Responses of eastern Chinese coastal salt marshes to sea-level rise combined with vegetative and sedimentary processes.

ABSTRACT: The impacts of sea-level rise (SLR) on coastal ecosystems have attracted worldwide attention in relation to global change. In this study, the salt marsh model for the Yangtze Estuary (SMM-YE, developed in China) and the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM, developed in the U.S.) were used to simulate the effects of SLR on the coastal salt marshes in eastern China. The changes in the dominant species in the plant community were also considered. Predictions based on the SLAMM indicated a trend of habitat degradation up to 2100; total salt marsh habitat area continued to decline (4-16%) based on the low-level scenario, with greater losses (6-25%) predicted under the high-level scenario. The SMM-YE showed that the salt marshes could be resilient to threats of SLR through the processes of

SUBMITTER: Ge ZM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4917823 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature