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Coastal wetlands play an important role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations and contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. However, climate change, reclamation, and restoration have been causing substantial changes in coastal wetland areas and carbon exchange in China during recent decades. Here we compiled a carbon flux database consisting of 15 coastal wetland sites to assess the magnitude, patterns, and drivers of carbon fluxes and to compare fluxes among contrasting natural, disturbed, and restored wetlands. The natural coastal wetlands have the average net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 (NEE) of -577 g C m -2  year -1 , with -821 g C m -2  year -1 for mangrove forests and -430 g C m -2  year -1 for salt marshes. There are pronounced latitudinal patterns for carbon dioxide exchange of natural coastal wetlands: NEE increased whereas gross primary production (GPP) and respiration of ecosystem decreased with increasing latitude. Distinct environmental factors drive annual variations of GPP between mangroves and salt marshes; temperature was the dominant controlling factor in salt marshes, while temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation were co-dominant in mangroves. Meanwhile, both anthropogenic reclamation and restoration had substantial effects on coastal wetland carbon fluxes, and the effect of the anthropogenic perturbation in mangroves was more extensive than that in salt marshes. Furthermore, from 1980 to 2020, anthropogenic reclamation of China's coastal wetlands caused a carbon loss of ~3720 Gg C, while the mangrove restoration project during the period of 2021-2025 may switch restored coastal wetlands from a carbon source to carbon sink with a net carbon gain of 73 Gg C. The comparison of carbon fluxes among these coastal wetlands can improve our understanding of how anthropogenic perturbation can affect the potentials of coastal blue carbon in China, which has implications for informing conservation and restoration strategies and efforts of coastal wetlands., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Wetlands play an important role in regulating the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations and thus affecting the climate. However, there is still lack of quantitative evaluation of such a role across different wetland types, especially at the global scale. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare ecosystem CO 2 fluxes among various types of wetlands using a global database compiled from the literature. This database consists of 143 site-years of eddy covariance data from 22 inland wetland and 21 coastal wetland sites across the globe. Coastal wetlands had higher annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R e ), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) than inland wetlands. On a per unit area basis, coastal wetlands provided large CO 2 sinks, while inland wetlands provided small CO 2 sinks or were nearly CO 2 neutral. The annual CO 2 sink strength was 93.15 and 208.37 g C m -2 for inland and coastal wetlands, respectively. Annual CO 2 fluxes were mainly regulated by mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). For coastal and inland wetlands combined, MAT and MAP explained 71%, 54%, and 57% of the variations in GPP, R e , and NEP, respectively. The CO 2 fluxes of wetlands were also related to leaf area index (LAI). The CO 2 fluxes also varied with water table depth (WTD), although the effects of WTD were not statistically significant. NEP was jointly determined by GPP and R e for both inland and coastal wetlands. However, the NEP/R e and NEP/GPP ratios exhibited little variability for inland wetlands and decreased for coastal wetlands with increasing latitude. The contrasting of CO 2 fluxes between inland and coastal wetlands globally can improve our understanding of the roles of wetlands in the global C cycle. Our results also have implications for informing wetland management and climate change policymaking, for example, the efforts being made by international organizations and enterprises to restore coastal wetlands for enhancing blue carbon sinks., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Both plant invasion and nitrogen (N) enrichment should have significant impact on mangrove ecosystems in coastal regions around the world. However, how N2O efflux in mangrove wetlands responds to these environmental changes has not been well studied. Here, we conducted a mesocosm experiment with native mangrove species Kandelia obovata, invasive salt marsh species Spartina alterniflora, and their mixture in a simulated tide rotation system with or without nitrogen addition. In the treatments without N addition, the N2O effluxes were relatively low and there were no significant variations among the three vegetation types. A pulse loading of exogenous ammonium nitrogen increased N2O effluxes from soils but the stimulatory effect gradually diminished over time, suggesting that frequent measurements are necessary to accurately understand the behavior of N-induced response of N2O emissions. With the N addition, the N2O effluxes from the invasive S. alterniflora were lower than that from native K. obovata mesocosms. This result may be attributed to higher growth of S. alterniflora consuming most of the available nitrogen in soils, and thus inhibiting N2O production. We concluded that N loading significantly increased N2O effluxes, while the invasion of S. alterniflora reduced N2O effluxes response to N loading in this simulated mangrove ecosystem. Thus, both plant invasion and excessive N loading can co-regulate soil N2O emissions from mangrove wetlands, which should be considered when projecting future N2O effluxes from this type of coastal wetland.

The eddy flux data with field records of tidal water inundation depths of the year 2010 from two mangroves forests in southern China were analyzed to investigate the tidal effect on mangrove carbon cycle. We compared the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and its responses to light and temperature, respectively, between spring tide and neap tide inundation periods. For the most time of the year 2010, higher daytime NEE values were found during spring tides than during neap tides at both study sites. Regression analysis of daytime NEE to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) using the Landsberg model showed increased sensitivity of NEE to PAR with higher maximum photosynthetic rate during spring tides than neap tides. In contrast, the light compensation points acquired from the regression function of the Landsberg model were smaller during spring tides than neap tides in most months. The dependence of nighttime NEE on soil temperature was lower under spring tide than under neap tides. All these results above indicated that ecosystem carbon uptake rates of mangrove forests were strengthened, while ecosystem respirations were inhibited during spring tides in comparison with those during neap tides, which needs to be considered in modeling mangrove ecosystem carbon cycle under future sea level rise scenarios.

Floodplain wetlands are among the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth, featuring high biodiversity and productivity. They are also sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances and are globally threatened. Understanding how flow regime drives the spatiotemporal dynamics of wetland habitats is fundamental to effective conservation practices. In this study, using Landsat imagery and the random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm, we mapped the winter distribution of four wetland habitats (i.e., Carex meadow, reedbed, mudflat, and shallow water) in East Dongting Lake, a Ramsar wetland in the middle to lower Yangtze Basin of China, for 34 years (1988–2021). The dynamics of wetland habitats were explored through pixel-by-pixel comparisons. Further, the response of wetland habitats to flow regime variations was investigated using generalized additive mixed models (GAMM). Our results demonstrated the constant expansion of reedbeds and shrinkage of mudflats, and that there were three processes contributing to the reduction in mudflat: (1) permanent replacement by reedbed; (2) irreversible loss to water; and (3) transitional swapping with Carex meadow. These changes in the relative extent of wetland habitats may degrade the conservation function of the Ramsar wetland. Moreover, the duration of the dry season and the date of water level withdrawal were identified as the key flow regime parameters shaping the size of wetland habitats. However, different wetland vegetation showed distinct responses to variations in flow regime: while Carex meadow increased with earlier water withdrawal and a longer dry season, reedbed continuously expanded independent of the flow regime corresponding to the increase in winter rainfall. Our findings suggested that flow regime acts in concert with other factors, such as climate change and sand mining in river channels, driving wetland habitat transition in a floodplain landscape. Therefore, effective conservation can only be achieved through diverse restoration strategies addressing all drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands play an important role in regulating the atmospheric carbon dioxide ( CO2) concentrations and thus affecting the climate. However, there is still lack of quantitative evaluation of such a role across different wetland types, especially at the global scale. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare ecosystem CO2 fluxes among various types of wetlands using a global database compiled from the literature. This database consists of 143 site-years of eddy covariance data from 22 inland wetland and 21 coastal wetland sites across the globe. Coastal wetlands had higher annual gross primary productivity ( GPP), ecosystem respiration ( Re), and net ecosystem productivity ( NEP) than inland wetlands. On a per unit area basis, coastal wetlands provided large CO2 sinks, while inland wetlands provided small CO2 sinks or were nearly CO2 neutral. The annual CO2 sink strength was 93.15 and 208.37 g C m−2 for inland and coastal wetlands, respectively. Annual CO2 fluxes were mainly regulated by mean annual temperature ( MAT) and mean annual precipitation ( MAP). For coastal and inland wetlands combined, MAT and MAP explained 71%, 54%, and 57% of the variations in GPP, Re, and NEP, respectively. The CO2 fluxes of wetlands were also related to leaf area index ( LAI). The CO2 fluxes also varied with water table depth ( WTD), although the effects of WTD were not statistically significant. NEP was jointly determined by GPP and Re for both inland and coastal wetlands. However, the NEP/ Re and NEP/ GPP ratios exhibited little variability for inland wetlands and decreased for coastal wetlands with increasing latitude. The contrasting of CO2 fluxes between inland and coastal wetlands globally can improve our understanding of the roles of wetlands in the global C cycle. Our results also have implications for informing wetland management and climate change policymaking, for example, the efforts being made by international organizations and enterprises to restore coastal wetlands for enhancing blue carbon sinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal wetland ecosystems, one of the most important ecosystems in the world, play an important role in regulating climate, sequestering blue carbon, and maintaining sustainable development of coastal zones. Wetland landscapes are notoriously difficult to map with satellite data, particularly in highly complex, dynamic coastal regions. The Liao River Estuary (LRE) wetland in Liaoning Province, China, has attracted major attention due to its status as Asia's largest coastal wetland, with extensive Phragmites australis (reeds), Suaeda heteroptera (seepweed, red beach), and other natural resources that have been continuously encroached upon by anthropogenic land-use activities. Using the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) algorithm and all available Landsat images, we mapped the spatial–temporal changes of LRE coastal wetlands (e.g., seepweed, reed, tidal flats, and shallow marine water) annually from 1986 to 2018 and analyzed the changes and driving forces. Results showed that the total area of coastal wetlands in the LRE shrank by 14.8% during the study period. The tidal flats were the most seriously affected type, with 45.7% of its total area lost. One of the main characteristics of wetland change was the concurrent disappearance and emergence of wetlands in different parts of the LRE, creating drastically different mixtures of wetland quality (e.g., wetland age composition) in addition to area change. The reduction and replacement/translocation of coastal wetlands were mainly caused by human activities related to urbanization, tourism, land reclamation, and expansion of aquaculture ponds. Our efforts in mapping annual changes of wetlands provide direct, specific, and spatially explicit information on rates, patterns, and causes of coastal wetland change, both in coverage and quality, so as to contribute to the effective plans and policies for coastal management, preservation, and restoration of coastal ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangrove wetlands and terrestrial forests are considered as important carbon sinks for alleviating climate changes, but the sequestration processes and regulations of climate factors on controlling the variability of carbon fluxes of these ecosystems may differ. In order to compare the different mechanisms of carbon sequestration in mangrove and terrestrial forest ecosystems, we analyzed ecosystem CO 2 flux data measured by eddy covariance (EC) technique from four forests ecosystems in subtropical China: two mangrove wetlands and two terrestrial forests. Our results showed that the mangrove wetlands could sequester much more carbon than the nearby terrestrial forests because of significantly higher gross ecosystem production (GEP) and lower ecosystem respiration (Re) values. Moreover, our analysis of the responses of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) to photosynthetically active radiation showed that the mangrove wetlands had lower light compensation point but higher maximum photosynthesis rates than the terrestrial forests. Furthermore, the relationships between Re and air temperature (T air ) showed the ecosystem respiration rate (Re ref ) at 20 °C values were lower but that the temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) values were higher in the mangrove wetlands than in the terrestrial forests, which might be caused by tides in the mangrove ecosystems. In addition, the relationships between the logarithmic values of soil organic carbon ln(SOC) and δ 13 C indicated that SOC decomposition rates were lower in mangrove forests than in terrestrial forests, which thus led to lower Re values compared to terrestrial forests. Our results imply that mangrove forests can sequester more CO 2 from the atmosphere than nearby terrestrial forests due to relatively higher GEP and lower Re values. Moreover, the regulation of ecosystem carbon exchange by tides in mangrove wetlands should be investigated in more detail in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]