The Protective Role of Coastal Marshes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Saltmarshes lie between many human communities and the coast and have been presumed to protect these communities from coastal hazards by providing important ecosystem services. However, previous characterizations of these ecosystem services have typically been based on a small number of historical studies, and the consistency and extent to which marshes provide these services has not been investigated. Here, we review the current evidence for the specific processes of wave attenuation, shoreline stabilization and floodwater attenuation to determine if and under what conditions salt marshes offer these coastal protection services.
Related Resources
Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems
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 (R[...]Type: External-link
Accelerating Loss of Seagrasses Across the Globe Threatens Coastal Ecosystems
Coastal ecosystems and the services they provide are adversely affected by a wide variety of human activities. In particular, seagrass meadows are negatively affected by impacts accruing from the bill[...]Type: External-link
Global Mangrove Deforestation and Its Interacting Social-Ecological Drivers: A Systematic Review and Synthesis
Globally, mangrove forests are substantially declining, and a globally synthesized database containing the drivers of deforestation and drivers’ interactions is scarce. Here, we synthesized the key [...]Type: External-link
Long Distance Biotic Dispersal of Tropical Seagrass Seeds by Marine Mega-herbivores
Terrestrial plants use an array of animals as vectors for dispersal, however little is known of biotic dispersal of marine angiosperms such as seagrasses. This study in the Great Barrier Reef confirms[...]Type: External-link
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Coastal Wetlands: A review of their occurrences, toxic effects, and biogeochemical cycling
Coastal wetlands, such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes, are highly threatened by increasing anthropic pressures, including chemical pollution. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have a[...]Type: External-link