Short-term experimental flooding impacts soil biogeochemistry but not aboveground vegetation in a coastal forest

Regier, Peter; Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Ward, Nicholas; Bailey, Vanessa; Peixoto, Roberta Bittencourt; Machado-Silva, Fausto; McDowell, Nate; Morris, Kendalynn A.; Myers-Pigg, Allison; Pennington, Stephanie C.; Rahman, Mizanur; Rich, Roy; Smith, Richard W.; Wilson, Stephanie J.; Woodard, Stella C.; Stearns, Alice; Day, Donnie; Doro, Kennedy; Emmanuel, Efemena; Grossiord, Charlotte; Hopple, Anya; Ogunsola, Olawale; Patel, Kaizad; Phillips, Evan; Megonigal, J. Patrick

doi:10.1073/pnas.2511756122

Short-term experimental flooding impacts soil biogeochemistry but not aboveground vegetation in a coastal forest

Journal Article · Thu Oct 09 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2511756122· OSTI ID:2998652

^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Peixoto, Roberta Bittencourt ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Pennington, Stephanie C. ^[1]; ^[1]; Rich, Roy ^[3]; ^[4]; Wilson, Stephanie J. ^[3]; Woodard, Stella C. ^[4]; Stearns, Alice ^[3]; Day, Donnie ^[2]; ^[2]; Emmanuel, Efemena ^[2]; ^[1] more »

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Univ. of Toledo, OH (United States)
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD (United States)
Global Aquatic Research LLC, Sodus, NY (United States)

Rising sea levels and intensifying storms increase flooding pressure on coastal forests, triggering tree mortality, ecosystem transitions, and changes to the coastal carbon cycle. However, the mechanisms that drive coastal forest mortality remain elusive due to the complex interplay between belowground and aboveground processes during flooding disturbances and limitations of observations typically reported in coastal forest mortality studies. We used an ecosystem-scale manipulation to simulate hurricane-level flooding of a coastal forest and explore the individual and interactive impacts of inundation and salinity. Monitoring real-time soil conditions and tree physiological responses, we observed consistent impacts on soil biogeochemistry aligned with belowground drivers of tree mortality, but no consistent responses in aboveground vegetation immediately following flooding. Our findings provide empirically based insight into the earliest stages of a hypothesized forest mortality spiral and offer critical benchmarks for predicting coastal forest resilience in the face of accelerating climate change.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2998652

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--211564

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 41 Vol. 122; ISSN 1091-6490; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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References (47)

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