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Nov 15, 2016 - Serena Moseman-Valtierra,1,† Omar I. Abdul-Aziz,2,3 Jianwu Tang,4 Khandker S. Ishtiaq, ..... (Los Gatos Research, Mountain View, California,.
Carbon dioxide fluxes reflect plant zonation and belowground biomass in a coastal marsh Serena Moseman-Valtierra,1,† Omar I. Abdul-Aziz,2,3 Jianwu Tang,4 Khandker S. Ishtiaq,2 Kate Morkeski,4 Jordan Mora,5 Ryan K. Quinn,1 Rose M. Martin,1,6 Katharine Egan,1 Elizabeth Q. Brannon,1 Joanna Carey,4 and Kevin D. Kroeger7 1Department

of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 120 Flagg Road, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 USA of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, PO Box 6103, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 USA 3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33174 USA 4The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA 5Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 131 Waquoit Highway, Waquoit, Massachusetts 02536 USA 6Atlantic Ecology Division, Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882 USA 7Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA 2Department

Citation: Moseman-Valtierra, S., O. I. Abdul-Aziz, J. Tang, K. S. Ishtiaq, K. Morkeski, J. Mora, R. K. Quinn, R. M. Martin, K. Egan, E. Q. Brannon, J. Carey, and K. D. Kroeger. 2016. Carbon dioxide fluxes reflect plant zonation and belowground biomass in a coastal marsh. Ecosphere 7(11):e01560. 10.1002/ecs2.1560

Abstract. Coastal wetlands are major global carbon sinks; however, they are heterogeneous and dynamic

ecosystems. To characterize spatial and temporal variability in a New England salt marsh, greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were compared among major plant-­defined zones during growing seasons. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes were compared in two mensurative experiments during summer months (2012–2014) that included low marsh (Spartina alterniflora), high marsh (Distichlis spicata and Juncus gerardii-­ dominated), invasive Phragmites australis zones, and unvegetated ponds. Day-­ and nighttime fluxes were also contrasted in the native marsh zones. N2O fluxes were measured in parallel with CO2 and CH4 fluxes, but were not found to be significant. To test the relationships of CO2 and CH4 fluxes with several native plant metrics, a multivariate nonlinear model was used. Invasive P. australis zones (−7 to −15 μmol CO2·m−2·s−1) and S. alterniflora low marsh zones (up to −14 μmol CO2·m−2·s−1) displayed highest average CO2 ­uptake rates, while those in the native high marsh zone (less than −2  μmol  CO2·m−2·s−1) were much lower. ­Unvegetated ponds were typically small sources of CO2 to the atmosphere (