Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Below-Ground Biomass In Healthy And Impaired Salt Marshes, R. Eugene Turner, Erick M. Swenson, Charles S. Milan, James M. Lee, Thomas A. Oswald

Faculty Publications

Twelve salt marshes in south Louisiana (USA) were classified as either ‘impaired’ or ‘healthy’ before a summer sample collection of above- and below-ground biomass and determination of sediment accretion rates. The above-ground biomass of plant tissues was the same at both impaired and healthy salt marshes and was not a good predictor of marsh health. However, below-ground root biomass in the upper 30 cm was much lower in the impaired marshes compared to the healthy marshes. Compromises to root production apparently occur before there is an obvious consequence to the above-ground biomass, which may quickly collapse before remedial action can …