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Unraveling the Gordian Knot: Eight testable hypotheses on the effects of nutrient enrichment on tidal wetland sustainability
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Unraveling the Gordian Knot: Eight testable hypotheses on the effects of nutrient enrichment on tidal wetland sustainability

Thomas J. Mozdzer, Elizabeth Burke Watson, William H. Orem, Christopher M. Swarzenski and R. Eugene Turner
The Science of the total environment, v 743, 140420
15 Nov 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140420
PMID: 32758808
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140420View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0,  Open

Abstract

Anthropogenic Nitrogen Nutrients Phosphorus Salt marsh Wetlands
The position of tidal wetlands at the land-sea interface makes them especially vulnerable to the effects of nutrient discharges and sea level rise (SLR). Experimental studies of coastal wetland nutrient additions report conflicting results among and within habitats, highlighting the importance of site-specific factors, and how spatial and temporal scaling modulates responses. This suite of influences as SLR accelerates creates a “Gordian Knot” that may compromise coastal habitat integrity. We present eight testable hypotheses here to loosen this knot by identifying critical modulators about nutrient form, soil type and porosity, physiochemical gradients, and eco-evolutionary responses that may control the impacts of nutrient enrichment on coastal wetland sustainability: (1) the delivery and form of the nutrient shapes the ecosystem response; (2) soil type mediates the effects of nutrient enrichment on marshes; (3) belowground responses cannot be solely explained by phenotypic responses; (4) shifting zones of redox and salinity gradients modulate nutrient enrichment impacts; (5) eco-evolutionary processes can drive responses to nutrient availability; (6) nutrient enrichment leads to multiple changed ecosystem states; (7) biogeography trumps a plant's plastic responses to nutrient enrichment; and, (8) nutrient-enhanced wetlands are more susceptible to additional (and anticipated) anthropogenic changes. They provide a framework to investigate and integrate the urgently needed research to understand how excess nutrients threaten the sustainability of coastal wetlands, and wetlands in general. While there is no single ‘right way’ to test these hypotheses, including a combination of complex and simple, highly-replicated experiments is essential. [Display omitted] •Excess nutrients have often unclear influences on marsh sustainability.•Clarifying these influences is important in light of climate change.•Many factors modulate nutrient effects, forming a Gordian Knot.•Unraveling this Gordian Knot is important for sustaining coastal ecosystems.

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12 Record Views
17 citations in Web of Science
16 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#13 Climate Action
#14 Life Below Water

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
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