UPE Seminar | Emily Ury, Biology PhD Student | Ecosystem Consequences of Sea Level Rise and Salinization in North Carolina’s Coastal Wetlands

Abstract: Climate change driven sea level rise is leading to the salinization of freshwater wetlands around the world. Salinization affects important wetland function, such as nutrient retention and carbon sequestration, and impacts wildlife habitat and the important biodiversity of wetland ecosystems. However, the rate and extent of these impacts on wetland function is highly uncertain. This presentation investigates the ecosystem consequences of saltwater intrusion in coastal wetlands, from shifting vegetation at the landscape scale to soil biogeochemistry and wetland carbon cycling. In this presentation, I evaluate the temporal and spatial drivers of forest loss and the prevalence of ghost forests in our state's largest coastal protected area. I also examine the consequences of salinization on wetland carbon cycling, focusing on resolving prior findings of divergent carbon flux responses from salt exposed wetlands soils.