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Coastal wetlands in the Anthropocene

October 1, 2024

We review the functioning and sustainability of coastal marshes and mangroves. Urbanized humans have a 7,000-year-old enduring relationship to coastal wetlands. Wetlands include marshes, salt flats, and saline and freshwater forests. Coastal wetlands occur in all climate zones but are most abundant in deltas. Mangroves are tropical, whereas marshes occur from tropical to boreal areas. Quantification of coastal wetland areas has advanced in recent years but is still insufficiently accurate. Climate change and sea-level rise are predicted to lead to significant wetland losses and other impacts on coastal wetlands and the humans associated with them. Landward migration and coastal retreat are not expected to significantly reduce coastal wetland losses. Nitrogen watershed inputs are unlikely to alter coastal marsh stability because watershed loadings are mostly significantly lower than those in fertilization studies that show decreased belowground biomass and increased decomposition of soil organic matter. Blue carbon is not expected to significantly reduce climate impacts. The high values of ecosystem goods and services of wetlands are expected to be reduced by area losses. Humans have had strong impacts on coastal wetlands in the Holocene, and these impacts are expected to increase in the Anthropocene.

Publication Year 2024
Title Coastal wetlands in the Anthropocene
DOI 10.1146/annurev-environ-121922-041109
Authors John W. Day, Edward Anthony, Robert Costanza, Douglas Edmonds, Joel Gunn, Charles Hopkinson, Michael E. Mann, James Morris, Michael Osland, Tracy Quirk, Andre S. Rovai, John M Rybczyk, Thomas Spencer, Jessica Stephens, Jaia Syvitski, Robert R. Twilley, Jenneke Visser, John R. White
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Index ID 70259813
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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