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Impacts of Fertilization and Tidal Inundation on Elevation Change in Microtidal, Low Relief Salt Marshes

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Abstract

We evaluated the importance of both tidal inundation and nutrient fertilization as drivers of elevation change in coastal salt marshes. The three sites investigated occurred along a 9-km stretch of the Atlantic Intracoastal Water Way in Central North Carolina. Despite their close geographic proximity, the sites varied in tidal range, elevation within the tidal frame, and stem height and stem density of Spartina alterniflora. Total standing aboveground biomass and marsh surface elevation change (measured by surface elevation tables; SETs) were documented during a 3-year period of nutrient fertilization and for two additional years after fertilization ceased. Measured elevation change rates in control plots varied from 0.2 to 1.2 cm year−1 and were negatively correlated with starting elevation (r 2 = 0.82, p < 0.05). Fertilization resulted in increases in both standing aboveground biomass and marsh surface elevation change. Fertilized sites gained 0.69 to 2.1 cm year−1 during the 3-year application period and 0.02 to 0.97 cm year−1 during the post application period. The magnitude of the fertilization-induced elevation response was mediated by position in the tidal frame with sites that were lower gaining less elevation relative to controls than sites that were higher. The data presented here suggest that nutrient fertilization may be an effective adaptive management strategy for helping minerogenic marshes keep pace with sea level, but that the impact of fertilization may depend on tidal inundation.

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Acknowledgments

Elevation data were collected by Mike Greene. Anna Hilting read SETs and managed SET database. Luke Snedaker generated tidal datums for this work. We thank Nathan McTigue, Ellen Herbert, Cathy Wigand, and two anonymous reviewers for editorial comments. Funding for this project was provided by grants to Carolyn Currin and James Morris from the Defense Coastal Estuarine Research Program. The scientific results and conclusions, as well as any views or opinions expressed herein, are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the Department of Commerce and should not be construed as an official US Department of Defense position or decision unless so designated by other official documentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NOAA National Ocean Service Center for Coastal Fisheries & Habitat Research, Beaufort, NC, USA

    Jenny Davis & Carolyn Currin

  2. Belle Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    James T. Morris

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  1. Jenny Davis
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Correspondence to Jenny Davis.

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Communicated by John C. Callaway

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Davis, J., Currin, C. & Morris, J.T. Impacts of Fertilization and Tidal Inundation on Elevation Change in Microtidal, Low Relief Salt Marshes. Estuaries and Coasts 40, 1677–1687 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-017-0251-0

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