@article{97e26b450a9b46b49cd9fb260809aaf1,
title = "Coastal Forest Dieback in the Northeast USA: Potential Mechanisms and Management Responses",
abstract = "A number of studies have documented coastal forest dieback as a historical and ongoing process across the Northeast US region. To further develop a current understanding of the state of knowledge, review adaptation and response measures available to land managers, and to identify research and management needs, we conducted a literature review, interviewed experts, and convened a workshop bringing together scientists and land managers. A synthesis of the above suggests that the most important proximate mechanisms driving coastal forest dieback in the Northeast US are sea level rise-induced changes in the groundwater table in concert with increased saltwater inundation related to storm surges. What sets our conceptual model apart from prior work is the greater emphasis placed on the role of rising fresh groundwater levels in increasingly stressing the forest vegetation and decreasing regeneration potential. Episodic storm surges often exceed the salinity or saturation tolerances of existing trees leading to a wave of mortality that leaves the site inhospitable to subsequent regeneration. Maintaining functioning coastal forests across the Northeast US will require that the marsh and forest ecosystems be considered as an integrated unit when determining an appropriate adaptation response. With a better understanding of each of the sea level rise-induced mechanisms at work in these ecosystems, managers may be better prepared for the changes ahead and facilitate proactive adaptation strategies. Easements or buyouts are vital to ensure that there is ample space for the marsh and upland systems to migrate landward together. Forward thinking land use planning is needed to promote the “no net loss” of both marsh and coastal forest ecosystems to ensure the continued provision of their vital services to society.",
keywords = "climate adaptation, climate change, ghost forest, marsh migration, no net loss of coastal wetlands, rising groundwater table, saltwater intrusion, sea level rise, storm surge",
author = "Rachael Sacatelli and Marjorie Kaplan and Glen Carleton and Lathrop, {Richard G.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors are grateful for the support and guidance of the USDA-Northeast Climate Hub leadership including David Hollinger, and Erin Lane, as well as additional project support from Karrah Kwasnik, USDA-Northeast Climate Hub, Chris Miller, USDA NRCS; Steve McNulty and Nancy Gibson, USDA Southeast Climate Hub; and Cynthia West, USDA Forest Service. The graphic illustration of coastal forest dieback under rising sea levels () was designed by Karrah Kwasnik, USDA-Northeast Climate Hub. We would like to express our gratitude for the 6 experts interviewed whose identities are confidential. We wish to acknowledge all our colleagues from throughout both the Northeast region and the Southeast region, who generously participated in sharing their insights, as well as the convening in January 2020. We would specifically like to recognize the presenters at the January 2020 convening: Ken Able, Rutgers University; Rob Tunstead, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Jennifer Walker, Rutgers University; Keryn Gedan, George Washington University; Matthew Kirwan, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences; Matthew Hurd, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; LeeAnn Haaf, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; Matt Whitbeck, Blackwater Wildlife Refuge; Katie Spidalieri, Georgetown Climate Center; Stephen Smith, National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore; Kelly Collins, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Fawn McGee, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Debbie Herr Cornwell, Maryland Department of Planning; and Steve McNulty, USDA Southeast Climate Hub. For more information on the January 2020 meeting on Coastal Climate Change and Forest Impacts; Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Synthesis and Coordination Meeting including the presentations given, see the Rutgers Climate Institute website. Report reviewers who we would like to recognize include Ken Able, Rutgers University; Anthony Broccoli, Rutgers University; LeeAnn Haaf, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; Robert Kopp, Rutgers University; and Jennifer Walker, Rutgers University. We also want to express our thanks to six anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly helped to strengthen this manuscript. Funding Information: His work was conducted for the Northeast Climate Hub under United States Department of Agriculture, United States Forest Service Agreement 19-JV-11242306-054. This work was also sponsored by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative, which supports collaborative research that addresses coastal management problems important to the reserves. The Science Collaborative is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and managed by the University of Michigan Water Center (NA19NOS4190058). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by the authors.",
year = "2023",
month = apr,
doi = "https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086346",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "15",
journal = "Sustainability (Switzerland)",
issn = "2071-1050",
publisher = "MDPI AG",
number = "8",
}