 Mt C, and in most coastal mangrove forests, all lost carbon was recovered within just 4 years. While high‐intensity storms could have prolonged impacts on the structure of subtropical forests, fast canopy recovery suggests these ecosystems will remain strong carbon sinks. 

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3. Resistance to Hurricane Effects Varies Among Wetland Vegetation Types in the Marsh-Mangrove Ecotone

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00577-3  

   Armitage, Anna R.; Weaver, Carolyn A.; Kominoski, John S.; Pennings, Steven C. (May 2019, Estuaries and Coasts)

   The capacity of coastal wetlands to stabilize shorelines and reduce erosion is a critical ecosystem service, and it is uncertain how changes in dominant vegetation may affect coastal protection. As part of a long-term study (2012–present) comparing ecosystem functions of marsh and black mangrove vegetation, we have experimentally maintained marsh and black mangrove patches (3 m × 3 m) along a plot-level (24 m × 42 m) gradient of marsh and mangrove cover in coastal wetlands near Port Aransas, TX. In August 2017, this experiment was directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm. This extreme disturbance event provided an opportunity to quantify differences in resistance between mangrove and marsh vegetation and to assess which vegetation type provided better shoreline protection against storm-driven erosion. We compared changes in plant cover, shoreline erosion, and accreted soil depth to values measured prior to storm landfall. Relative mangrove cover decreased 25–40% after the storm, regardless of initial cover, largely due to damage on taller mangroves (> 2.5 m height) that were not fully inundated by storm surge and were therefore exposed to strong winds. Evidence of regrowth on damaged mangrove branches was apparent within 2 months of landfall. Hurricane-induced decreases in mangrove cover were partially ameliorated by the presence of neighboring mangroves, particularly closer to the shoreline. Marsh plants were generally resistant to hurricane effects. Shoreline erosion exceeded 5 m where mangroves were absent (100% marsh cover) but was relatively modest (< 0.5 m) in plots with mangroves present (11–100% mangrove cover). Storm-driven accreted soil depth was variable but more than 2× higher in marsh patches than in mangrove patches. In general, mangroves provided shoreline protection from erosion but were also more damaged by wind and surge, which may reduce their shoreline protection capacity over longer time scales. 

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4. Resistance to Hurricane Effects Varies Among Wetland Vegetation Types in the Marsh–Mangrove Ecotone

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00577-3  

   Armitage, A.R.; Weaver, C.A.; Kominoski, J.S.; Pennings, S.C. (October 2019, Estuaries and coasts)

   The capacity of coastal wetlands to stabilize shorelines and reduce erosion is a critical ecosystem service, and it is uncertain how changes in dominant vegetation may affect coastal protection. As part of a long-term study (2012–present) comparing ecosystem functions of marsh and black mangrove vegetation, we have experimentally maintained marsh and black mangrove patches (3 m × 3 m) along a plot-level (24 m × 42 m) gradient of marsh and mangrove cover in coastal wetlands near Port Aransas, TX. In August 2017, this experiment was directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm. This extreme disturbance event provided an opportunity to quantify differences in resistance between mangrove and marsh vegetation and to assess which vegetation type provided better shoreline protection against storm-driven erosion. We compared changes in plant cover, shoreline erosion, and accreted soil depth to values measured prior to storm landfall. Relative mangrove cover decreased 25–40% after the storm, regardless of initial cover, largely due to damage on taller mangroves (> 2.5 m height) that were not fully inundated by storm surge and were therefore exposed to strong winds. Evidence of regrowth on damaged mangrove branches was apparent within 2 months of landfall. Hurricane-induced decreases in mangrove cover were partially ameliorated by the presence of neighboring mangroves, particularly closer to the shoreline. Marsh plants were generally resistant to hurricane effects. Shoreline erosion exceeded 5 m where mangroves were absent (100% marsh cover) but was relatively modest (< 0.5 m) in plots with mangroves present (11–100% mangrove cover). Storm-driven accreted soil depth was variable but more than 2× higher in marsh patches than in mangrove patches. In general, mangroves provided shoreline protection from erosion but were also more damaged by wind and surge, which may reduce their shoreline protection capacity over longer time scales. 

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5. Mangrove Damage, Delayed Mortality, and Early Recovery Following Hurricane Irma at Two Landfall Sites in Southwest Florida, USA

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00564-8  

   Radabaugh, Kara R.; Moyer, Ryan P.; Chappel, Amanda R.; Dontis, Emma E.; Russo, Christine E.; Joyse, Kristen M.; Bownik, Melissa W.; Goeckner, Audrey H.; Khan, Nicole S. (April 2019, Estuaries and Coasts)

   Mangrove forests along the coastlines of the tropical and sub-tropical western Atlantic are intermittently impacted by hurricanes and can be damaged by high-speed winds, high-energy storm surges, and storm surge sediment deposits that suffocate tree roots. This study quantified trends in damage, delayed mortality, and early signs of below- and aboveground recovery in mangrove forests in the Lower Florida Keys and Ten Thousand Islands following direct hits by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Mangrove trees suffered 19% mortality at sites in the Lower Florida Keys and 11% in the Ten Thousand Islands 2–3 months post-storm; 9 months post-storm, mortality in these locations increased to 36% and 20%, respectively. Delayed mortality of mangrove trees was associated with the presence of a carbonate mud storm surge deposit on the forest floor. Mortality and severe branch damage were more common for mangrove trees than for mangrove saplings. Canopy coverage increased from 40% cover 1–2 months post-storm to 60% cover 3–6 months post-storm. Canopy coverage remained the same 9 months post-storm, providing light to an understory of predominantly Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) seedlings. Soil shear strength was higher in the Lower Florida Keys and varied with depth; no significant trends were found in shear strength between fringe or basin plots. Rates of root growth, as assessed using root in-growth bags, were relatively low at 0.01–11.0 g m−2 month−1 and were higher in the Ten Thousand Islands. This study demonstrated that significant delayed mangrove mortality can occur 3–9 months after a hurricane has passed, with some mortality attributable to smothering by storm surge deposits. 

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