Nutrient levels modify saltmarsh responses to increased inundation in different soil types

Saltmarshes have been depleted historically, and cumulative stressors threaten their future persistence. We examined experimentally how nutrient availability (high vs. low) affects the responses of Spartina maritima to increased inundation in two mineral soil types (low vs. medium organic). Increased inundation, one of the effects of accelerated sea level rise, had negative effects on most plant growth parameters, but the magnitude varied with soil and nutrient levels, and between plants from different locations. Average differences between inundation treatments were largest at high nutrient conditions in low organic matter soils. We conclude that saltmarsh vegetation would be more drastically affected by increased inundation in low than in medium organic matter soils, and especially in estuaries already under high nutrient availability. This knowledge enhances the prediction of changes at the foreshore of saltmarshes related to sea level rise, and the development of site-specific conservation strategies.