Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
1998
Abstract
Tidal freshwater marshes are hypothesized to export materials and energy that support primary and secondary production in estuaries, yet there are few data available to test this hypothesis. A major objective of our study was to measure net exchange of carbon between marsh and atmosphere to determine whether biogenic carbon inputs are in excess of those required to produce observed biomass, satisfy the measured accretion rate, and keep pace with the historical rate of sea level rise. To determine whether the marsh exports materials and energy we measured exchanges of nutrients between marsh sediments and overlying water and of nutrients, total suspended solids, and chlorophyll a between the adjacent tidal creek and river. Studies were performed in Sweet Hall Marsh, a National Estuarine Research Reserve, located on the Pamunkey River in Virginia. A gaseous carbon flux model was developed to calculate annual net CO2 and CI4 fluxes between the atmosphere and marsh. In addition, we performed seasonal measurements of macrophyte diversity and biomass, sediment microalgal biomass, standing stocks of porewater nutrients, %C and %N in sediments and macrophytes, and sediment gross mineralization and nitrification. Based upon two years of measurements of net ecosystem metabolism, the marsh is net heterotrophic. Estimates of sediment respiration based on net sediment metabolism greatly underestimated the true respiration rate. When gross N-mineralization, expressed in units of carbon, was used as a surrogate for sediment respiration, net autotrophic fixation accounted for estimated biomass production. A process-based carbon mass balance model for Sweet Hall Marsh was constructed to determine whether calculations of carbon exchange using the gaseous carbon flux model and results of exchange studies were reasonable and to guide future research at Sweet Hall Marsh. Results of mass balance analysis showed that inputs and exports of carbon to or from the marsh are reasonably in balance. While additional information on sediment and chlorophyll exchanges would strengthen our model, it appears that on an annual basis Sweet Hall Marsh imports sediments and exports chlorophyll. In addition, the marsh is a sink for N03- throughout the year. N}4+ produced by organic matter mineralization appears to be removed by coupled nitrification - denitrification so that there is little, if any, export of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the marsh. These conclusions indicate that tidal freshwater marshes may export materials (chlorophyll) to adjacent waters, but the ultimate fate of these materials and their effects on estuarine primary and secondary production are still unknown.
Publication Statement
A Final Report Prepared for the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, I., Neubauer, S. C., Neikirk, B. B., & Wetzel, R. L. (1998) Exchanges of carbon and nitrogen between tidal freshwater wetlands and adjacent tributaries : a final report. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/reports/2618
