Poster Session 6, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM: Room 163 [C6]

Presenter: David Lucas Khun

Faculty Sponsor: Cam Anderson

School: Holyoke Community College

Research Area: Environmental Science and Sustainability

ABSTRACT

Wetland ecosystems play many important roles, including storing carbon in the soil, maintaining and filtering water, and supporting biodiversity. In particular, coastal wetlands are especially vulnerable to human-caused climate change: increasing temperatures and changing precipitation and storm patterns can erode coastal wetlands and speed up the organic matter decomposition rates. To combat these changes, wetland restoration efforts often involve rebuilding wetland ecosystems and restoring their vital functions, including carbon storage. In this project, I examine how climate change interacts with coastal wetlands, with a focus on brackish and saltwater wetlands in Massachusetts. First, I conducted a literature review looking at analytical data from those who have studied such wetland ecosystems in the context of restoration and carbon storage. I use the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan framework to assess the state of coastal wetlands in terms of development, conservation, carbon storage, and proposed wetland protection strategies. Additionally, I provide a mapping tool using MassMapper and GIS to visualize coastal wetlands in Massachusetts and their vulnerability to climate change, which could affect the coastal region. Together, this project provides a synthesis of the state of coastal wetlands in the face of climate change, which is important to biodiversity and aquatic life. Another important role of coastal wetlands is to combat climate change through restoring carbon and preventing coastal erosion.