Accelerating sea level rise and increasing frequency of storms are impacting coastal wetlands. Similar to salt marshes, coastal freshwater wetlands provide important flood protection and storm abatement services, but their capacity to keep up with sea level rise and associated saltwater intrusion remains unclear. Long-term monitoring of wetland soil surface elevation using surface elevation table and marker horizons (SET-MH) has been conducted in salt marshes, while forested wetlands have not received as much attention. In 2015, we installed 18 SET-MHs in one restored and two mature forested wetlands on the coastal plain of North Carolina, all of which have experienced saltwater intrusion in recent years. We hypothesized that the restored wetland would have higher surface elevation gains, and areas protected from saltwater intrusion within all three sites would also have higher surface elevation gains. From 2016 to 2022 we measured surface elevation change and used marker horizons to measure vertical accretion. Rates of surface elevation change ranged from -4.25 to 4.79 mm/year, and vertical accretion rates ranged from -0.27 to 4.16 mm/year. All sites are vulnerable to future inundation, as even the highest rates of surface elevation gain were less than the observed 50-year rate of local sea level rise. Areas that experienced higher salinity exhibited higher rates of shallow subsidence. Our results support previous evidence that many coastal forested wetlands in the southeastern US are lagging behind sea level rise and, if elevation change rates do not accelerate substantially, they will experience ecological transformations in the coming decades.

Seawater intrusion (SWI) affects coastal landscapes worldwide. Here we describe the hydrologic pathways through which SWI occurs ‐ over land via storm surge or tidal flooding, under land via groundwater transport, and through watersheds via natural and artificial surface water channels—and how human modifications to those pathways alter patterns of SWI. We present an approach to advance understanding of spatiotemporal patterns of salinization that integrates these hydrologic pathways, their interactions, and how humans modify them. We use examples across the East Coast of the United States that exemplify mechanisms of salinization that have been reported around the planet to illustrate how hydrologic connectivity and human modifications alter patterns of SWI. Finally, we suggest a path for advancing SWI science that includes (a) deploying standardized and well‐distributed sensor networks at local to global scales that intentionally track SWI fronts, (b) employing remote sensing and geospatial imaging techniques targeted at integrating above and belowground patterns of SWI, and (c) continuing to develop data analysis and model‐data fusion techniques to measure the extent, understand the effects, and predict the future of coastal salinization.

To facilitate better predictive capabilities of hydrological fluxes in forested ecosystems, quantifying internal tree water movement at the tree species level is necessary. We measured short-term (daily) and long-term (weekly-monthly) water transport using isotopic breakthrough curves measured in real-time in tree species with different hydraulic anatomies (ring porous vs. tracheid). One gymnosperm species (loblolly pine; Pinus taeda L.) and one angiosperm species (southern red oak; Quercus falcata) were selected, which are common species across the Southeastern United States. Deuterated water (D2O) was injected into the base of four trees per species (eight trees total) and tracked radially (within xylem tissues) and axially (along tree trunks) for 45 days within tree trunks and leaf water. At three heights along the main trunk, boreholes were installed to isolate distinct xylem tissues: (1) shallow sapwood (SS W); (2) deep sapwood (DSW); and (3) heartwood (HW). Initially, both species showed tracer enrichment in SSW. Subsequent tracer movement showed that oaks retained more tracer in HW and for a longer period of time than pines. Arrival time of tracer peaks ranged from 1 to 13 days in oaks (maximum delta 2H = -109 to +7291) and from 1 to 4 days in pines (maximum delta 2H = +22 to +8831), while time to recovery to baseline delta 2H concentrations generally ranged from 7 to 38 days in oaks and from 2 to 6 days in pines. Accordingly, tracer residence time tended to be longer for all tissue depths measured in the oak trunks (1-9 days) and leaves (9-18 days) compared with pines (trunk: 0.2-3 days; leaf: 5-8 days), while tracer travel velocity was higher in pines for the trunk in the SSW and HW (2.8-5.6 m day-1) compared with oaks (0.3-2.5 m day-1), but not when estimated at the leaf. Although sapwood and HW are hydraulically connected, the degree of connectivity varied between tree species. Results from this study open the door for more focused studies and a greater understanding of internal water movement within mature trees.

Rising sea levels have driven widespread coastal tree die-off, forming large swaths of standing dead trees known as 'ghost forests'. While reports of coastal forest loss are accumulating, its true severity and factors determining the underlying mortality risks remain poorly understood. Here we mapped over 10 million individual dead trees across the US Atlantic region, a sea level rise hotspot, using deep learning and sub-metre aerial imagery. Our analysis reveals disproportionate and pervasive tree mortality in many previously unrecognized ghost forest hotspots, with over 6 million dead trees concentrated in low-lying (<5 m) forests, primarily driven by salinization rather than flooding alone. Notably, man-made flood obstructions (roads and levees), when present, have reduced forest loss by 40% and 79% respectively, but they can only provide temporary protection against rising seas. These findings highlight the alarming decline in coastal forests and the need for strategic long-term planning to preserve the critical services that coastal ecosystems provide.

Studies have shown that water can reside inside trees for up to several months, but how the duration of long-term stored water relates to species-specific water management strategies is not known. We studied water residence time, tracer velocity, and internal mixing in two tree species with differing water management strategies by injecting deuterated water into Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) trees and then monitoring tracer concentration daily in leaves for several weeks postinjection. In a companion study, we injected tracer and collected leaves at subdaily timescales to explore subdaily patterns of tracer arrival in canopy leaves. For the first experiment, we hypothesised that the tracer would remain in both species for days to weeks and that the tracer would have a longer residence time in the more isohydric Douglas fir trees. For the subdaily study, we explored if the tracer would arrive at a sharp peak, or be more spread out over time. The tracer resided in the trees 7-11 days for both species. Interestingly, the tracer reached the canopy leaves of aspen sooner yet remained in trees for longer compared to Douglas fir, which exhibited sharp pulses of tracer breakthrough in canopies. Surprisingly, the tracer arrival in aspens occurred in two distinct pulses, separated by 1-2 days. Combined, the results from both experiments suggest that water inside trees may not flow in simple 'in-up-and-out' (i.e., piston flow) ways and that complex mixing of water reservoirs and water flow paths may occur in some tree species.

In recent decades, environmental justice experts have advanced understanding of cumulative impacts, defined as the harm that can result when multiple forms of environmental and socioeconomic distress converge on a place and compound through time. Concurrently, U.S. industry leaders have launched climate mitigation projects that often exacerbate environmental injustice in overburdened communities. We consider this critical disconnect, drawing from our collective experience in eastern North Carolina. In this rural, economically disadvantaged, and multiracial region, state and corporate leaders have authorized the development of industrialized biogas as an ostensibly renewable energy source and climate mitigation strategy. Our community-engaged analysis of cumulative impacts reveals how chemical, ecological, social, and political processes linked to industrialized agriculture and energy production interacted through time to solidify social and environmental harm. In turn, this accumulation of harm generated the conditions for industrialized biogas development to become a climate mitigation program that relies on, rather than ameliorates, environmental injustice. We argue that environmental injustice can emerge, feed back into, and solidify across socio-ecological systems through time, creating foundations for environmental "solutions" that compound harm. Centering the knowledge of communities facing environmental injustice across the natural, built, social, and policy environments will expand and improve scientific understanding of cumulative impacts. In a time of dramatic change in the U.S. federal administration, wherein environmental justice may be removed from the policy and funding agenda, now is the time to turn toward, not away from, justice.

To strengthen our understanding regarding the signatures and drivers of floodwater contamination, this study aimed to investigate spatiotemporal patterns of pathogens, fecal indicator bacteria, and fecal biomarker detections, and identify the watershed characteristics that best explain water quality signatures in floodwaters. To accomplish this, we collected water samples across 51 sites during and after Hurricane Florence impacted North Carolina in 2018. Each site was visited four times, and samples were assessed for Arcobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, Escherichia coli , and source-specific biomarkers HF183 and Pig2Bac. Water quality responses were explained using a multivariate Bayesian logistic regression model incorporating land characteristics, pollution point sources, and hydroclimatic factors contributing to water quality degradation. Model results suggested that during flood conditions, pollution point sources were the dominant contributors to surface water contamination, likely due to direct connectivity with floodwaters. In contrast, nonpoint sources and rainfall-driven processes played a greater role in pollutant transport during nonflooded conditions. Overall, the high prevalence of contaminants during flood conditions underscores public health concerns associated with floodwater exposure. In particular, modeling results reveal potential drivers and sources of water quality contamination across spatiotemporal scales and can inform targeted strategies for improved water quality management and enhanced public health protection.

Millions of Indigenous people belong to hundreds of Tribal nations and self‐determined communities throughout the United States. Many of these groups continue to steward lands and waters that have shaped their distinct cultural and political identities since time immemorial. Increasingly, environmental professionals acknowledge the need to respect, understand, and defer to Indigenous knowledge about Earth's stewardship, but substantial barriers prevent full realization of these goals. One deep‐seated barrier is a widespread deficiency in basic education about Indigenous peoples. Education on Indigenous peoples in schools is often fraught with two problems: erasure and stereotypes. Thus, students who pursue environmental careers often lack basic knowledge about the specific Indigenous groups in their region or about Indigenous peoples generally. Despite this lack of education, environmental professionals are entrusted with a variety of decisions that directly affect Indigenous peoples as well as their lands and waters, a situation that has implications for environmental justice. Here we report on a study designed to gauge, in detail, knowledge about Indigenous peoples held by a group of environmental professionals, asking questions such as: What did you learn in school about Indigenous peoples? What do you know about Indigenous people today as it pertains to your work? We found that study participants generally learned little in school about Indigenous peoples, that their learning was demarcated by common stereotypes, and that the bulk of their learning was rooted in Eurocentrism. We provide recommendations on how environmental professionals can fill specific gaps in their education about Indigenous peoples and build partnerships for future work.

As the United States (US) has increased its domestic production of natural gas, transmission pipeline infrastructure continues to expand. Previous research highlights the environmental justice implications of this situation in the US, including fugitive methane emissions and the disproportionate concentration of pipelines in counties with high social vulnerability. However, gaps in publicly-available data make it difficult to understand the intersection of social factors, pipeline prevalence, and race, particularly in rural areas and at community-level spatial scales. This study begins to address this gap by examining the relationship between natural gas pipeline prevalence and demographics at the census block group level. This study uses North Carolina as a case study due to the state's dramatic increase in natural gas consumption driving an increase in pipeline infrastructure in recent years. This work highlights two critical findings: First, African American and American Indian people make up a disproportionately large share of the population living in block groups characterized by high social vulnerability and high densities of natural gas pipelines. Second, our main finding is insensitive to the threshold used to determine disproportionality, suggesting these results are robust. These data demonstrate a need for more equitable methods for energy infrastructure planning and maintenance. These results underscore the need for geospatial analysts to critically evaluate their methods for identifying disparities.

Indigenous peoples living in what is now coastal North Carolina gave the name pocosin to a unique type of nonriparian wetland endemic to the region. Their Algonquian dialects are poorly documented in colonial records and have been dormant for centuries; not even contemporary Indigenous peoples in the region speak these particular languages. But for decades, environmental researchers and practitioners have asserted in publications, classrooms, and public-facing materials that pocosin literally translates to "swamp on a hill." Despite widespread assertions, no evidence exists to support the claim. This article debunks the widely circulated translation and explains, more generally, how even well-intentioned efforts to acknowledge Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems within Western scientific frameworks may cause harm by undermining those Indigenous peoples' stewardship of traditional ecological knowledge or by reinforcing other aspects of colonialism. The lessons apply broadly to researchers, practitioners, and institutions that engage with Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems.

A substantial increase in predictive capacity is needed to anticipate and mitigate the widespread change in ecosystems and their services in the face of climate and biodiversity crises. In this era of accelerating change, we cannot rely on historical patterns or focus primarily on long-term projections that extend decades into the future. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential of near-term (daily to decadal) iterative ecological forecasting to improve decision-making on actionable time frames. We summarize the current status of ecological forecasting and focus on how to scale up, build on lessons from weather forecasting, and take advantage of recent technological advances. We also highlight the need to focus on equity, workforce development, and broad cross-disciplinary and non-academic partnerships. In this Perspective, the authors discuss the current status of ecological forecasting research, its role in helping to address the climate and biodiversity crises facing society and potential future directions, with a central focus on how to scale up ecological forecasting capabilities.

The United States (U.S.) coastal plain is subject to rising sea levels, land subsidence, more severe coastal storms, and more intense droughts. These changes lead to inputs of marine salts into freshwater-dependent coastal systems, creating saltwater intrusion. The penetration of salinity into the coastal interior is exacerbated by groundwater extraction and the high density of agricultural canals and ditches throughout much of the rural U.S. landscape. Together saltwater intrusion and sea level rise (SWISLR) create substantial changes to the social-ecological systems situated along the coastal plain. Many scholars and practitioners are engaged in studying and managing SWISLR impacts on social, economic, and ecological systems. However, most efforts are localized and disconnected, despite a widespread desire to understand this common threat. In addition to variable rates of sea level rise across the U.S. outer coastal plain, differences in geomorphic setting, water resources infrastructure and management, and climate extremes are resulting in different patterns of saltwater intrusion. Understanding both the absolute magnitude of this rapid environmental change, and the causes and consequences for its spatial and temporal variation presents an opportunity to build new mechanistic models to link directional climate change to temporally and spatially dynamic socio-environmental impacts. The diverse trajectories of change offer rich opportunities to test and refine modern theories of ecosystem state change in systems with exceptionally strong socioecological feedbacks.

Salinization threatens freshwater resources and freshwater-dependent wetlands in coastal areas worldwide. Many research efforts focus on gradual or chronic salinization, but the phenomenon is also episodic in nature, particularly in small streams and artificial waterways. In surface waters, salinization events may coincide with storms, droughts, wind tides, and other episodic events. A lack of standardized quantitative methods and metrics for describing and discussing episodic salinization hinders cross-disciplinary efforts by scientists and others to analyze, discuss, and make recommendations concerning these events. Here, we present a set of metrics that use statistics which describe flow characteristics in rivers and streams as a template for empirically describing and characterizing salinization events. We developed a set of metrics to quantify the duration, magnitude, and other characteristics of episodic salinization, and we apply the metrics to extensive time-series data from a field site in coastal North Carolina. We then demonstrate the utility of these metrics by coupling them with ancillary data to perform an unsupervised classification that groups individual salinization events by their primary meteorological driver. We provide simple and flexible code needed to compute metrics in any environment experiencing salinization events in hopes that it will facilitate more standardized approaches to the quantification and study of widespread freshwater salinization.

Salt-sensitive trees in coastal wetlands are dying as forests transition to marsh and open water at a rapid pace. Forested wetlands are experiencing repeated saltwater exposure due to the frequency and severity of climatic events, sea-level rise, and human infrastructure expansion. Understanding the diverse responses of trees to saltwater exposure can help identify taxa that may provide early warning signals of salinity stress in forests at broader scales. To isolate the impacts of saltwater exposure on trees, we performed an experiment to investigate the leaf-level physiology of six tree species when exposed to oligohaline and mesohaline treatments. We found that species exposed to 3–6 parts per thousand (ppt) salinity had idiosyncratic responses of plant performance that were species-specific. Saltwater exposure impacted leaf photochemistry and caused early senescence in Acer rubrum, the most salt-sensitive species tested, but did not cause any impacts on plant water use in treatments with <6 ppt. Interestingly, leaf spectral reflectance was correlated with the operating efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry in A. rubrum leaves before leaf physiological processes were impacted by salinity treatments. Our results suggest that the timing and frequency of saltwater intrusion events are likely to be more detrimental to wetland tree performance than salinity concentrations.

The Snapshot: Climate issue of Southern Cultures includes photography and reflections on climate impacts across the southern states by Jenny Adler, Austin Anthony, Kate Auger, Arden Barnes, Monica Patrice Barra, Robin Boggs, Jared Bramblett, Lily Brooks, Hannah Brown, Becca Burton, Matthew Busch, Gordon Campbell, Natalie Chanin, Vanessa Charlot, Walter Coker, Justin Cook, Cameron Davidson, Marquetta Dickens, Brandon Dill, Benjamin Dimmitt, Rory Doyle, Ryan Emanuel, Cameron Evans, J Henry Fair, Megan Faust, Annie Flanagan, Kathleen Flynn, Jerod Foster, John Gaulden, Hermina Glass-Hill, Allison Grant, Jerry Dickson Greer, Joshua Dudley Greer, Anna Hamilton, Virginia Hanusik, John Lusk Hathaway, Chuck Hemard, Tom Kimmerer, Virginie Kippelen, Jeremy M. Lange, Nate Larson, Mark Long, Jordan Lovejoy, Megan May, Roger May, Lisette Morales McCabe, Rob McDonald, Andrew Moore, Stephen B. Morton, Anna Gage Norton, Jocelyn Painter, Elena Peterman, Daniel Pullen, Tom Rankin, Robert Rausch, Jeff Rich, Beth Roach, Derek Slagle, Michael O. Snyder, Michael K. Steinberg, Bryan Thomas, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Simon Tye, Turcois Vazquez, Jordan Vonderhaar, Jason Matthew Walker, Will Warasila, Carlton Ward Jr., Brooke White, William Widmer, and Devin Wright.

Abstract: The Snapshot: Climate issue of Southern Cultures includes photography and reflections on climate impacts across the southern states by Jenny Adler, Austin Anthony, Kate Auger, Arden Barnes, Monica Patrice Barra, Robin Boggs, Jared Bramblett, Lily Brooks, Hannah Brown, Becca Burton, Matthew Busch, Gordon Campbell, Natalie Chanin, Vanessa Charlot, Walter Coker, Justin Cook, Cameron Davidson, Marquetta Dickens, Brandon Dill, Benjamin Dimmitt, Rory Doyle, Ryan Emanuel, Cameron Evans, J Henry Fair, Megan Faust, Annie Flanagan, Kathleen Flynn, Jerod Foster, John Gaulden, Hermina Glass-Hill, Allison Grant, Jerry Dickson Greer, Joshua Dudley Greer, Anna Hamilton, Virginia Hanusik, John Lusk Hathaway, Chuck Hemard, Tom Kimmerer, Virginie Kippelen, Jeremy M. Lange, Nate Larson, Mark Long, Jordan Lovejoy, Megan May, Roger May, Lisette Morales McCabe, Rob McDonald, Andrew Moore, Stephen B. Morton, Anna Gage Norton, Jocelyn Painter, Elena Peterman, Daniel Pullen, Tom Rankin, Robert Rausch, Jeff Rich, Beth Roach, Derek Slagle, Michael O. Snyder, Michael K. Steinberg, Bryan Thomas, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Simon Tye, Turcois Vazquez, Jordan Vonderhaar, Jason Matthew Walker, Will Warasila, Carlton Ward Jr., Brooke White, William Widmer, and Devin Wright.

Abstract:The Snapshot: Climate issue of Southern Cultures includes photography and reflections on climate impacts across the southern states by Jenny Adler, Austin Anthony, Kate Auger, Arden Barnes, Monica Patrice Barra, Robin Boggs, Jared Bramblett, Lily Brooks, Hannah Brown, Becca Burton, Matthew Busch, Gordon Campbell, Natalie Chanin, Vanessa Charlot, Walter Coker, Justin Cook, Cameron Davidson, Marquetta Dickens, Brandon Dill, Benjamin Dimmitt, Rory Doyle, Ryan Emanuel, Cameron Evans, J Henry Fair, Megan Faust, Annie Flanagan, Kathleen Flynn, Jerod Foster, John Gaulden, Hermina Glass-Hill, Allison Grant, Jerry Dickson Greer, Joshua Dudley Greer, Anna Hamilton, Virginia Hanusik, John Lusk Hathaway, Chuck Hemard, Tom Kimmerer, Virginie Kippelen, Jeremy M. Lange, Nate Larson, Mark Long, Jordan Lovejoy, Megan May, Roger May, Lisette Morales McCabe, Rob McDonald, Andrew Moore, Stephen B. Morton, Anna Gage Norton, Jocelyn Painter, Elena Peterman, Daniel Pullen, Tom Rankin, Robert Rausch, Jeff Rich, Beth Roach, Derek Slagle, Michael O. Snyder, Michael K. Steinberg, Bryan Thomas, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Simon Tye, Turcois Vazquez, Jordan Vonderhaar, Jason Matthew Walker, Will Warasila, Carlton Ward Jr., Brooke White, William Widmer, and Devin Wright.