This dataset contains the result of simulated daily emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from the soils in Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands (TFFW) along the Waccamaw River (SC, USA) and the Savannah River (GA and SC, USA) under drought-induced saltwater intrusion using a process-driven biogeochemistry model.
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Modeling impacts of saltwater intrusion on methane and nitrous oxide emissions in tidal forested wetlands
Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils to the atmosphere can offset the benefits of carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. While past study has suggested that both CH4and N2O emissions from tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) are generally low, the impacts of coastal droughts and drought‐induced saltwater intrusion on CH4and N2O emissions remain unclear. In this study, a process‐driven biogeochemistry model, Tidal Freshwater Wetland DeNitrification‐DeComposition (TFW‐DNDC), was applied to examine the responses of CH4and N2O emissions to episodic drought‐induced saltwater intrusion in TFFW along the Waccamaw River and Savannah River, USA. These sites encompass landscape gradients of both surface and porewater salinity as influenced by Atlantic Ocean tides superimposed on periodic droughts. Surprisingly, CH4and N2O emission responsiveness to coastal droughts and drought‐induced saltwater intrusion varied greatly between river systems and among local geomorphologic settings. This reflected the complexity of wetland CH4and N2O emissions and suggests that simple linkages to salinity may not always be relevant, as non‐linear relationships dominated our simulations. Along the Savannah River, N2O emissions in the moderate‐oligohaline tidal forest site tended to increase dramatically under the drought condition, while CH4emission decreased. For the Waccamaw River, emissions of both CH4and N2O in the moderate‐oligohaline tidal forest site tended to decrease under the drought condition, but the capacity of the moderate‐oligohaline tidal forest to serve as a carbon sink was substantially reduced due to significant declines in net primary productivity and soil organic carbon sequestration rates as salinity killed the dominant freshwater vegetation. These changes in fluxes of CH4and N2O reflect crucial synergistic effects of soil salinity and water level on C and N dynamics in TFFW due to drought‐induced seawater intrusion.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1754603
- PAR ID:
- 10492144
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Ecological Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecological Applications
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1051-0761
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Wetlands are responsible for 20%–31% of global methane (CH4) emissions and account for a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4budget. Data‐driven upscaling of CH4fluxes from eddy covariance measurements can provide new and independent bottom‐up estimates of wetland CH4emissions. Here, we develop a six‐predictor random forest upscaling model (UpCH4), trained on 119 site‐years of eddy covariance CH4flux data from 43 freshwater wetland sites in the FLUXNET‐CH4 Community Product. Network patterns in site‐level annual means and mean seasonal cycles of CH4fluxes were reproduced accurately in tundra, boreal, and temperate regions (Nash‐Sutcliffe Efficiency ∼0.52–0.63 and 0.53). UpCH4 estimated annual global wetland CH4emissions of 146 ± 43 TgCH4 y−1for 2001–2018 which agrees closely with current bottom‐up land surface models (102–181 TgCH4 y−1) and overlaps with top‐down atmospheric inversion models (155–200 TgCH4 y−1). However, UpCH4 diverged from both types of models in the spatial pattern and seasonal dynamics of tropical wetland emissions. We conclude that upscaling of eddy covariance CH4fluxes has the potential to produce realistic extra‐tropical wetland CH4emissions estimates which will improve with more flux data. To reduce uncertainty in upscaled estimates, researchers could prioritize new wetland flux sites along humid‐to‐arid tropical climate gradients, from major rainforest basins (Congo, Amazon, and SE Asia), into monsoon (Bangladesh and India) and savannah regions (African Sahel) and be paired with improved knowledge of wetland extent seasonal dynamics in these regions. The monthly wetland methane products gridded at 0.25° from UpCH4 are available via ORNL DAAC (
https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2253 ). -
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Abstract Direct measurement of methane emissions is cost-prohibitive for greenhouse gas offset projects, necessitating the development of alternative accounting methods such as proxies. Salinity is a useful proxy for tidal marsh CH4emissions when comparing across a wide range of salinity regimes but does not adequately explain variation in brackish and freshwater regimes, where variation in emissions is large. We sought to improve upon the salinity proxy in a marsh complex on Deal Island Peninsula, Maryland, USA by comparing emissions from four strata differing in hydrology and plant community composition. Mean CH4chamber-collected emissions measured as mg CH4m−2 h−1ranked as
S. alterniflora (1.2 ± 0.3) ≫ High-elevationJ. roemerianus (0.4 ± 0.06) > Low-elevationJ. roemerianus (0.3 ± 0.07) =S. patens (0.1 ± 0.01). Sulfate depletion generally reflected the same pattern with significantly greater depletion in theS. alterniflora stratum (61 ± 4%) than in theS. patens stratum (1 ± 9%) with theJ. roemerianus strata falling in between. We attribute the high CH4emissions in theS. alterniflora stratum to sulfate depletion likely driven by limited connectivity to tidal waters. Low CH4emissions in theS. patens stratum are attributed to lower water levels, higher levels of ferric iron, and shallow rooting depth. Moderate CH4emissions from theJ. roemerianus strata were likely due to plant traits that favor CH4oxidation over CH4production. Hydrology and plant community composition have significant potential as proxies to estimate CH4emissions at the site scale. -
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Abstract Sea level rise and changes in precipitation can cause saltwater intrusion into historically freshwater wetlands, leading to shifts in microbial metabolism that alter greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon sequestration. Saltwater intrusion modifies soil physicochemistry and can immediately affect microbial metabolism, but further alterations to biogeochemical processing can occur over time as microbial communities adapt to the changed environmental conditions. To assess temporal changes in microbial community composition and biogeochemical activity due to saltwater intrusion, soil cores were transplanted from a tidal freshwater marsh to a downstream mesohaline marsh and periodically sampled over 1 year. This experimental saltwater intrusion produced immediate changes in carbon mineralization rates, whereas shifts in the community composition developed more gradually. Salinity affected the composition of the prokaryotic community but did not exert a strong influence on the community composition of fungi. After only 1 week of saltwater exposure, carbon dioxide production doubled and methane production decreased by three orders of magnitude. By 1 month, carbon dioxide production in the transplant was comparable to the saltwater controls. Over time, we observed a partial recovery in methane production which strongly correlated with an increase in the relative abundance of three orders of hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Taken together, our results suggest that ecosystem responses to saltwater intrusion are dynamic over time as complex interactions develop between microbial communities and the soil organic carbon pool. The gradual changes in microbial community structure we observed suggest that previously freshwater wetlands may not experience an equilibration of ecosystem function until long after initial saltwater intrusion. Our results suggest that during this transitional period, likely lasting years to decades, these ecosystems may exhibit enhanced greenhouse gas production through greater soil respiration and continued methanogenesis.
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Tide and salinity data collected at minute intervals over multiple semidiurnal tides were used to investigate the source of water (e.g., seawater, river, groundwater and rain) and their relative timing in mixing at the mouth of a river, a tidal creek at mid-estuary and a tidal creek at the shoreline at the head of a tropical mangrove estuary. Our objectives were to document the temporal changes in tide induced water level changes and salinity at each location and to use the relationship between salinity and water level to elucidate the sources of water and the timing of different sources of water in the hydrologic mixing processes. The data trends in tide vs. salinity (T-S) plots for the river mouth revealed mixing with seawater during rising tides and freshwater diluted seawater (brackish) drainage from the mangrove forest during ebb tides. In the mangrove creek at mid-estuary, the data trends in the T-S plots for rising tides initially showed constant salinity, followed by sharp rises in salinity to peak tide caused by seawater intrusion. The salinity decreased precipitously at the start of tidal ebbing due to influx of freshwater (rain) diluted brackish water from the mangrove forest. The data trends in the T-S plots for the tidal creek at the shoreline located at the estuary head showed constant salinity which decreased only near peak rising tide because of river dilution. During tidal ebbing, the salinity further decreased from groundwater influx before increasing to background salinity, which stayed constant to low tide. Establishing T-S patterns for multiple locations in mangrove estuaries over sub-tidal to tidal scales define the expected salinity variations in seawater-freshwater mixing which can be used to (1) establish baseline hydrologic and salinity (hydrochemical) conditions for temporal and spatial assessments and (2) serve to guide short to long-term sampling regimes for scientific studies and estuarine ecosystem management.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2858
