Research project NordSalt: Climate Change Impacts and Biodiversity Interactions in Nordic Salt Marshes

In this BiodivERsa project we assess the nature, diversity and extent of the remarkably understudied Nordic coastal marshes, to evaluate their role in regulating net greenhouse gas emissions under future climate warming scenarios, local environmental pressures and management. We i) together with stakeholders coproduce knowledge on the biodiversity, spatial extent and dynamics of coastal marshes, ii) estimate their carbon uptake and methane release potential at 5 core sites, iii) link these roles to plant diversity as a function of local abiotic conditions and grazing regimes, iv) experimentally test if plant diversity regulates impacts of warming on their role as carbon sinks, and v) assess the feasibility of NordSalt habitats as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation.