| Title | Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific Coast tidal marshes |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2017 |
| Authors | Janousek, Christopher N., Kevin J. Buffington, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, and John Y. Takekawa |
| Secondary Title | Ecosystems |
| Volume | 20 |
| Pagination | p.1296-1310 |
| Call Number | OSU Libraries: Electronic Subscription |
| Keywords | Coos Bay, Siletz Bay, Nisqually (Wa.), Tufted harigrass = Deschampsia cespitosa, Saltgrass = Distichlis spicate, Pacific pickleweed = Salicornia pacifica, wetland vegetation, climate, sea levels |
| Notes | Tidal wetlands efficiently store a significant amount of the world’s carbon. Rising sea levels will change this process. This article investigates the nature of carbon storage in wetlands as sea levels rise. The authors conducted inundation experiments and studied vegetation variation in Pacific Coast marshes. “Our data suggest that elevation gradients and vegetation structure in tidal marshes both affect rates of litter decay, potentially leading to complex spatial patterns in sediment carbon dynamics. Climate change may thus have direct effects on rates of decomposition through increased inundation from sea-level rise and indirect effects through changing plant community dynamics” (from the Abstract). There is a dataset associated with this article, "Decomposition of plant litter in Pacific coast tidal marshes, 2014-2015." It may be found at: http://doi.org/10.5066/F70P0X6C . |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10021-017-0111-6 |
| Series Title | Ecosystems |
