Sediment porewater salinity and moisture at runnel restoration sites in SE Massachusetts from 2020 - 2022.

Natural disturbances, sea level rise, and historic human impacts to salt marshes have increased impounded water on marsh surfaces, resulting in vegetation loss and the associated loss of important ecosystem services. Runnels are a climate adaptation technique designed to restore salt marsh habitat by reestablishing a tidal connection between impounded water and a nearby drainage feature. Porewater salinity and moisture content are two sediment characteristics that could potentially be altered by panne formation and runneling, which could impact rates of carbon decomposition. We installed runnels in two marshes in SE Massachusetts in 2020, and monitored salinity and moisture content changes for two years (2021-2022).

自然干扰、海平面上升以及历史人类活动对盐沼（salt marsh）的影响，均导致盐沼表面截留水体（impounded water）增多，进而引发植被退化，并伴随重要生态系统服务的丧失。潮沟（runnels）作为一类气候适应技术，旨在通过重建截留水体与邻近排水设施之间的潮汐连通性，修复盐沼栖息地。孔隙水盐度（porewater salinity）与沉积物含水率（moisture content）是两类关键沉积物特征，潮坑形成（panne formation）与潮沟施工可能会改变这两类特征，进而对碳分解（carbon decomposition）速率产生影响。本研究于2020年在马萨诸塞州东南部的两处盐沼中布设了潮沟，并于2021至2022年开展了为期两年的盐度与含水率变化监测。