Question

Coastal Wetlands
Coastal Wetlands
Coastal wetlands are the meeting point of fresh water from land sources such as rivers and salt water from oceans. Coastal wetlands are constantly covered in shallow, salty water, though the water levels constantly change. These areas have a variety of plant species adapted to this unique environment. The plants are specially adapted to live in areas that flood regularly and have low oxygen levels in the soil.

Coastal wetlands have formed over thousands of years through geological processes. Freshwater rivers transport water, sediment, and organic matter downriver to areas in which the land flattens out into intertidal areas. These areas experience the inward movement of water from oceans through tides. When the fresh water and salt water meet, sediments are deposited and plants grow in the sediment, providing habitats for other organisms.

Coastal wetlands are important to coastal regions as they often provide protection against storm surges. A storm surge is a larger than usual rise of water on land, above the normal changes in water levels due to tides. The flow rate of water toward land is also greater than normal during a storm surge. Storm surges are generally a result of the strong winds that occur during a hurricane. Coastal wetlands receive the initial impact of heavy winds and rising water levels that help keep water levels from rising as high on land. Wetlands also reduce the flow rate of water (how fast the water flows) from the coast moving inland during a hurricane.

Plants in wetlands help reduce storm surge by absorbing water into their structures and physically blocking water flow inland. The graph below shows data collected about the effect of wetlands on the flow rate of water into surrounding land resulting from a storm surge.

The graph titled 'Effect of Coastal Wetlands on Storm Surge' shows Rate of Water Flow into Surrounding Land on the vertical axis and Time on the horizontal axis. Two lines are shown. The wetlands line is solid and mound-shaped. It gradually rises and descends and then remains steady along the horizontal axis. The no wetlands line is dotted and. It begins parallel to the horizontal axis slightly below the wetland curve, and then sharply rises above the wetland curve. Past its peak, it steeply descends and then remains steady along the horizontal axis.

Inline Dropdown Question
The diagram below shows the cycling of carbon in a coastal wetland ecosystem.

Three sets of plants are shown. The plants store Carbon in soil, uptake carbon by photosynthesis and release carbon through respiration and decomposition. The plants away from the coast line store carbon in woody biomass.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is released by many human activities, as well as from natural processes. The graph shown below provides data about the levels of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere for a ten-year period of time.



Some scientists argue that protecting plants, like those in coastal wetlands, will affect the trend shown in the graph. Use the drop-down menus to complete a scientific explanation for why protecting plants will affect the trend shown in the graph.

During Query 1
plants take in Query 2
causing its concentration in the atmosphere to Query 3
.

Answer 1

Certainly! Based on the information provided and your request, here's a scientific explanation using the drop-down menus related to the effect of protecting coastal wetland plants on CO2 levels in the atmosphere:

During **Query 1**: **green plants and photosynthetic organisms**,
plants take in **Query 2**: **carbon dioxide (CO2)**,
causing its concentration in the atmosphere to **Query 3**: **decrease**.

So the completed explanation would read:

"During **green plants and photosynthetic organisms**, plants take in **carbon dioxide (CO2)**, causing its concentration in the atmosphere to **decrease**."

This indicates how protecting wetlands can contribute to lower atmospheric CO2 levels, impacting the greenhouse gas trend depicted in the graph.