Effect of Water Level and Salinity on the Growth of Annona Glabra L. Seedlings

Abstract During the last century the mean sea level has been increasing at a rate of 0.2 to 0.4 mm·year -1 , and that rate is expected to accelerate during this century. Coastal wetland ecosystems are sensitive to the potential changes and impacts of resulting from a rise in sea level. In the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, freshwater swamps are wetlands located further inland than mangroves, and while influenced by the tides maintain freshwater conditions. Due to their location, the rise in sea level could increase the levels of flooding and salinity in these ecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate, under greenhouse conditions, the effect of nine flood and salinity treatments on the survival, growth and increase in the biomass of Annona glabra (pond apple) seedlings. The treatments combined two factors: water level (saturation, flood, flood-drought) and salinity (0, 5 and 15 ‰). Germinated seedlings were used (average height: 18.6 ± 1.61 cm). Seedling survival was greater under freshwater conditions. Increase in height and diameter, as well as leaf and biomass gain, were greater under saturation and freshwater conditions. Based on our results, we conclude that under a scenario of rising sea level, increased flood levels and salinity will negatively affect the natural establishment of Annona glabra seedlings in freshwater swamps.

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Impact of Barrier Breaching on Wetland Ecosystems under the Influence of Storm Surge, Sea-Level Rise and Freshwater Discharge

Wetlands ◽

10.1007/s13157-019-01219-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 771-785 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiaorong Li ◽

Nicoletta Leonardi ◽

Andrew J. Plater

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

River Discharge ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Storm Surges ◽

Wetland Ecology ◽

Barrier Beach ◽

Wetland Ecosystems ◽

Wetland Habitats

Abstract Coastal wetland ecosystems and biodiversity are susceptible to changes in salinity brought about by the local effects of climate change, meteorological extremes, coastal evolution and human intervention. This study investigates changes in the salinity of surface water and the associated impacts on back-barrier wetlands as a result of breaching of a barrier beach and under the compound action of different surge heights, accelerated sea-level rise (SLR), river discharge and rainfall. We show that barrier breaching can have significant effects in terms of vegetation die-back even without the occurrence of large storm surges or in the absence of SLR, and that rainfall alone is unlikely to be sufficient to mitigate increased salinity due to direct tidal flushing. Results demonstrate that an increase in sea level corresponding to the RCP8.5 scenario for year 2100 causes a greater impact in terms of reedbed loss than storm surges up to 2 m with no SLR. In mitigation of the consequent changes in wetland ecology, regulation of relatively small and continuous river discharge can be regarded as a strategy for the management of coastal back-barrier wetland habitats and for the maintenance of brackish ecosystems. As such, this study provides a tool for scoping the potential impacts of storms, climate change and alternative management strategies on existing wetland habitats and species.

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The status and future of tidal marshes in New Jersey faced with sea level rise

Anthropocene Coasts ◽

10.1139/anc-2020-0020 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 168-192

Author(s):

Judith S. Weis ◽

Elizabeth Burke Watson ◽

Beth Ravit ◽

Charles Harman ◽

Metthea Yepsen

Keyword(s):

New Jersey ◽

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Salt Marshes ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Storm Surges ◽

Tidal Marshes ◽

Wetland Ecosystems ◽

Marsh Loss ◽

Migration Pathways

Salt marshes are key coastal ecosystems that provide habitats for wildlife, including invertebrates, fishes, and birds. They provide ecosystem services such as protection from storm surges and waves, attenuation of flooding, sequestration of pollutants (e.g., blue carbon), and nutrient removal. They are currently under great threat from sea level rise (SLR). We collected information about trends in the horizontal extent (acreage) of New Jersey salt marshes and recent elevation changes compared with the current local rate of SLR in New Jersey, which is between 5 and 6 mm year−1. We found pervasive, although variable, rates of marsh loss that resulted from both anthropogenic disturbance as well as edge erosion and interior ponding expected from SLR. Elevation trends suggest that the current rates of SLR exceed most marsh elevation gains, although some Phragmites-dominated marshes keep pace with SLR. Four potential remedies to address current coastal trends of marsh loss were described in the context of New Jersey’s regulatory and management environment: protection of marsh inland migration pathways, altered management of Phragmites, thin layer sediment placement, and living shoreline installations. Proactive steps are necessary if coastal wetland ecosystems are to be maintained over the next few decades.

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Spatial distribution of water level impact to back-barrier bays

10.5194/nhess-2018-320 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta ◽

Neil K. Ganju ◽

Zafer Defne ◽

Richard P. Signell

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

Sea Level ◽

Water Levels ◽

Analytical Models ◽

Barnegat Bay ◽

Sea Level Fluctuations ◽

Flooding Hazard ◽

Short Period ◽

Inlet Geometry ◽

Spatial Estimates

Abstract. Water level in semi-enclosed bays, landward of barrier islands, is mainly driven by offshore sea level fluctuations that are modulated by bay geometry and bathymetry, causing spatial variability in the ensuing response (transfer). Local wind setup can have a secondary role that depends on wind speed, fetch, and relative orientation of the wind direction and the bay. Inlet geometry and bathymetry primarily regulate the magnitude of the transfer between open ocean and bay. Tides and short-period offshore oscillations are more damped in the bays than longer-lasting offshore fluctuations, such as storm surge and sea level rise. We compare observed and modeled water levels at stations in a mid-Atlantic bay (Barnegat Bay) with offshore water level proxies. Observed water levels in Barnegat Bay are compared and combined with model results from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere–Wave–Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system to evaluate the spatial structure of the water level transfer. Analytical models based on the dimensional characteristics of the bay are used to combine the observed data and the numerical model results in a physically consistent approach. Model water level transfers match observed values at locations inside the Bay in the storm frequency band (transfers ranging from 70–100 %) and tidal frequencies (10–55 %). The contribution of frequency-dependent local setup caused by wind acting along the bay is also considered. The approach provides transfer estimates for locations inside the Bay where observations were not available resulting in a complete spatial characterization. The approach allows for the study of the Bay response to alternative forcing scenarios (landscape changes, future storms, and rising sea level). Detailed spatial estimates of water level transfer can inform decisions on inlet management and contribute to the assessment of current and future flooding hazard in back-barrier bays and along mainland shorelines.

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Spatio-Temporal Change of Land Use in a Coastal Reclamation Area: A Complex Network Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168690 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8690

Author(s):

Caiyao Xu ◽

Lijie Pu ◽

Fanbin Kong ◽

Bowei Li

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Complex Network ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Eastern China ◽

Wetland Ecosystems ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Coastal Reclamation ◽

Reclamation Area ◽

Spatio Temporal

Coastal ecological protection and restoration projects aimed to restore and recover the ecological environment of coastal wetland with high-intensity human reclamation activity, while the integrity of the coastal wetland system with human reclamation activity and the ability of individual land use types to control the overall system were not fully considered. In this study, a six-stage land use conversion network was constructed by using a complex network model to analyze coastal land use dynamic changes in the coastal reclamation area located in eastern China from 1977 to 2016. The results showed that land use types had gradually transformed from being dominated by natural types to artificial types, and the speed of transformation was accelerating. The proportion of un-reclaimed area decreased from 93% in 1977 to 46% in 2007, and finally fell to 8% in 2014 and 2016. Tidal flat and halophytic vegetation were the main output land use types, while cropland, woodland and aquaculture pond were the main input land use types. Cropland had the highest value of betweenness centrality, which played a key role in land use change from 1992 to 2014. The land use system of the coastal reclamation area was the most stable in 2002–2007, followed by 1984–1992, and the most unstable in 2007–2014. The Chinese and local government should carry out some measures to improve the land use in coastal wetland ecosystems, including the allocation and integration of land use for production space, living space, and ecological space, and develop multi-functionality of land use to realize the coastal high-quality development and coastal ecological protection and restoration.

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Mental health issues from rising sea level in a remote coastal region of the Solomon Islands: current and future

Australasian Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1039856215609767 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (6_suppl) ◽

pp. 22-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

James Asugeni ◽

David MacLaren ◽

Peter D Massey ◽

Rick Speare

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Sea Level ◽

Solomon Islands ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Health Issues ◽

Mental Health Issues ◽

Rising Sea Level

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Thermal Contraction, Land Bridges, and Geosynclines

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756800094425 ◽

1935 ◽

Vol 72 (8) ◽

pp. 377-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. R. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Specific Gravity ◽

Sea Level ◽

Surface Area ◽

Land Surface ◽

Average Height ◽

Thermal Contraction ◽

Geological History ◽

The Earth

Consideration of the continental areas over which the sea spread at various times during the course of geological history leads to the impression that perhaps every part of the land surface of the earth was, at one time or another, raised from a position below sea-level. The present land surface seems to have grown around ancient nuclei owing to the compression of the granitic, sedimentary, and other rocks of which the continental layers are composed. At certain times the compressive forces acted so strongly upon these rocks that the average height of the land reached maximum values, which might have been as great as 3,000 feet. Then denudation, and perhaps other processes, coming into operation and persisting through ages of comparative quiescence, lowered the surface, sometimes to minimum average levels, which might have been as low as 500 feet. There have been a few comparatively short periods of exceptionally high relief, separated by longer periods of low relief. Assuming that the land was raised by horizontal compression, the diminution in surface area of the earth necessary to produce a change in level of 2,500 feet would be very considerable. Instead of considering the change from a minimum average height of 500 feet to a maximum of 3,000 feet, it may be more convenient in the first place to consider the elevation of, say, the continental layers of Dr. H. Jeffreys from sea-level to the average height of the present land surface, that is about 2,500 feet, or 762 metres. It will be supposed, then, that the continental layers, as they now exist, were developed from layers consisting of 1 km. of sediments of specific gravity 2·4, 10 km. of granite of specific gravity 2·6, and 20 km. of tachylyte of specific gravity 2·9, the whole resting on dunite of specific gravity 3·3.

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The potential impacts of sea level rise on the coastal region of New Jersey, USA

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-008-9422-0 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 90 (4) ◽

pp. 475-492 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Matthew J. P. Cooper ◽

Michael D. Beevers ◽

Michael Oppenheimer

Keyword(s):

New Jersey ◽

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Coastal Region

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11. Mitigation of Wildlife Collision Mortality at Little Cataraqui Creek Wetland

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.9411 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Erin Keenan ◽

Jeffy Henderson ◽

Lauren Malo ◽

Diana Pedersen

Keyword(s):

Coastal Wetland ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Population Decline ◽

Urban Traffic ◽

Coastal Marsh ◽

Road Mortality ◽

Wetland Ecosystems ◽

Turtle Species ◽

Wetland Species ◽

Specific Species

Our research team is concerned with potential reptile and amphibian road mortality through Little Cataraqui Creek wetland along Front Rd. and Bath Rd. in Kingston, Ontario. The coastal marsh is a provincially significant wetland that supports species of migrating and breeding waterfowl, wetland dependent reptiles and amphibians, and may support some of Ontario’s threatened turtle species. The coastal wetland also provides a protected nesting area for a migrating species within Lake Ontario. Specific species of turtles, salamanders and frogs will be investigated. Our team will identify general breeding, nesting and migratory behavior patterns of associated wetland species, and establish potential indirect effects on the wetland ecosystem due to population decline. Traffic volume and speed limits of Front Rd. and Bath Rd. at Little Cataraqui Creek Wetland will be identified, and any current wildlife crossing systems in place will be evaluated. Based on this research, our team will establish the significance of wildlife road mortality within Little Cataraqui Creek Wetland at Front Rd. and Bath Rd., and propose suitable mitigation techniques. These techniques may include implementing structural design solutions such as road barriers, culverts, etc., as well as increasing public awareness of wildlife crossing on Bath Rd. and Front Rd. by proposing appropriate traffic laws in the area. Themes include wetland species breeding and nesting behavior, and urban/traffic development issues surrounding wetland ecosystems.

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