Salt marshes are recognized as valuable resources that are threatened by climate change and human activities. Better management and planning for these ecosystems will depend on understanding which marshes are most vulnerable, what is driving their change, and what their future trajectory is likely to be. Both observations and models have provided inconsistent answers to these questions, likely in part because of comparisons among sites and/or models that differ significantly in their characteristics and processes. Some of these differences almost certainly arise from processes that are not fully accounted for in marsh morphodynamic models. Here, we review distinguishing properties of marshes, important processes missing from many morphodynamic models, and key measurements missing from many observational studies. We then suggest some comparisons between models and observations that will provide critical tests and insights to improve our ability to forecast future change in these coastal landscapes.

中文翻译：

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通过更好地整合数据和模型来改善盐沼演化的预测。

盐沼被认为是宝贵的资源，受到气候变化和人类活动的威胁。对这些生态系统进行更好的管理和规划将取决于了解哪些沼泽最脆弱，哪些因素在推动它们的变化以及它们未来的发展轨迹。观察结果和模型均未提供对这些问题的不一致答案，部分原因可能是由于站点和/或模型之间的比较在特征和过程上存在显着差异。这些差异中的某些差异几乎可以肯定地归因于在沼泽形态动力学模型中未完全说明的过程。在这里，我们回顾了沼泽的独特性质，许多形态动力学模型所缺少的重要过程以及许多观测研究所缺少的关键测量。