Explanipedia

Current methods overestimate coastal blue carbon potential Open

Erin K. Peck, Serina S. Wittyngham, Alexander Smith, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2025

Blue carbon ecosystems buffer climate change via sediment carbon capture, gaining elevation and mitigating sea level rise in the process. Carbon sequestration and accretion estimates share a common methodology, whereby dry masses are conve…

Modeling the mechanisms of coastal vegetation dynamics and ecosystem responses to changing water levels Open

Junyan Ding, Matthew L. Kirwan, J. Patrick Megonigal, Kendalynn A. Morris, Teri O’Meara , et al. · 2025

Coastal forests are increasingly experiencing mortality due to inundation by fresh- and seawater, leading to their replacement by marshes. These shifts alter vegetation composition, biogeochemical cycling, carbon storage, and hydrology. Us…

Defending Saltwater Intrusion: The Freshwater Pushback Open

Xun Cai, Qubin Qin, Jian Shen, Holly A. Michael, Matthew L. Kirwan , et al. · 2025

Saltwater Intrusion (SWI) threatens freshwater availability, agriculture, and ecosystem resilience in coastal regions. While sea-level rise (SLR) is a known driver of long-term salinization, the counteracting role of freshwater discharge r…

Drivers of Elevation Change in a Retreating Coastal Forest Open

Tyler C. Messerschmidt, Keryn B. Gedan, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2025

The future of coastal marshes depends in part on their ability to migrate inland with sea level rise into coastal forests, but projections of land conversion commonly assume that migration occurs over a static terrestrial topography. Here,…

Supplementary material to "Carbon sequestration along a gradient of tidal marsh degradation in response to sea level rise" Open

Mona Huyzentruyt, Maarten Wens, Gregory S. Fivash, David C. Walters, Steven Bouillon , et al. · 2025

Safeguarding global terrestrial vertebrate species from future sea-level rise Open

Liang Ma, Zhong‐Wen Jiang, H. B. Xiao, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Yiwen Zeng , et al. · 2025

Climate-driven sea-level rise (SLR) poses growing threats to terrestrial ecosystems. Despite its far-reaching ramifications for global biodiversity, our understanding of when, where, and which species will be most affected by SLR remains l…

Marsh Migration into Forests and Farms: Effects on Soil Biogeochemistry Along the Salinity Gradients Open

Sean Fettrow, Ashleigh Montgomery, Dannielle Pratt, Holly A. Michael, Matthew L. Kirwan , et al. · 2025

Ecosystem structure and salinity thresholds in retreating coastal forests along the Mid-Atlantic, USA Open

Amy K. Langston, Alexander Smith, Keryn B. Gedan, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2025

Supplementary material to "Modeling the mechanisms of coastal vegetation dynamics and ecosystem responses to changing water levels" Open

Junyan Ding, Nate G. McDowell, Vanessa Bailey, Nathan Conroy, Donnie Day , et al. · 2025

Blue nitrogen follows the fate of tidal wetlands Open

J. Adam Langley, Samantha Chapman, Le Wang, Tania L. Maxwell, Patricio Rivera , et al. · 2025

Tidal wetlands are hotspots of soil accumulation due to high sedimentation rates and low soil oxygen concentrations that inhibit organic matter decomposition1. Accordingly, tidal wetlands can sequester “blue carbon” at much higher rates th…

Author Correction: Oxygen priming induced by elevated CO2 reduces carbon accumulation and methane emissions in coastal wetlands Open

Genevieve L. Noyce, Alexander Smith, Matthew L. Kirwan, Roy Rich, J. Patrick Megonigal · 2024

Early detection of invasive Phragmites australis at the tidal marsh-forest ecotone with airborne LiDAR Open

Biao Xiong, Siyuan Han, Tyler C. Messerschmidt, Matthew L. Kirwan, Keryn B. Gedan , et al. · 2024

Wetlands across North America are invaded by an introduced lineage of the common reed Phragmites australis, and sea level rise has exacerbated the spread of this species. P. australis at tidal marsh-forest ecotones has rapidly been expandi…

Feedbacks Regulating the Salinization of Coastal Landscapes Open

Matthew L. Kirwan, Holly A. Michael, Keryn B. Gedan, Katherine L. Tully, Sergio Fagherazzi , et al. · 2024

The impact of saltwater intrusion on coastal forests and farmland is typically understood as sea-level-driven inundation of a static terrestrial landscape, where ecosystems neither adapt to nor influence saltwater intrusion. Yet recent obs…

Author Correction: Geomorphic and ecological constraints on the coastal carbon sink Open

Matthew L. Kirwan, J. Patrick Megonigal, Genevieve L. Noyce, Alexander Smith · 2024

Hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological linkages at the land-sea margin: Insights from a coastal critical zone network Open

Holly A. Michael, Dannielle Pratt, Yu‐Ping Chin, Sergio Fagherazzi, Keryn B. Gedan , et al. · 2024

Ghost forests and abandoned farms are stark indicators of ecological change along world coastlines, caused by sea level rise (SLR). These changes adversely affect terrestrial ecosystems and economies, but expanding coastal marshes resultin…

Early Detection of Invasive Phragmites Australis at the Tidal Marsh-Forest Ecotone with Airborne Lidar Open

Biao Xiong, Siyuan Han, Tyler C. Messerschmidt, Matthew L. Kirwan, Keryn B. Gedan , et al. · 2024

Early Detection of Invasive Phragmites Australis at the Tidal Marsh-Forest Ecotone with Airborne Lidar Open

Biao Xiong, Siyuan Han, Tyler C. Messerschmidt, Matthew L. Kirwan, Keryn B. Gedan , et al. · 2024

Correction to: Compensatory Mechanisms Absorb Regional Carbon Losses Within a Rapidly Shifting Coastal Mosaic Open

Alexander Smith, Karen J. McGlathery, Yaping Chen, Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Scott C. Doney , et al. · 2023

Biophysical Drivers of Coastal Treeline Elevation Open

Grace D. Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2023

Sea level rise is leading to the rapid migration of marshes into coastal forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. Although complex biophysical interactions likely govern these ecosystem transitions, projections of sea level driven land co…

Biogeochemistry of upland to wetland soils, sediments, and surface waters across Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes coastal interfaces Open

Allison Myers‐Pigg, Stephanie Pennington, Khadijah Homolka, Allison M. Lewis, Opal Otenburg , et al. · 2023

Marine Transgression in Modern Times Open

Christopher J. Hein, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2023

Marine transgression associated with rising sea levels causes coastal erosion, landscape transitions, and displacement of human populations globally. This process takes two general forms. Along open-ocean coasts, active transgression occur…

A keystone grazer drives saltmarsh carbon storage and recovery Open

Serina S. Wittyngham, David Samuel Johnson, Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2023

Ecogeomorphic theory predicts that plant-sediment feedbacks regulate carbon storage in coastal vegetated ecosystems. Yet, grazers, which remove plant biomass and alter sediment properties, remain an understudied driver of carbon cycling. W…

Marsh migration in the coastal critical zone: Drivers and impacts of hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological change Open

Holly A. Michael, Dannielle Pratt, Yu‐Ping Chin, Sergio Fagherazzi, Keryn B. Gedan , et al. · 2023

Ghost forests and abandoned farms are stark indicators of ecological change along world coastlines, caused by sea level rise (SLR). These changes adversely affect terrestrial ecosystems and economies, but expanding coastal marshes resultin…

EXCHANGE Campaign 1: A Community-Driven Baseline Characterization of Soils, Sediments, and Water Across Coastal Gradients Open

Stephanie Pennington, Silver Alford, Michael P. Back, Vanessa Bailey, Andy Baldwin , et al. · 2023

The EXploration of Coastal Hydrobiogeochemistry Across a Network of Gradients and Experiments (EXCHANGE) program is a consortium of scientists working together to improve our understanding of how the two-way exchange of water between estua…

Frequent Storm Surges Affect the Groundwater of Coastal Ecosystems Open

Giovanna Nordio, Ryan S. Frederiks, Mary Hingst, Joel A. Carr, Matthew L. Kirwan , et al. · 2022

Recent studies have focused on the effect of large tropical cyclones (hurricanes) on the shore, neglecting the role of less intense but more frequent events. Here we analyze the effect of the offshore tropical storm Melissa on groundwater …

A phenology- and trend-based approach for accurate mapping of sea-level driven coastal forest retreat Open

Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2022

Variability in marsh migration potential determined by topographic rather than anthropogenic constraints in the Chesapeake Bay region Open

Grace D. Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew L. Kirwan · 2022

Sea level rise (SLR) and saltwater intrusion are driving inland shifts in coastal ecosystems. Here, we make high‐resolution (1 m) predictions of land conversion under future SLR scenarios in 81 watersheds surrounding Chesapeake Bay, United…

Semi-diurnal vs. diurnal tides: implications for coastal wetland adaptability to sea level rise Open

Jean‐Philippe Belliard, Olivier Gourgue, Gérard Govers, Matthew L. Kirwan, Stijn Temmerman · 2022

<p>Relative sea level rise (RSLR) is widely regarded as a threat to highly valued coastal wetlands such as tidal marsh and mangrove ecosystems. In certain places around the world, coastal wetlands already show signs of submergence du…

Experimental Tree Mortality Does Not Induce Marsh Transgression in a Chesapeake Bay Low-Lying Coastal Forest Open

David C. Walters, Joel A. Carr, Alyssa C. Hockaday, Joshua Jones, E. R. McFarland , et al. · 2021

Transgression into adjacent uplands is an important global response of coastal wetlands to accelerated rates of sea level rise. “Ghost forests” mark a signature characteristic of marsh transgression on the landscape, as changes in tidal in…

Salinity reduces coastal marsh respiration more than photosynthesis Open

John S. Kominoski, Scott C. Neubauer, Ryan Bremen, Antonio Camacho, Alba Camacho‐Santamans , et al. · 2021

A paradigm in carbon cycling science predicts that sea-level rise will enhance carbon accumulation in an apparent negative carbon-climate feedback1,2. However, ecosystems exposed to combinations of stressors and subsidies – such as saltwat…

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