Editing Estuary (section)

=== Effects of eutrophication on estuarine plants ===
[[File:Wood_storks_wading_in_a_marsh.jpg|thumb|A salt marsh with wood storks wading]]
[[Eutrophication]] has been seen to negatively impact many plant communities in estuarine [[ecosystem]]s.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Deegan |first1=Linda A. |last2=Johnson |first2=David Samuel |last3=Warren |first3=R. Scott |last4=Peterson |first4=Bruce J. |last5=Fleeger |first5=John W. |last6=Fagherazzi |first6=Sergio |last7=Wollheim |first7=Wilfred M. |date=2012 |title=Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11533 |journal=Nature |volume=490 |issue=7420 |pages=388–392 |doi=10.1038/nature11533 |pmid=23075989 |bibcode=2012Natur.490..388D |s2cid=4414196 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> [[Salt marsh]]es are a type of ecosystem in some estuaries that have been negatively impacted by eutrophication.<ref name=":5" /> [[Spartina|Cordgrass]] vegetation dominates the salt marsh landscape.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Donnelly |first1=Jeffrey P. |last2=Bertness |first2=Mark D. |date=2001 |title=Rapid shoreward encroachment of salt marsh cordgrass in response to accelerated sea-level rise |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=98 |issue=25 |pages=14218–14223 |doi=10.1073/pnas.251209298 |pmid=11724926 |pmc=64662 |bibcode=2001PNAS...9814218D |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}</ref> Excess nutrients allow the plants to grow at greater rates in above ground biomass, however less energy is allocated to the roots since nutrients is abundant.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Lovelock |first1=Catherine E. |last2=Ball |first2=Marilyn C. |last3=Martin |first3=Katherine C. |last4=C. Feller |first4=Ilka |date=2009 |title=Nutrient Enrichment Increases Mortality of Mangroves |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=e5600 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0005600 |pmid=19440554 |pmc=2679148 |bibcode=2009PLoSO...4.5600L |issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free }}</ref> This leads to a lower [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] in the vegetation below ground which destabilizes the banks of the marsh causing increased rates of [[erosion]].<ref name=":5" /> A similar phenomenon occurs in [[Mangrove forest|mangrove swamps]], which are another potential ecosystem in estuaries.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guest |first1=Michaela A. |last2=Connolly |first2=Rod M. |date=2005 |title=Fine-scale movement and assimilation of carbon in saltmarsh and mangrove habitat by resident animals |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10452-005-0442-9 |journal=Aquatic Ecology |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=599–609 |doi=10.1007/s10452-005-0442-9 |bibcode=2005AqEco..38..599G |s2cid=20771999 |issn=1386-2588}}</ref> An increase in nitrogen causes an increase in shoot growth and a decrease in root growth.<ref name=":0" /> Weaker root systems cause a mangrove tree to be less resilient in seasons of drought, which can lead to the death of the mangrove.<ref name=":0" /> This shift in above ground and below ground biomass caused by eutrophication could hindered plant success in these ecosystems.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" />