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Introduction: Marshes contribute to habitat and water quality in estuaries and coastal bays. Their importance to continued ecosystem functioning has led to concerns about their persistence. Outcomes: Concurrent with sea-level rise, marshes are eroding and appear to be disappearing through ponding in their interior; in addition, in many places, they are being replaced with shoreline stabilization structures. We examined the changes in marsh extent over the past 40 years within a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, to better understand the effects of sea-level rise and human pressure on marsh coverage. Discussion: Approximately 30 years ago, an inventory of York River estuary marshes documented the historic extent of marshes. Marshes were resurveyed in 2010 to examine shifts in tidal marsh extent and distribution. Marsh change varied spatially along the estuary, with watershed changes between a 32% loss and an 11% gain in marsh area. Loss of marsh was apparent in high energy sections of the estuary while there was marsh gain in the upper/ riverine section of the estuary and where forested hummocks on marsh islands have become inundated. Marshes showed little change in the small tributary creeks, except in the creeks dominated by fringing marshes and high shoreline development. Conclusions: Differential resilience to sea-level rise and spatial variations in erosion, sediment supply, and human development have resulted in spatially variable changes in specific marsh extents and are predicted to lead to a redistribution of marshes along the estuarine gradient, with consequences for their unique communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the implications to the U.S. of the rise in global sea level as a result of climate change. Topics discussed include the risk for flooding in the shorelines of the U.S., possible causes of rising sea level including the expansion of water at it heats and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and the government's policy challenges with regards to the sea level rise.

The article looks at research into forecasting coastal marsh and wetland losses due to sea level rise as a result of climate change. It is noted that wetland habitats can respond to higher water levels by increasing sedimentation, expanding to higher inland elevations, or becoming dead zones. Other topics include sediment restoration and draining to conserve wetland grasses, the impacts of overfishing and shore construction on marsh ecosystems, and U.S. wetland risk assessment projects.