Overestimation of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise
Nature Climate Change
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Abstract
Coastal marshes are considered to be among the most valuable and vulnerable ecosystems on Earth, where the imminent loss of ecosystem services is a feared consequence of sea level rise. However, we show with a meta-analysis that global measurements of marsh elevation change indicate that marshes are generally building at rates similar to or exceeding historical sea level rise, and that process-based models predict survival under a wide range of future sea level scenarios. We argue that marsh vulnerability tends to be overstated because assessment methods often fail to consider biophysical feedback processes known to accelerate soil building with sea level rise, and the potential for marshes to migrate inland.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Overestimation of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise |
| Series title | Nature Climate Change |
| DOI | 10.1038/nclimate2909 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Year Published | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 8 p. |
| First page | 253 |
| Last page | 260 |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |