Consequences of Climate Change on the Ecogeomorphology of Coastal Wetlands
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Material Information

Title:
Consequences of Climate Change on the Ecogeomorphology of Coastal Wetlands
Series Title:
Estuaries and Coasts
Creator:
John W. Day
Robert R. Christian
Donald M. Boesch
Alejandro Yanez-Arancibia
James Morris
Robert R. Twilley
Larissa Naylor
Linda Schaffner
Court Stevenson
Affiliation:
Louisiana State University -- School of the Coast and Environment -- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences
East Carolina University -- Biology Department
University of Maryland -- Center for Environmental Sciences
Institute of Ecology A.C.
University of South Carolina -- Department of Biological Sciences
Louisiana State University -- School of the Coast and Environment -- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences
University of Exeter -- Department of Geography
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
University of Maryland -- Center for Environmental Science
Publisher:
Springer
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Notes

Abstract:
Climate impacts on coastal and estuarine systems take many forms and are dependent on the local conditions, including those set by humans. We use a biocomplexity framework to provide a perspective of the consequences of climate change for coastal wetland ecogeomorphology. We concentrate on three dimensions of climate change affects on ecogeomorphology: sea level rise, changes in storm frequency and intensity, and changes in freshwater, sediment, and nutrient inputs. While sea level rise, storms, sedimentation, and changing freshwater input can directly impact coastal and estuarine wetlands, biological processes can modify these physical impacts. Geomorphological changes to coastal and estuarine ecosystems can induce complex outcomes for the biota that are not themselves intuitively obvious because they are mediated by networks of biological interactions. Human impacts on wetlands occur at all scales. At the global scale, humans are altering climate at rapid rates compared to the historical and recent geological record. Climate change can disrupt ecological systems if it occurs at characteristic time scales shorter than ecological system response and causes alterations in ecological function that foster changes in structure or alter functional interactions. Many coastal wetlands can adjust to predicted climate change, but human impacts, in combination with climate change, will significantly affect coastal wetland ecosystems. Management for climate change must strike a balance between that which allows pulsing of materials and energy to the ecosystems and promotes ecosystem goods and services, while protecting human structures and activities. Science-based management depends on a multi-scale understanding of these biocomplex wetland systems. Causation is often associated with multiple factors, considerable variability, feedbacks, and interferences. The impacts of climate change can be detected through monitoring and assessment of historical or geological records. Attribution can be inferred through these in conjunction with experimentation and modeling. A significant challenge to allow wise management of coastal wetlands is to develop observing systems that act at appropriate scales to detect global climate change and its effects in the context of the various local and smaller scale effects.

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Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
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