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Abstract Ecological zonation in coastal forests is driven by sea level rise and storm‐surge events. Mature trees that can survive moderately saline conditions show signs of stress when soil salinity increases above its tolerance levels. As leaf burn, foliar damage, and defoliation reduce tree canopy cover, light gaps form within the crown. At the forest‐marsh edge, canopy cover loss is most severe; trunks of dead trees without canopies form “ghost forests.” Canopy thinning and light from the edge alter conditions for understory vegetation, promoting the growth of shrubs and facilitating establishment and spread of invasive species that were previously limited by light competition. In this research, we present an analysis of illuminance and temperature in a coastal forest transitioning to a salt marsh. Light sensors above the ground surface were used to measure light attenuation of trees and understory vegetation and to observe the effect of reduced canopies at the forest‐marsh edge. Farther from the marsh, where salinity is lower and trees are healthy, dense canopies attenuate light. We estimate that during the growing season, tree canopies intercept 50% of illuminance on average. Closer to the marsh, canopy thinning, and tree death allow greater light penetration from above, as well as from the adjacent marsh. These illuminance values are further increased by light penetration from the forest‐marsh edge (edge effect). Here, higher illuminance may permitPhragmites australisexpansion. At intermediate locations, trees intercept between 32% and 49% of light and the understory shrubMorella ceriferaintercepts a further 45% of penetrating light based on comparisons of illuminance above and below shrub canopies. Light penetration from the edge can also be felt. The presence ofM. ceriferareduces the air temperature close to the soil surface, creating a cooler summer microclimate. The tree health state is reflected in the canopy size. The canopy patterns and the edge effect are responsible for light availability distribution along forest‐marsh gradients, consequently affecting the understory vegetation biomass. We conclude that during forest retreat driven by sea level rise, tree dieback increases light availability favoring the temporary encroachment ofPh. australisandM. ceriferain the understory. 

Abstract To save saltmarshes and their valuable ecosystem services from sea level rise, it is crucial to understand their natural ability to gain elevation by sediment accretion. In that context, a widely accepted paradigm is that dense vegetation favors sediment accretion and hence saltmarsh resilience to sea level rise. Here, however, we reveal how dense vegetation can inhibit sediment accretion on saltmarsh platforms. Using a process‐based modeling approach to simulate biogeomorphic development of typical saltmarsh landscapes, we identify two key mechanisms by which vegetation hinders sediment transport from tidal channels toward saltmarsh interiors. First, vegetation concentrates tidal flow and sediment transport inside channels, reducing sediment supply to platforms. Second, vegetation enhances sediment deposition near channels, limiting sediment availability for platform interiors. Our findings suggest that the resilience of saltmarshes to sea level rise may be more limited than previously thought. 

Abstract Mangrove forests are critical coastal ecosystems that provide great socio‐ecological services, which are also highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly to sea level rise (SLR). Here we assess changes in mangrove forests in four distinct river/tide/wave‐dominant large deltas along the Indo‐Pacific coast based on 1,336 remote sensing images by machine learning techniques. We find that mangroves are migrating seaward at a rate of 18% ± 12% m/yr, which can offset landward mangroves loss, 67% of which caused by land use conversion. The fact that mangroves are expanding seaward with accretion rates exceeding SLR suggests that climate change has not yet triggered substantial loss in deltaic mangrove forests. Assuming that present environmental conditions do not change and that sediment and organic deposition in the deltaic topsets match SLR rates, we project that 90% of deltaic mangrove forests may start to retreat after 132–194 years. Early inundation of mangroves will occur in wave‐dominated delta. 

Abstract Planting has been widely adopted to battle the loss of salt marshes and to establish living shorelines. However, the drivers of success in salt marsh planting and their ecological effects are poorly understood at the global scale. Here, we assemble a global database, encompassing 22,074 observations reported in 210 studies, to examine the drivers and impacts of salt marsh planting. We show that, on average, 53% of plantings survived globally, and plant survival and growth can be enhanced by careful design of sites, species selection, and novel planted technologies. Planting enhances shoreline protection, primary productivity, soil carbon storage, biodiversity conservation and fishery production (effect sizes = 0.61, 1.55, 0.21, 0.10 and 1.01, respectively), compared with degraded wetlands. However, the ecosystem services of planted marshes, except for shoreline protection, have not yet fully recovered compared with natural wetlands (effect size = −0.25, 95% CI −0.29, −0.22). Fortunately, the levels of most ecological functions related to climate change mitigation and biodiversity increase with plantation age when compared with natural wetlands, and achieve equivalence to natural wetlands after 5–25 years. Overall, our results suggest that salt marsh planting could be used as a strategy to enhance shoreline protection, biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. 

Abstract We introduce a new approach to observe the impact of vegetation on tidal flow retardation and retention at large spatial scales. Using radar interferometry and in situ water level gauge measurements during low tide, we find that vegetation in deltaic intertidal zones of the Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, causes significant tidal distortion with both a delay (between 80 and 140 min) and amplitude reduction (~ 20 cm). The natural vegetation front delays the ebb tide, which increases the minimum water level and hydro‐period inside the deltaic islands, resulting in better conditions for wetland species colonizing low elevations. This positive feedback between vegetation and hydraulics demonstrates the self‐organization functionality of vegetation in the geomorphological evolution of deltas, which contributes to deltaic stability. 

The impact of saltwater intrusion on coastal forests and farmland is typically understood as sea-level-driven inundation of a static terrestrial landscape, where ecosystems neither adapt to nor influence saltwater intrusion. Yet recent observations of tree mortality and reduced crop yields have inspired new process-based research into the hydrologic, geomorphic, biotic, and anthropogenic mechanisms involved. We review several negative feedbacks that help stabilize ecosystems in the early stages of salinity stress (e.g., reduced water use and resource competition in surviving trees, soil accretion, and farmland management). However, processes that reduce salinity are often accompanied by increases in hypoxia and other changes that may amplify saltwater intrusion and vegetation shifts after a threshold is exceeded (e.g., subsidence following tree root mortality). This conceptual framework helps explain observed rates of vegetation change that are less than predicted for a static landscape while recognizing the inevitability of large-scale change. 

ABSTRACT Deltas are crucial for land building and ecological services due to their ability to store mineral sediment, carbon and potential pollutants. A decline in suspended sediment discharge in large rivers caused by the construction of mega‐dams might imperil deltaic flats and wetlands. However, there has not been clear evidence of a sedimentary shift in the downstream tidal flats that feed coastal wetlands and the intertidal zone with sediments. Here, integrated intertidal/subaqueous sediment samples, multi‐year bathymetries, fluvial and deltaic hydrological and sediment transport data in the Nanhui tidal flats and Nanhui Shoal in the Changjiang (Yangtze) Delta, one of the largest mega‐deltas in the world, were analysed to discern how sedimentary environments changed in response to the operations of the Three Gorges Dam. Results reveal that the coarser sediment fractions of surficial sediments in the subaqueous Nanhui Shoal increased between 2004 to 2021, and the overall grain size coarsened from 18.5 to 27.3 μm. Moreover, intertidal sediments in cores coarsened by 25% after the 1990s. During that period, the northern part of the Nanhui Shoal suffered large‐scale erosion, while the southern part accreted in recent decades. Reduced suspended sediment discharge of the Changjiang River combined with local resuspension of fine‐grained sediments are responsible for tidal flat erosion. This study found that the spatial pattern of grain‐size parameters has shifted from crossing the bathymetric isobaths to being parallel to them. Higher tide level and tidal range induced by sea‐level rise, an upstream increase in bed shear stress and larger waves likely further exacerbated erosion and sediment coarsening in deltaic flats. As a result, this sediment‐starved estuary coupled with sea‐level rise and artificial reclamations have enhanced the vulnerability of tidal flats in Changjiang Delta, this research is informative to the sedimentary shift of worldwide mega‐deltas. 

Abstract Sea level rise and storm surges drive coastal forest retreat and salt marsh expansion. Both salinization and flooding control ecological zonation and ecosystem transition in coastal areas. Hydrological variables, if coupled with ecological surveys, can explain the different stages of coastal forest retreat and marsh encroachment. In this research, long‐term data of a host of hydrological variables collected along transects from marsh to inner forest were analyzed. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to identify the primary hydrological variables responsible for the forest‐marsh gradient and their seasonal patterns. Water content (WC) in the soil (WC) and groundwater electrical conductivity (EC) were found to be the main variables responsible for the hydrological differences among the sites. Higher values of WC and EC were found in the low‐forest area near the salt marsh, with hydrological differences between forest levels reflected in ecological community structure. In particular, some sites were characterized by high EC while others by high WC values, suggesting significant spatial variations within hundreds of meters. The forested area, relatively flat in elevation, was characterized by limited hydraulic gradients and consequently lateral discharges. These characteristics made the role of groundwater level negligible in driving the hydrological clustering. Seasonal LDA data suggest that the sites are hydrologically different during winter (higher distance among clusters of variables) and similar during summer (low distance among clusters). In the study area, higher rainfall occurs during summer, decreasing groundwater EC in areas characterized by low canopy cover (dying forest). Rainfall moved low forest sites closer to the pristine high forest in the LDA analysis. During storm surge events, the distance between clusters decreased, indicating uniform salinization and flooding across the forest. Therefore, we conclude that ecological zonation in a coastal forest is reflected in seasonal hydrological differences in the absence of storm surges. Storm surges do not produce contrasting hydrological conditions and might not be responsible for ecological differences in the short‐term. On the contrary, differences in hydrological recovery are responsible for forest zonation. An additional analysis carried out using a binary Marsh‐Healthy forest LDA classifier indicates when each site switches from a forest hydrological state to a salt‐marsh hydrological state. Our results are useful for long‐term predictions of the ecological evolution of the forest–salt marsh ecotone.