Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems—marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—that may be lost with habitat destruction (‘conversion’). Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this ‘blue...
Report on CICEET grant research in coordination with Laura Brophy, Marine Resource Management Program, OSU-COAS September 2009 - June 2011.
Tidal wetlands are a powerful carbon sink. They can sequester an order of magnitude
more carbon than any other type of wetland system, and emit only negligible amounts
of methane...
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parasitoid interactions. Ecology Letters 8.
Brigham, S.D., J.P. Megonigal, J.K. Keller, N.P. Bliss, and C
Coastal wetland plants are adapted to varying degrees of inundation. However, functional relationships between inundation and productivity are poorly characterized for most species. Determining species-specific tolerances to inundation is necessary to evaluate sea-level rise (SLR) effects on future marsh plant community composition, quantify organic matter inputs to marsh accretion, and...
Coastal wetland plants are adapted to varying degrees of inundation. However, functional relationships between inundation and productivity are poorly characterized for most species. Determining species-specific tolerances to inundation is necessary to evaluate sea-level rise (SLR) effects on future marsh plant community composition, quantify organic matter inputs to marsh accretion, and...
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term (Kirwan & Megonigal 2013).
The present study determined how productivity in
5 common marsh
Understanding the processes controlling organic matter (OM) stocks in upland soils, and the ability to management them, is crucial for maintaining soil fertility and carbon (C) storage as well as projecting change with time. OM inputs are balanced by the mineralization (oxidation) rate, with the difference determining whether the system...
Between 2007 and 2009, researchers from Green Point Consulting, Oregon State University, and the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve collected data on ecological and physical characteristics at five high-quality “least disturbed” tidal wetland sites in four Oregon estuaries.
The reference sites included in this project are (1) Blind Slough...
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Division of State Lands,
Salem, Oregon.
Hines, J., J. P. Megonigal, and R. F. Denno. 2006. Nutrient
A substantial fraction of estuarine tidal wetlands have been lost to development or other human uses in the Pacific Northwest since the 1800s. Wetland restoration, typically through tidal re-connection, can restore normal tidal hydrology to these areas and improve estuarine capacity to support ecosystem functions and services. Restoration may initiate...
Tidal marshes are dynamic ecosystems that are threatened by climate change and sea-level rise. To characterize baseline condition and historic climate sensitivities, and improve projections into the future, new methods are required that integrate data from the field and remote sensing platforms. Marsh elevation response models can be calibrated with...
Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) and Agency Lake in south-central Oregon are hypereutrophic due to phosphorus (P) loading from both geologic and agricultural sources in the watershed. Restoring historic lake-fringe wetlands to provide P sinks around the lakes has been accepted as a favorable means of reducing lake P levels and...
Soils have a critical role in global carbon (C) cycling, containing one of the largest fast-cycling carbon stocks on earth. Robust representation of soil organic matter dynamics in Earth System Models is critical for future climate prediction. Current C cycling models assume that all C cycling in non-hydric (i.e. ‘upland’)...