This three-year, $234,022 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research at the University of South Carolina to quantify the effects of different nitrogen forms on salt marsh resilience to sea level rise. The research team will conduct paired nutrient enrichment experiments at two eastern U.S. coastal locations to measure the effects of added nitrate and ammonium on marsh plants, microbes, and carbon and nitrogen cycling. Experiments will assess how responses vary under different flooding regimes. Greenhouse experiments will provide data on population-specific nitrogen uptake rates. The results will be incorporated into an updated marsh equilibrium model to allow resource managers to predict how marshes will respond to combined nutrient enrichment and sea level rise. This work aims to mechanistically address how nitrogen speciation and plant genetic variation impact marsh ability to store carbon and keep pace with sea level rise.
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