An integrative salt marsh conceptual framework for global comparisons

Yando, Erik S.; Jones, Scott F.; James, W. Ryan; Colombano, Denise D.; Montemayor, Diana I.; Nolte, Stefanie; Raw, Jacqueline L.; Ziegler, Shelby L.; Chen, Luzhen; Daffonchio, Daniele; Fusi, Marco; Rogers, Kerrylee; Sergienko, Liudmila

Abstract

Salt marshes occur globally across climatic and coastal settings, providing key linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, salt marsh science lacks a unifying conceptual framework; consequently, historically well-studied locations have been used as normative benchmarks. To allow for more effective comparisons across the diversity of salt marshes, we developed an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework. We review ecosystem-relevant drivers from global to local spatial scales, integrate these multi-scale settings into a framework, and provide guidance on applying the framework using specific variables on 11 global examples. Overall, this framework allows for appropriate comparison of study sites by accounting for global, coastal, inter-, and intra-system spatial settings unique to each salt marsh. We anticipate that incorporating this framework into salt marsh science will provide a mechanism to critically evaluate research questions and a foundation for effective quantitative studies that deepen our understanding of salt marsh function across spatial scales.

Citation

Yando, E. S., Jones, S. F., James, W. R., Colombano, D. D., Montemayor, D. I., Nolte, S., Raw, J. L., Ziegler, S. L., Chen, L., Daffonchio, D., Fusi, M., Rogers, K., & Sergienko, L. (2023). An integrative salt marsh conceptual framework for global comparisons. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 8(6), 830-849. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10346

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 15, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-12
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Journal: Limnology and Oceanography Letters
• Print ISSN: 2378-2242
• Electronic ISSN: 2378-2242
• Publisher: Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 830-849
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10346
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3148965