Department of Civil Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 19;13(1):2017. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29654-1.
Coastal wetlands fulfil important functions for biodiversity conservation and coastal protection, which are inextricably linked to typical morphological features like tidal channels. Channel network configurations in turn are shaped by bio-geomorphological feedbacks between vegetation, hydrodynamics and sediment transport. This study investigates the impact of two starkly different recruitment strategies between mangroves (fast/homogenous) and salt marshes (slow/patchy) on channel network properties. We first compare channel networks found in salt marshes and mangroves around the world and then demonstrate how observed channel patterns can be explained by vegetation establishment strategies using controlled experimental conditions. We find that salt marshes are dissected by more extensive channel networks and have shorter over-marsh flow paths than mangrove systems, while their branching patterns remain similar. This finding is supported by our laboratory experiments, which reveal that different recruitment strategies of mangroves and salt marshes hamper or facilitate channel development, respectively. Insights of our study are crucial to understand wetland resilience with rising sea-levels especially under climate-driven ecotone shifts.
滨海湿地在生物多样性保护和海岸防护方面发挥着重要作用，而这些功能与潮汐通道等典型的地貌特征密切相关。反过来，河道网络的配置又受到植被、水动力和泥沙输移之间的生物地貌反馈的影响。本研究探讨了红树林（快速/均匀）和盐沼（缓慢/斑块状）之间两种截然不同的繁殖策略对河道网络特性的影响。我们首先比较了世界各地盐沼和红树林中的河道网络，然后展示了如何利用受控的实验条件，用植被建立策略来解释所观察到的河道模式。我们发现，盐沼中的河道网络更为广泛，而穿越沼泽的水流路径比红树林系统更短，但其分支模式保持相似。我们的实验室实验也支持了这一发现，这些实验表明，红树林和盐沼不同的繁殖策略分别阻碍或促进了河道的发育。本研究的结果对于理解湿地在海平面上升特别是气候驱动的生态交错带变化下的恢复能力至关重要。
