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We identified eight Panamanian watersheds in which conversion from wet tropical forest to pastures differed and assessed the effects of degree of deforestation, and down-estuary transformations, on the suspended particulate matter discharged from the watersheds, entering, traversing through mangrove estuaries, and emerging into coastal waters. Deforested watersheds discharged larger concentrations of suspended particulate matter, with lower % C and N, higher mineral content, and heavier isotopic signatures into fresh reaches of estuaries. Down-estuary, sediment entrainment increased non-organic content of particulates, and watershed-derived imprints of deforestation on composition of particulate matter were mostly erased by within-estuary transformations. Isotopic signatures of C, N, and S in particulate matter demonstrated strong land-sea couplings, and indicated that the direction of the coupling was asymmetrical, with terrestrial and estuarine sources delivering particulate materials to coastal waters and sediments. Mangrove estuaries therefore both act as powerful modulators of human activities on land, while also exporting particulate materials to sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar stable isotopic signatures of nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur in mangrove vegetation from the Pacific coast of Panama were insensitive to inputs from watersheds with different area of forest land cover, and to seasonal, inter-annual, and global-scale-driven contrasts in rainfall and upwelling. N, C, and S content of mangrove vegetation were not affected by inputs from watersheds with different degrees of deforestation, but showed some influence of down-estuary transformations. While there was substantial variation that remained un-explained, isotopic signatures and nutrient contents were largely determined by species-specific features, and showed substantial small-scale variation reflecting local differences, within-estuary plant-sediment links. The ability of mangrove estuaries to erase effects of deforestation points out that conservation of these wetland ecosystems is important, because, at least in the sites we studied, transformations within mangrove estuaries were strong enough to protect water quality in receiving coastal waters., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)