The Impact of Sea Embankment Reclamation on Greenhouse Gas GHG Fluxes and Stocks in Invasive Spartina alterniflora and Native Phragmites australis Wetland Marshes of East China

Jian Li, Zhanrui Leng, Yueming Wu, Guanlin Li, Guangqian Ren, Guirong Wu, Yongcan Jiang, Taitiya Kenneth Yuguda and Daolin Du
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Jian Li: Key Laboratory of Original Agro-Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control/ Agro-Environment and Agro-Product Safety, Agro-Environment Protection Institution, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Zhanrui Leng: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yueming Wu: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Guanlin Li: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Guangqian Ren: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Guirong Wu: College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hezhou University, Hezhou 542899, China
Yongcan Jiang: PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation Ltd., Hangzhou 311122, China
Taitiya Kenneth Yuguda: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Daolin Du: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: The introduction of embankment seawalls to limit the expansion of the exotic C 4 perennial grass Spartina alteniflora Loisel in eastern China’s coastal wetlands has more than doubled in the past decades. Previous research focused on the impact of sea embankment reclamation on the soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks in salt marshes, whereas no study attempted to assess the impact of sea embankment reclamation on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in such marshes. Here we examined the impact of sea embankment reclamation on GHG stocks and fluxes of an invasive Spartina alterniflora and native Phragmites australis dominated salt marsh in the Dongtai wetlands of China’s Jiangsu province. Sea embankment reclamation significantly decreased soil total organic C by 54.0% and total organic N by 73.2%, decreasing plant biomass, soil moisture, and soil salinity in both plants’ marsh. It increased CO 2 emissions by 38.2% and 13.5%, and reduced CH 4 emissions by 34.5% and 37.1%, respectively, in the Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis marshes. The coastal embankment wall also significantly increased N 2 O emission by 48.9% in the Phragmites australis salt marsh and reduced emissions by 17.2% in the Spartina alterniflora marsh. The fluxes of methane CH 4 and carbon dioxide CO 2 were similar in both restored and unrestored sections, whereas the fluxes of nitrous oxide N 2 O were substantially different owing to increased nitrate as a result of N-loading. Our findings show that sea embankment reclamation significantly alters coastal marsh potential to sequester C and N, particularly in native Phragmites australis salt marshes. As a result, sea embankment reclamation essentially weakens native and invasive saltmarshes’ C and N sinks, potentially depleting C and N sinks in coastal China’s wetlands. Stakeholders and policymakers can utilize this scientific evidence to strike a balance between seawall reclamation and invasive plant expansion in coastal wetlands.

Keywords: coastal wetlands; wetland reclamation; seawalls; invasive species; salt marsh; alien plant invasion; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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